Commercial Construction in Valley Village
Commercial construction in Valley Village that measures hidden footings under interior posts before new roof or floor loads are designed and priced.
Under the slab of an existing Valley Village commercial building, the footing beneath an interior post may be too small for the load a new rooftop unit or mezzanine would add. Nothing on the floor shows its size. We cut a small opening beside the post and dig down to measure it, and the result decides whether the engineer can keep that footing, needs to widen it, or has to carry the new load on a different line.
Measuring a footing nobody can see
A square of slab a little wider than a shovel, close to the post base, is saw-cut, broken out and dug by hand until the edge and the bottom of the footing show. We record its width, its depth below the slab and whether any steel appears at the exposed face. The soil at the bottom gets a look too, since loose fill there tells the engineer more than the concrete does. The hole is photographed with a tape in frame, then backfilled and patched, so the space stays usable while the numbers go to the engineer.
What the measurement changes
A footing that checks out lets the new load land as drawn, and the structural sheet notes the measured size. An undersized footing gets enlarged, usually by cutting a wider square of slab, doweling new concrete to the old and pouring after the excavation is inspected. Where enlarging is impractical, the engineer may carry the load on new posts and footings elsewhere, which moves the equipment curb or the mezzanine edge. Each path changes cost and schedule, so the quote follows the measurement, and LADBS sees the chosen detail on the permit set.
Commercial Construction in Valley Village: common questions
For added roof or floor loads, LADBS plan check wants the structural calculations to trace each load down to a footing whose size is known, either measured or newly designed. The building's use, exits and accessibility are reviewed alongside. Site work begins only once corrections are answered and the approved set and permit are in hand.
Yes. We file the drawings and calculations with LADBS, respond to each correction and schedule the inspections in order. A footing enlargement gets its excavation and its reinforcing inspected before concrete, so the Valley Village schedule holds that pour until the inspector has signed the card.
Yes. Architects' sets for existing buildings often assume the footings beneath interior posts can take new loads. We share the measured sizes with the architect and the engineer of record, and any revised footing detail is added to the drawings before work proceeds in Valley Village.
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