What do you need to know about my North Hills lot before design starts?

A boundary survey, soils data and the zoning limits set the base. We add the orientation of the lot, the height of what stands next to it, and where power, water and sewer connect. Together they decide the footprint and which roof planes can carry the array.

How is a new house in North Hills priced and staged?

Pre-construction is priced first: survey, soils, engineering, the energy model and LADBS review. Construction follows in priced phases from foundation to final electrical trim, with the solar array as its own line. Every phase is written down and agreed before its work begins.

Who coordinates the engineer and surveyor for a North Hills build?

We keep that schedule. Mapping the lot leads, soil work comes after, and structural and energy design start once the layout settles. Any of them can work under your contract or ours, and their findings all come to our office before the plans move on.

New Construction in North Hills

A new North Hills house sited by the sun: orientation and shade measured first, so the required solar array, windows and overhangs are planned early.

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Sunlight is what we measure first on a North Hills lot. We note which way the long side faces, how tall the neighboring houses and trees stand, and where shade falls in the morning and late afternoon. Those readings decide where the solar array can sit, which windows need deep overhangs and which rooms get steady daylight. LADBS reviews the plans, as it does for every house in the City of Los Angeles.

Reading sun and shade

Standing on the cleared lot, we take compass bearings along the property lines and photograph the sky from the likely roof area with a sun path tool. That shows the hours when a neighbor's second story or a tall tree will shade each part of the roof. We also mark which walls will take low late-day sun on their glass. The readings go to your designer before the first floor plan, while the house can still turn or shift a few feet on the lot.

What the readings change

Solar panels are required on a new single-family house in California, and an array that sits in shade much of the day produces less. The readings let the designer set the main roof plane where panels get open sky. Living rooms can face the steady light, while glass that faces late-day sun gets smaller openings, low solar gain glass or a deep overhang. The energy consultant uses the same orientation in the model, so the array and the cooling system are sized for the house as it will sit.

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