Home Addition Contractor in Simi Valley

Ask what is under the house before anyone shows you a floor plan. In Simi Valley the ground can be expansive foothill clay, consolidating alluvium or liquefaction-prone soil near the Arroyo Simi, and the city sits in Seismic Design Category D or E, so a second story on an older footing needs an engineer's review. A contractor who prices finishes first is guessing at the structure. Master Construction designs, permits and builds home additions in Simi Valley under Lic. #1027281, family owned since 1994, with concrete, framing, electrical and plumbing on our own crews.

Type and size set the base: a bump-out, a ground-floor room addition, a primary suite and a second story are different jobs. Then structure. Soils reports, foundation engineering and shear walls for Seismic Design Category D or E add up, and a second story means the roof comes off. The panel may need an upgrade, and the HVAC either extends or becomes a new heat pump. Over 500 sq ft of new living space, a school fee applies to the whole increase. Finishes and HOA review close the list. We walk the house first, then hand you a written fixed-price scope.

Permitting comes first. Planning issues the Zoning Clearance alongside the building permit application, and Building & Safety states a goal of 20 to 25 working days for the first review and for every resubmittal, workload permitting, so a complete package with engineering attached saves whole rounds. A larger footprint routed to an Administrative Action adds a Director decision. Construction length follows the type: a bump-out is the shortest build, a ground-floor room addition sits in the middle, and a second story runs longest because the roof comes off. The schedule you sign shows review dates and build dates separately.

Two approvals filed together. Planning issues a Zoning Clearance after reviewing a site plan with setbacks, floor plans and elevations, and Building & Safety issues the Building Permit. The city's room addition drawing list covers the plot plan, foundation plan, floor plan, roof plan, exterior elevations, building sections, structural plans and calculations, and state energy forms. The full set uploads to the Customer Self Service portal as one PDF, with calculations and any geotechnical report as separate files. Conventional one-story wood framing of limited structural complexity does not require a licensed architect or engineer; steep hillside sites do. Planning answers at (805) 583-6769.

Zoning usually says yes. The RVL, RL, RM and RMod districts allow two stories up to 30 ft, and the table notes that up to a 10 percent height increase may be granted. An existing two-story house needs a 6 to 10 ft side yard, or what the Commission approved for that lot, and specific plan areas such as Wood Ranch can carry their own standards. The structure is the real test. Footings poured for a single floor were not always sized to carry a second, so the job usually starts with an engineer's review of the slab, walls and lateral system.

Only if the parcel sits outside the mapped valley floor boundary line, and even then often not. SVMC Chapter 9-32 exempts a house and additions to it on a lot that was legally subdivided and residentially zoned as of July 21, 1986. The exemption ends if the work grades a visually prominent ridgeline, ground steeper than 20 percent, or more than 1,000 cubic yards. Natural slopes of 20 percent or more outside the valley floor generally cannot be developed. Plans for steep hillside locations must come from a licensed architect or engineer. We check the boundary map before design.

Usually, for a ground-floor room addition or bump-out. We frame and close in the new space while the existing wall stays intact, then open the connection late in the job behind dust barriers, so the house works for most of the schedule. A second-story addition is harder because the roof comes off over part of the house, and many families move out for that stretch. The smoke alarm upgrade covers the whole house, which means some work in occupied rooms. The schedule names which rooms go offline and when before you sign.

Only where an HOA exists, and many of the 1960s and 70s valley-floor tracts have none. Wood Ranch is governed by a specific plan that names the Wood Ranch Homeowners Association, and the Bridle Path association covers its original mid-1970s homes; their architectural committees review exterior changes. Civil Code 4765 requires a fair procedure, a written decision, reasons for any denial and a path to reconsideration, though it does not override the CC&Rs themselves. Each year the association must also tell members which changes need approval. We prepare the committee package alongside the Zoning Clearance set so neither waits on the other.

Build an addition when the space belongs to the household: a primary suite, a bedroom for a returning child, a larger kitchen. It joins the existing house, shares one kitchen, permits through a Zoning Clearance and building permit, and only the added square footage is reassessed. It also leaves the two-car enclosed garage in place. Build an ADU when you want a separate unit with its own entry and kitchen that can house a parent independently or rent on a long lease. The ADU rules are covered on our ADU construction in Simi Valley page, and we build both.