Los Angeles Whole-Home Remodel & Room Addition

A 500 sq ft primary suite addition for a growing family, with concealed water damage found and repaired along the way.

Neighborhood: Los Angeles
Project type: Whole-Home Remodel & Room Addition
Permit authority: LADBS

The brief

The homeowners had a 2,000 square foot house and a new baby. They needed more room, and specifically a primary bedroom and bathroom that worked for a growing family. We added roughly 500 square feet with a room addition and remodeled through the existing house to tie the new space into the old one. The project ran about four months.

The challenge

Two things ran in parallel. The addition needed a new foundation, which meant excavation, forming, and rebar before any framing could start. And once we opened the walls in the existing house, we found water damage in several of them.

The source traced back to the air conditioning system. That kind of leak runs quietly for a long time, and the damage only shows up when someone opens the wall. Nobody had any reason to know it was there.

The solution

We stopped, documented what we found, and showed the homeowners before we went further. Water damage restoration is work we do ourselves, so it stayed with the same team rather than becoming a separate contractor and a separate schedule. We also helped them work through the insurance side of it, which is part of what we do when a claim is involved.

The damaged framing and materials came out. Everything that went back in was new. Then the addition continued as planned. The work was permitted through LADBS.

Scope of work

Demolition of existing walls and finishes
Excavation and foundation trenching for the addition
Forming and rebar for the new foundation
Framing and tie-in to the existing structure
Water damage assessment and restoration in the existing walls
Insurance claim support
New primary bedroom
New primary bathroom
Approximately 500 sq ft of added living space

The work

Workers in protective gear in a kitchen with wood cabinetry during renovation — Interior work underway in the kitchen as the remodel proceeded through the existing house.

A trench freshly excavated along the exterior wall of a house, with dirt piled beside it — Excavation trenching begins along the back of the house for the addition's new foundation.

A foundation excavation trench continuing around a backyard — The excavation trench continues around the perimeter of the addition's footprint.

An open living room with exposed wood stud framing around a fireplace — Inside, a wall opened to the studs around the fireplace — one of several walls opened during demolition.

A room opened to bare stud framing with brick and plaster debris piled on the floor — A wall demoed down to the framing, with brick and plaster debris cleared from what had been a wall or chimney assembly.

An empty room with new plywood subfloor and OSB wall sheathing, ceiling fan overhead — New OSB wall sheathing and subfloor in a stripped-down room, ahead of tying it into the addition.

Workers using wheelbarrows to place concrete along a foundation trench in a backyard — Crew placing concrete for the new foundation slab in the backyard.

Workers pouring and finishing a concrete foundation slab behind a house, with wheelbarrows and tools — A wider view of the crew working the foundation pour along the back of the house.

A demolished interior wall down to stud framing, with a wheelbarrow and broom nearby — Another wall opened to the studs, with brick and plaster debris cleared to the side.

An open floor plan room with a framed wall opening and a worker visible through it — A framed opening between rooms, with a crew member visible working beyond it.

A crew member watching over a freshly poured concrete slab with rebar and forms visible — Forming and finishing the new foundation slab in the backyard.

A wide exterior view of a house with a foundation trench and slab under construction in the backyard — A wide view of the backyard foundation work, with the trench and formed slab running the length of the addition.

A wood-formed concrete foundation trench with mounded dirt beside it in a backyard — The wood-formed foundation trench, with excavated dirt mounded alongside.

A long wood-formed foundation trench running across a backyard, with dirt piles and a palm tree — A wider view of the formed foundation trench, with the excavated dirt piled along its length.

An open room with exposed stud framing and demolition tools on the floor — Another opened room, framing exposed and debris still being cleared.

A close view of a demolished wall with exposed studs and a pile of brick debris — A closer view of the brick and plaster debris pulled from the demoed wall.

A wheelbarrow and bucket next to a pile of demolition debris in a stripped room — Debris from the wall demolition, staged for removal.

An interior wall opened to the studs with fiberglass insulation and brick debris exposed — A wall opened to the studs, insulation exposed alongside the brick debris.

A worker measuring and working at the corner of a foundation trench near a house's back door — Working the corner of the foundation trench near the back of the house.

A worker building wood forms for a foundation trench in a backyard, dirt piled nearby — Framing the foundation trench along another section of the backyard.

A wood-formed foundation trench under an overcast sky, with a palm tree in the background — The formed foundation trench on an overcast day, with the addition's footprint taking shape.

Common questions

What happens if you find water damage while building a room addition?

Work stops on the affected area until the damage is documented and shown to the homeowner, then it gets remediated before construction continues. On this project, water damage traced to the air conditioning system was found once interior walls were opened, and the damaged framing and materials were replaced with new before the addition continued.

Can the same contractor handle a room addition and unrelated water damage found during the project?

Yes, if water damage restoration is work they do themselves rather than subcontracting it out. On this project it stayed with the same team, which meant one schedule instead of bringing in a separate contractor mid-project.

Does a contractor help with insurance claims for damage found during construction?

It can be part of the process when a claim is involved. On this water damage restoration, the team helped the homeowners work through the insurance side of what was found, alongside continuing the addition.

How long does a 500 square foot room addition take?

This project took about four months from start to finish, including a new foundation, framing, and tying the addition into the existing house.

Planning a whole-home remodel or room addition in Los Angeles?

Call (310) 717-0432 or request a consultation — we'll walk through your project, including how we handle anything unexpected we find along the way.

Call (310) 717-0432