Full Home Remodeling for Older Sierra Madre Houses
Remodeling older Sierra Madre houses: opening walls with engineered beams, rewiring and repiping, and refitting the original casings and built-ins.
"Can the kitchen open to the dining room and still feel like this house?" That is a fair thing to ask on a first walk through an older Sierra Madre home, and the answer turns on what the wall between them carries. We look in the attic and under the floor to see if it bears load. If it does, an engineer sizes a beam, and the casings and built-ins on each side come down, get labeled and go back up afterward.
Answering it on the first walk-through
Above the ceiling we trace which joists land on that wall and whether a ridge or purlin brace bears on it. Under the floor, we look for a footing or a post line under it. Those two looks tell us if the opening needs a flush beam, a dropped beam or new posts down to fresh footings. We also note any wiring, ducts or drain lines running through the wall, since rerouting them goes into the price. The answer you get is written, with a sketch of the opening and a list of what gets removed and reinstalled.
Fire maps and city plan check
Sierra Madre has lots that fall within mapped fire hazard areas. On one of those, new vents, roofing, eaves and window glass may have to be ember resistant, and we confirm the address before ordering any of them. The city building department reviews the drawings, including the engineer's beam and any new panel load, and inspects framing, rough systems, insulation and the final. A house in Arcadia, Monrovia or Pasadena goes through the same steps with its own reviewer and its own permit.
About our Full Home Remodeling serviceEverything we do in Sierra Madre
Full Home Remodeling in Sierra Madre: common questions
Built-in china cabinets, wood casings and baseboard, panel doors and plaster with a good bond are the first things we mark to keep. Wood windows stay when the frames are sound, with tempered glass where ember rules ask for it. Each decision sits in the written scope beside the reason for it.
In stages, with the active stage closed off behind sheeting, a zip door and negative air pushed outside. A working bathroom and a place to cook stay available. Framing and new systems lead, kitchen and baths come after, and paint and flooring wrap up. If you would sooner move out, that version gets its own price.
Lab samples come from plaster, flooring and its glue, duct wrap and old paint, checking for asbestos and lead. A licensed abatement company clears anything that tests positive before walls open. Our crew also checks the panel and grounding, puts a camera in the sewer line and pulls up the fire hazard map for the parcel.
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Other work we do in Sierra Madre
Talk to us about your house in Sierra Madre
Send the details and we will set up a walk-through and a written scope.