New Construction in Los Angeles
A new Los Angeles house taken from utility shut-off and demolition through survey, soils, LADBS plan check and footings, with an ADU sited early.
Cutting the old services is step one on a Los Angeles parcel that still holds a house. LADBS ties the demolition permit to proof that gas and power are disconnected and the sewer connection is capped. From there the work moves through a boundary survey, soils borings and a site plan that places the house and any ADU together, and the footings wait for an approved permit set.
What moves first, and why
Property lines come off the boundary survey, and every setback is measured from them, so no design starts before it. Soils borings follow, and their report tells the engineer what kind of foundation the ground will carry. Only with both in hand does the site plan get drawn, and that is the moment to place an ADU, since its trench, its entry path and its distance from the main house are all decided on that sheet. Structural and energy work from our consultants then fills in the set, and nothing goes to plan check until the drawings agree with each other.
LADBS and the parcel record
Inside city limits the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety reviews a new house. Before the drawings are fixed, we pull the parcel's zoning and any overlay or specific plan that touches it, because those can change height, floor area or setbacks on a particular lot. A house and an ADU sent in on one submittal give plan check a full picture of the parcel, and comments arrive on both at once. Inspections then run from the foundation pour through framing and rough utilities to the building final.
New Construction in Los Angeles: common questions
Planning the unit alongside the house pays off whenever the lot's zoning allows a second dwelling. One trench can then carry water, sewer and power to both, and the unit's windows can be turned away from the main bedrooms while the walls are still lines on paper.
Paper and measurement fill the early stage: utility shut-offs and a demolition permit if a house stands there, boundary work, borings, engineering and the LADBS review. Ground is broken for footings once the approved set is issued and the first inspection is on the calendar.
City zoning draws the envelope: height, setbacks, floor area. Structure and the shell answer to the state building, energy and green building codes, and grading and stormwater rules cover the earthwork. Where a lot falls in a mapped fire severity area, wildfire building rules join the list, and we look that up for each parcel.
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