ADU Construction in San Pedro
ADU construction in San Pedro, reviewed by LADBS, with the unit placed by setbacks, garage footings, sewer depth and any slope across the lot.
"Can the unit go on top of the garage?" When that comes up on a first visit in San Pedro, the answer starts with what the garage stands on. A unit over an existing garage loads its slab and footings far past what they were built for, so we expose a footing, check the slab for cracks and settlement, and look at the framing before anyone talks about stairs or windows.
Building over a garage
A second-floor unit adds the weight of a floor, walls, a roof, a kitchen and the people living in it. Garage footings sized for a light single-story shell rarely carry that without help. The fixes range from new footings at the corners with posts that bypass the old walls, to underpinning, to replacing the garage with a structure designed for both levels. The stair to the upper unit needs its own landing and footing, and it has to stay inside the setbacks. If the garage already sits partly in a cut, a retaining question joins the list.
Review through LADBS
Plans for a San Pedro ADU are checked by LADBS, the building agency for the City of Los Angeles. If the parcel turns out to lie in the Coastal Zone, Los Angeles City Planning may need to clear a coastal permit or an exemption first. On a lot with a slope, LADBS can ask for a geology and soils report before it approves the foundation. Walls close to a property line get a fire-rated build, and exposed metal on a coastal lot gets a finish that stands up to salt air. We gather those pieces before submittal.
About our adu construction workEverything we build in San Pedro
ADU Construction in San Pedro: questions
An existing flat pad is the simple case: a garage, a patio slab or a level patch of lawn. Where no pad exists, the unit either steps with the ground on stem walls or sits on a cut held by a wall. A descending bank at the rear brings a code setback from its face that limits how near the top a footing can go.
The package fits a San Pedro unit that stays on one level and inside 500 square feet, which leaves out the over-garage plan. On a sloped parcel, LADBS wants a foundation plan that matches the soils findings, so that sheet is drawn after the report is in. An upper-story unit, and the construction, are priced on their own.
Mostly what happens under the floor. A soils or geology report may come first on a sloped lot. The foundation then follows its findings, whether stepped footings, a grade beam on drilled piers or a wall at the cut. Shoring near a neighbor's structure, export of excess soil and hand-carried materials each add their own share.
ADU Construction in other cities
More work in San Pedro
Planning work in San Pedro?
Tell us about the lot and the job. A builder replies by phone or email to set up a visit.