New Construction in Altadena, Starting From the Old Outline
An Altadena rebuild begins with a measured drawing of the house that burned, tied to the survey, so design and any insurance claim share one set of figures.
You get a measured drawing of the Altadena house that burned before you see a price for the new one. We trace whatever the cleanup left, such as a slab edge, a stem wall or a capped pipe, record each wall run and room line, and tie the corners to the property survey. That drawing shows the size and layout that stood before the fire, so the new design and any insurance claim start from the same figures.
Finding the old outline
Slab edges and stem walls give the clearest line, and a laser level with a long tape turns them into a plan with room sizes. If the debris crew hauled the foundation away too, the outline comes from paper and photos: the county permit file for the old house, the assessor's record of its floor area and any pictures taken before the fire. Plumbing stubs, the sewer cleanout and the gas riser show where the kitchen, baths and meter stood. Each wall on the drawing is marked as measured on site or taken from a photo.
What the record changes
The old size and layout give the design a starting point. Setbacks, height and fire rules are checked as they read today, and a house that once sat close to a side line may need to shift or step in. Altadena includes land inside mapped fire hazard zones. On a parcel there, the roof, vents, siding, decks and glass may have to meet ember rules, and the county fire department may ask for a plan covering the planting near the house. Los Angeles County reviews the permit drawings. The measured record travels with them, so any question about what stood before has an answer on paper.
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New Construction in Altadena: questions
Anything that shows the house as it stood: the permit file, photos, a floor plan sketch or the insurer's measurements. We also ask what the cleanup removed and what it left, since a surviving slab or wall changes how we measure. Design then waits on a boundary survey, soils testing and the height and coverage limits for the zone.
The measured drawing, survey, soils work and design come first, under a written price of their own. After the county approves the plans, the build is priced line by line in building sequence: grading and foundation, then framing and roofing, then the trades, then finishes. County inspectors sign off each stage as it wraps up.
We do, starting with the surveyor, who receives our measured drawing so the old outline and the property lines land on one sheet. The soils engineer and the structural engineer follow, each working from that sheet. Every consultant date sits on a schedule our office keeps, and county plan check questions go back to whoever stamped the drawing involved.
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Tell us about the property and what you have in mind. We reply with a written next step.