Whole Home Remodeling · Los Angeles County
Whole home remodeling in Los Angeles County: layout changes, kitchens, baths and system upgrades under one permit, by a licensed design-build team since 2009.
Tell us about the house. A project manager will call to set up a walk-through.
Prefer to talk? Call (714) 449-9035
Los Angeles County has the widest range of houses we remodel. Pasadena, Glendale, Long Beach, Whittier and older parts of Los Angeles have 1910s through 1930s bungalows and Spanish-style homes, many on raised foundations with knob-and-tube wiring or cast-iron drains still in the walls. Postwar tracts fill the San Fernando Valley, the South Bay and cities like Lakewood and Downey, with the same slab foundations and small closed kitchens found across Southern California.
Permitting depends on where you are. The City of Los Angeles has its own building department, unincorporated areas go through the county’s EPIC-LA system, and each of the other incorporated cities runs its own plan check. Historic districts, including Historic Preservation Overlay Zones in the City of Los Angeles, can add design review for exterior changes. Hillside lots in the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel foothills and the Palos Verdes Peninsula often fall in fire hazard zones, and beach cities may need coastal approval. On raised-floor homes, a whole house remodel is also a good time for foundation bolting and cripple-wall bracing.
We’ve remodeled homes across Los Angeles County for years, from prewar bungalows to postwar tracts, and we’re comfortable with the systems older houses hide: knob-and-tube wiring, cast-iron drains, raised foundations that need bolting. Horizon is a licensed Class B general building contractor, and an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm, which matters in a county with so many pre-1978 homes. We handle plan check with LADBS, EPIC-LA and individual city departments, and run design and construction under one contract. Finishes for the whole house are chosen at our Fullerton design center before demolition, so nothing is waiting on a decision once the walls are open.
Each city page covers who issues the permit there, what the local housing stock looks like and what that means for your project.
For many owners, yes. Under Proposition 13, your existing home keeps its original assessed basis, while a purchase resets it at the new price. New construction from a remodel can be reassessed, so talk to your tax advisor about your situation. The other factor is the location itself: the street, the schools and the neighbors are hard to buy again, and a remodel lets you keep them.
Almost always a building permit with plan check from your city, or from the county for unincorporated areas. Depending on location, you may also need HOA architectural approval, a coastal development permit, or compliance with fire hazard zone construction rules for exterior work. We identify which apply during the first walk-through and handle the submittals.
Galvanized supply lines, undersized electrical panels, lead-based paint in homes built before 1978, and asbestos in popcorn ceilings, old flooring or duct wrap. We also see additions and garage conversions built without permits. We investigate before design so these show up in the proposal rather than as surprises once the walls are open.
Yes. Room additions and ADUs are often part of a whole house project. Planning them together lets utilities, structure and the floor plan work as one design. State law allows an ADU on most single-family lots, and local zoning sets setbacks, height and lot coverage for additions. We check what your lot allows before drawing.
Planning whole home remodeling in Los Angeles County? Schedule a consultation or call (714) 449-9035.
Horizon Construction & Remodeling, Class B General Building Contractor.
