Decks & Patios in Van Nuys
Van Nuys decks and patios planned after a look behind the wall and under the old slab, so ledger, wiring and footing surprises are found before work starts.
Behind a Van Nuys kitchen wall, a new deck ledger meets whatever the house was built with, and what turns up there changes the plan. Old stucco can hide soft sheathing, a cable or pipe may cross the ledger line, and an existing slab might sit on soil that has shifted. We open a small patch and probe before drawing, since each surprise moves footings, hangers or the route to the grill.
What sits behind the wall
The ledger line is traced along the wall from inside and out. A stud finder and a moisture meter show where framing is solid and where it is damp, and a small patch of siding comes off to expose the rim joist. If the wood is sound, the ledger bolts through into it. If it has softened, the bad section is cut out and replaced first. Any wire or pipe in the way is rerouted or the ledger moves, and the drawing records which.
What sits under the old surface
An existing patio or deck may hide a footing from an earlier structure, a drain line or a buried conduit. A test pit beside the planned post spots shows the soil and whether concrete is already there. Cracked or tilted slabs get checked for settlement, which decides whether they stay or go. When a buried footing turns up in the wrong place, the post layout shifts a little and the span is calculated again so the beam size still fits.
Decks & Patios in Van Nuys: questions to settle first
An old slab can fool the eye, so we measure from the sill down at several points across the yard. The new surface is set from those readings and every riser in a stair comes out the same height. A modest step down suits a standard door, while a long drop brings in a landing and a guard.
A deck bolted to the house, a raised platform or a roofed cover goes through LADBS plan check in Van Nuys, and whatever turns up behind the wall lands on the drawings, such as a moved ledger or a changed footing. Something laid flat at grade can fall under a looser rule. Which one applies depends on the address, and the quote carries the filing when it is needed.
Yes. If the wall check turns up old wiring or a gas line near the ledger, that gets sorted first. New conduit and a grill stub are then placed while the frame is open. Outdoor outlets get ground-fault protection, and the grill stub is shut off at a valve and tested under pressure. Inspectors see both before decking covers them.
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Describe the space and the change you want. We reply with what the first visit covers.