Backyard & Outdoor Living in Studio City

Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). Private pools in the City of Los Angeles are permitted through a Combined Building-Mechanical permit, while pools serving more than two dwelling units need separate building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits.

Using a City of Los Angeles standard plan on file with LADBS reduces plan check time. Most properties south of Ventura Boulevard, in the hills, are inside the Hillside Grading Area. A pool there needs its own LADBS grading permit, and the Baseline Hillside Ordinance caps grading and import/export quantities.

Much of that hillside is also a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

A split market: flat valley-floor lots north of Ventura Boulevard (the single-family median is about 7,000 square feet in LA County Assessor data) and hillside parcels to the south, which are often larger but steep. The two build very differently and price very differently.

One local condition that shapes the work: Hillside lots south of Ventura Boulevard often need engineered retaining and caisson work before any pool shell is poured.

All of it, including Silver Triangle and Fryman Canyon. 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.