Backyard & Outdoor Living in Torrance

City of Torrance Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division. Permits are issued by the Building and Safety Division of the Community Development Department, with the Permit Center on Torrance Boulevard and permit records searchable through the City's online portal.

Properties within the Hillside and Local Coastal Overlay District, adopted by the City Council in 1977 and applied to the hillside and coastal areas shown on the City's Hillside Overlay Map, go through an additional development review that weighs impacts on view, light, air and privacy.

Because Torrance has no certified Local Coastal Program, Coastal Zone projects may also need review by the California Coastal Commission. Separate trade permits are required for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

Predominantly single-story postwar tract lots with genuinely usable flat rear yards, plus steeper view parcels along the western hillside. One local condition that shapes the work: Hillside lots on the western edge step down from the street, so additions and pools there require retaining, deepened footings and drainage engineered away from downhill neighbors.

All of it, including Hollywood Riviera, Old Torrance and Walteria. 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.