Backyard & Outdoor Living in Claremont

City of Claremont Community Development Department, Building Division. Building permits are issued by the Building Division of the Community Development Department, and under Municipal Code Chapter 16.300 no building permit is issued until any required design review has been approved. Section 16.300.030 routes pools, walls, fencing, grading, hardscape, patio structures and exterior changes to single-family homes through staff review, while exterior changes in the Historical Claremont and Arbol Verde districts go to the Architectural and Preservation Commission when the Director of Community Development finds they could have a substantial adverse visual impact. Pool permit applications need plans prepared by a licensed structural engineer with a wet signature and stamp, and in the Hillside District and the RS (20,000) district, which follows the same grading standards, any excavation or fill, or any cut or fill slope, over three feet in vertical height needs the Director's prior approval. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

Claremont's RS single-family districts set minimum lots of 8,000, 10,000, 13,000 or 20,000 square feet and cap lot coverage at 30 to 40 percent by district; covered patios and decks count toward that cap, as do uncovered decks more than three feet above grade, while pools and uncovered patios do not. In Historic Claremont, blocks often pair large corner houses with smaller homes and many lots carry guest houses or accessory dwelling units, while North and Northeast Claremont were laid out with winding streets, cul-de-sacs and larger lots with very deep setbacks. One local condition that shapes the work: Pools must sit at least five feet from any structure, with the water line at least five feet from every property line and the pool at least twelve feet from overhead electrical wires unless they are safety cable. Plot plans must show filled ground and any slope within 25 feet of the pool or deck, and where fill or slopes are near the pool a soils report is required unless the City Engineer waives it.

All of it, including Historic Claremont, Old Claremont, Claraboya and North Claremont. Our crews run every job out of our Cahuenga Pass base in Los Angeles, with our own people on site.

Full backyard transformation: generally $50,000 to $250,000+ across Southern California. What moves it is how much hardscape is involved, whether a pool or outdoor kitchen is included, grading and retaining, and the level of lighting and planting. We give line-item pricing after seeing the site rather than quoting a number over the phone.

A patio and turf refresh often finishes in three to five weeks. A full transformation with hardscape, an outdoor kitchen, structures and lighting typically runs ten to sixteen weeks, and longer if a pool is part of the same phase.

Pavers cost more up front but flex with ground movement instead of cracking, and individual units can be lifted and replaced. Poured concrete is cheaper initially, but a crack means cutting out and repouring a section that rarely matches. On most Southern California soil we recommend pavers for anything you will look at every day.

Yes, and on most projects we insist on it. Correcting grade and adding proper drainage while the yard is already open is far cheaper than retrofitting it after new hardscape is down.

Yes. Design, permits, hardscape, structures, kitchen, lighting and planting run through one team and one project manager, so nothing gets lost between trades.