ADU Construction in West Hills, Measured Before Drawn
West Hills ADUs that start with a level, a tape and a soil probe: the grade across the yard, the ground under a pad and the setbacks from the real lot lines.
The first tools out on a West Hills lot are a level and a long tape. We shoot the grade from the back of the main house to the rear line, so the drop or rise across the yard is a number before any idea becomes a drawing. Then we probe the soil where a pad might go and lift the cover on the sewer cleanout. Those readings sort the possible spots quickly.
Grade, soil and footing depth
The grade reading tells us whether a pad can sit on cut ground or needs fill. A hand probe or a small test hole shows whether the top layer is loose fill, clay or firmer native soil. Clay can swell when wet and shrink when dry, which moves slabs and footings, so if the probe finds it the engineer may call for deeper footings or a treated base. On a flat lot the check is short. On a sloped one it becomes the basis for the soils report the city may request.
Setbacks and the path in
With the grade known, we measure setbacks from the actual lot lines, using the survey if one exists. The side yard gets measured at its tightest point, since that width decides whether concrete is wheeled, pumped or carried by hand. We note the main panel rating and the gas meter location on the same visit. Everything lands on a single sketch, and that sketch becomes the site plan the design starts from, with each reading written next to the spot it came from.
About our adu construction workEverything we build in West Hills
ADU Construction in West Hills: questions
Where the measured grade, the soil and the setbacks all line up in its favor. If the lot slopes, a spot where the ground changes least across the footprint keeps the foundation simple. A site higher than the sewer cleanout drains by gravity, and that pairing is the one we look for first.
When the unit is single-level and fits within 500 square feet, it does. For West Hills, the LADBS plan checker sees a site plan built from our measurements and foundation details drawn from the soil findings. A larger or split-level design falls outside the package and is quoted on its own.
Expansive soil and a big change in height across the footprint. Clay may call for deeper or wider footings, and a steep fall may call for stepped footings or piers. Engineering for those footings, and the construction, land in a quote written once we have seen the site, kept apart from the drawings, so each item can be weighed.
ADU Construction in other cities
More work in West Hills
Planning work in West Hills?
Tell us about the lot and the job. A builder replies by phone or email to set up a visit.