How do you split outdoor space between two homes in Valley Village?

Each home needs a front step it can call its own. A landing or small deck at the ADU door, the existing patio kept for the main house, and a hedge or planter between them give each a separate place to sit. A separate path along the side yard to each entry gives both homes their own way in.

Which decks and patio covers in Valley Village call for a permit?

LADBS wants plans for a deck that rises more than 30 inches above grade, one attached to a house or ADU, and any patio cover with a roof. Setbacks apply even to a small freestanding platform close to the ground, which may need no permit. When a cover hangs from an existing header, that framing is drawn as well.

Can Decks & Patios in Valley Village be drawn with the ADU plans?

Yes. Drawing the ADU, its deck and the patio cover on one set lets LADBS review the header, footings and setbacks in the same pass. Opening the casing early, while the unit's layout is still a sketch, means a weak header changes lines on paper before anything is built.

Decks & Patios in Valley Village

Valley Village patio covers and decks planned after a look at the header over the back slider, so hidden framing shapes the plan. Cedarline Design Build.

Call the office Check what my lot allows

Over the back slider of a Valley Village house sits a header nobody sees from the yard, and its size can change where a patio cover attaches. With the inside casing removed, we can read how deep it is and what holds up each end. A header built for the opening and the new load lets a cover ledger bolt along that wall. One that is too small, cracked or poorly supported gets reframed first, or the cover stands on posts of its own.

Reading the opening

A header spans the opening and bears on a jack stud at each end, with a full-height king stud nailed beside each jack. With the casing off, we look for that pairing, for solid lumber or engineered wood of real depth, and for a tight fit where the header sits on the jacks. Trouble shows as a header made of flat boards, an end resting on a single jack where the span calls for a double, or framing patched after an older opening was widened. An engineer then checks whether that header can take the ledger load.

LADBS and one set of sheets

Valley Village permits go through LADBS as part of the City of Los Angeles. A plan checker there traces the load from the cover beam to the ledger, through the header and its jack studs, and down to the foundation, so the header finding is settled before the drawings are filed. If the lot is also getting an ADU, the cover, any deck and the unit can share one site plan showing entries, setbacks and footings. A reframed header at the slider appears on those sheets as a detail of its own.

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