Encino ADU Construction, Roof to Runoff
ADU construction in Encino with the roof drawn first: four ADU types compared, runoff routed on the site plan, permits through LADBS to final.
One gutter along the low edge can catch all the rain that lands on a shed-roofed Encino ADU, and where that water goes next shapes the site plan. We draw the roof pitch early, because it sets the unit's height, how the ceiling feels inside and how far the downspout has to carry runoff from the footings. A detached cottage, an attached unit and a converted garage each hand the water off in a different way.
Four types, four roof plans
A detached unit has its own roof on every side, so we can tilt it away from the main house and the neighbor's fence alike. An attached unit has to tie into the existing roof, and the joint where old and new meet needs a cricket and step flashing so water cannot pool against the wall. A garage conversion keeps its old roof if the sheathing and rafters pass inspection, though new gutters tend to go on. A JADU sits under the house roof and adds nothing to drain. On an inland lot, a light-colored roof surface also keeps the unit cooler under hard sun.
Where the runoff ends up
Downspouts on an Encino lot can feed a gravel dry well, a planted basin or the existing yard drains, depending on the soil and which way the ground falls. LADBS checks that the water does not land on a neighbor's property or against a foundation. The same trench that brings sewer and power to the unit can carry a drain pipe, which saves digging twice. A load calculation on the main panel and a camera run through the house sewer round out what we check before the unit is drawn. Final inspection closes the job, and the unit can be lived in from that day.
ADU Construction in Encino: common questions
That depends on the yard depth, the garage and where the sewer line leaves the house. A long rear yard can take a detached cottage. A garage in decent shape is the shortest path to a unit. With a small yard, the choice narrows to an attached unit off the rear wall or a JADU carved out of the house, which state law caps at 500 square feet.
LADBS, the City of Los Angeles building department, handles plan check for an Encino ADU. We submit the set and answer each correction. On this lot the reviewer will want the drainage path on the site plan, which is why we draw the downspouts and the dry well there from the start.
State ADU law settles the parking part. When a garage turns into an ADU, Los Angeles cannot ask for those spaces to be rebuilt elsewhere on the lot. The garage still has to qualify, with a slab and walls that can be brought up to code and a ceiling high enough to live under.
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