Los Angeles Remodeling FAQ: Costs, Permits, Timelines and How to Hire

Three tiers across the San Fernando Valley: refresh with the layout kept, $32K–$70K; full remodel, $50K–$130K; open-concept or luxury kitchen, $85K–$225K+. Cabinetry is the largest line; a wall removal and a 200-amp panel upgrade are what move a project up a tier. The kitchen cost guide shows every neighborhood.

Just barely, and only for a refresh. $30K sits at the bottom of the refresh tier ($32K–$70K): new counters, backsplash, sink and faucet, lighting, paint and refaced or stock cabinets in a small 1950s tract kitchen in Van Nuys or Reseda, with the layout, plumbing and panel left where they are. A full remodel starts around $50K in the Valley; see which kitchen tier you need.

No, not for a remodel; it is a budget for cosmetic updates: counters, backsplash, paint, hardware and lighting with the existing cabinets kept. Anything that touches the layout, the plumbing or the electrical service moves into the $32K–$70K refresh tier or the $50K–$130K full-remodel tier.

Refresh in the same layout: $18K–$40K. Tub-to-shower conversion: $22K–$52K. Primary-bath renovation: $35K–$95K+ (San Fernando Valley, 2026). Waterproofing, the shower and any relocated plumbing set the price, not the fixtures. The bathroom cost guide lists every neighborhood.

Junior ADU inside the house: $90K–$180K. Garage conversion: $130K–$240K. New detached ADU: $250K–$500K+ (2026 planning ranges, San Fernando Valley). The lot, the sewer and electrical runs and the finish level decide where a unit lands; the ADU cost guide has the neighborhood table.

A junior ADU carved out of the existing house, $90K–$180K, since the structure, the roof and most of the systems already exist. A garage conversion is next, $130K–$240K, and it is the quickest route to a legal rental unit: converted garages need no replacement parking and usually stay below the 750 sq ft impact-fee line.

If the 500 sq ft is a converted garage, plan on $130K–$240K. If it is a new detached unit, a 500 sq ft build sits at the low end of the detached tier, around $250K, because the kitchen, the bath, the foundation and the utility connections cost the same whatever the floor area around them.

A bump-out of a few hundred square feet runs $60K–$150K, a full room or primary-suite addition $120K–$300K and a second story $250K–$550K+ across the Valley (2026). Plumbing for a bath, structural tie-in and the finish level move the number; the room addition cost guide explains each driver.

A 20-by-20 addition is 400 sq ft, which puts it in the room or suite tier, $120K–$300K in the Valley. Without a bathroom and with a simple roof tie-in it lands near the low end; with a full bath, a vaulted ceiling and matched stucco and windows it moves toward the high end. See primary suite additions.

A 12-by-12 room is 144 sq ft, a bump-out: $60K–$150K in the Valley, because a small addition still needs its own foundation, roof tie-in, exterior match, electrical and permit. Per square foot, small additions are the most expensive kind; the room additions page shows what each tier includes.

Interior remodel with no structural changes: $150–$250 per sq ft. With structural work: $250–$400 per sq ft (2026). A mid-range full remodel of a 2,000 sq ft house with a kitchen, two baths, flooring, paint and some structural work runs $300K–$600K; see whole-home remodeling.

A rule of thumb, not a law: keep a remodel at or below about 30 percent of the home's current value so you do not overbuild for the street. We treat it as a sanity check at the walkthrough, alongside what the lot allows and what you plan to do with the house; it is not financial advice.

Because they rarely price the same scope. One quote includes permits, engineering, a 200-amp panel and re-piping; another leaves them as allowances or change orders. Compare line items, not totals: our proposals are itemized by trade, material and permit fee so the number you sign is the number you pay.

Design coordination, every permit and plan-check correction, structural engineering where needed, all trades under one contract, the materials and finishes you selected, cleanup and the final inspection. Allowances are named, change orders are written and priced before work continues, and the final payment is due after your walkthrough; our process shows each step.

Right Image Builders, a licensed general contractor (CSLB #1021284) based in Valley Glen, builds whole-home remodels, additions, ADUs, kitchens and bathrooms across the San Fernando Valley on one itemized fixed-price contract, issued within 3–5 business days of the free on-site estimate (5–7 for a whole-home project). Ask any company you interview for the same thing in writing.

Yes when plumbing, gas or electrical moves, a circuit or the service is added, a wall comes out or a window changes; no permit is needed to replace cabinets, counters or flooring in place. Every bathroom we build is permitted, because the plumbing and electrical almost always change.

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS); its Valley counter is the Van Nuys Development Services Center at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd, which also serves Valley Glen, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills and Lake Balboa. The Hollywood Hills file at the LADBS Metro counter downtown. See kitchen remodeling in Van Nuys for the LADBS process on a typical project.

No. Burbank is its own city and permits through the City of Burbank Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division, at 150 N Third St, with Burbank Water and Power for service upgrades. Toluca Lake addresses fall on either side of the city line; we confirm the parcel before anyone draws a plan. See ADUs in Burbank.

No. Glendale permits through its own Building & Safety Division at the Permit Services Center, 633 E. Broadway, with Glendale Water & Power; Beverly Hills through its Community Development Department at City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive, with city water and Southern California Edison. Beverly Hills Post Office addresses north of the city line are City of Los Angeles and go to LADBS.

Yes, on every project: we prepare the submittal, file it, answer plan-check corrections, schedule each inspection and close the permit at final so the work is on record when you refinance or sell. The permit is pulled in our name, not yours; the CSLB warns homeowners never to pull a permit for a contractor, because the permit holder carries the responsibility for the work.

It is the City of Los Angeles rule set for sloped lots: limits on height, floor area, grading and driveway, plus review of access and retaining work. It applies south of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Encino, in the Hollywood Hills on nearly every parcel, and in Granada Hills north of Rinaldi Street. An interior kitchen or bath remodel that keeps the exterior is not affected.

A Historic Preservation Overlay Zone is a City of Los Angeles historic district where exterior changes visible from the street are reviewed by a preservation board; Whitley Heights in the Hollywood Hills is one. Interior work is not reviewed. Glendale runs its own historic district overlays, such as Rossmoyne and Royal Boulevard, with the same effect.

For a ground-floor room addition, plan check alone usually runs 6–12 weeks from a complete submittal, longer for a second story or a hillside lot. A kitchen or bathroom permit with no structural change is far quicker, often as an express permit with no plan check. ADU applications are reviewed ministerially, and state law requires the City to act within 60 days of a complete application. The permits guide walks through each step.

It usually surfaces at sale or refinance: unpermitted square footage cannot be counted, buyers and lenders discount it, and the City can require it to be opened up and brought to code. Most unpermitted additions and ADUs can be legalized; state law bars cities from denying a permit for an ADU built before 2020 unless a health or safety problem requires it, and we handle the process.

Yes. A garage conversion is a change of use to living space and is permitted through LADBS inside the City of Los Angeles, or the city's own building department in Burbank, Glendale and Beverly Hills, under the ministerial ADU review that approves a code-compliant unit without a hearing.

Once the permit is issued, 5–8 weeks on site: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, inspection, drywall, cabinets, countertop templating and installation, tile, finish carpentry and paint. Layout changes that move plumbing or remove a bearing wall add 1–2 weeks. Before the site work come design, selections and the cabinet lead time, which the cabinet line you choose sets; see kitchen remodeling.

3–6 weeks on site once the permit is issued: a guest-bath refresh runs 2–3 weeks, a full primary-bath gut with layout changes, heated floors and custom tile 5–7 weeks. The rough inspection happens before the walls close and the final after the glass and fixtures are in; design and selections come before the site work. See bathroom remodeling.

A garage conversion or JADU: about 6–10 weeks of design and plan check, 3–5 months on site, roughly 5–8 months overall. A detached ADU: 3–5 months for design, engineering and plan check, then 6–9 months on site, reaching the Certificate of Occupancy 9–14 months after the first visit. The milestone schedule comes with the fixed-price proposal; see ADU construction.

A ground-floor addition takes 2–4 months for design, engineering and plan check and another 3–6 months to build. A second story takes 3–5 months for design, structural engineering and plan check and 4–6 months to build, and most families move out for the 6–10 weeks while the roof is off.

Whole-home remodels need 4–8 weeks of plan check and then 4–6 months on site without structural changes, or 6–10 months once walls come out, foundations are reinforced or an addition is included. The whole-home page shows what each tier includes.

For a kitchen, a bathroom (when the house has a second one), a ground-floor addition and most ADUs, yes: the work is sealed off and the site is cleaned every evening. For a second story and a true whole-home remodel, most families move out for the heaviest phase; we say at the first visit which case applies and plan the schedule accordingly.

Permits, selections and scheduling. We file the plans and answer corrections, you finalize cabinets, tile, fixtures and finishes with lead times in mind, and the project lead books the crew and the inspections. The start date and every milestone are written into the fixed-price proposal; our process lays out the sequence.

Not for a garage conversion, and not for any ADU within half a mile of public transit, which covers most of the Valley near the Metro G Line busway, the B Line and the Metrolink stations; state law also removed the replacement-parking requirement for converted garages. A new detached unit outside those areas may need one space, which a driveway or tandem space can satisfy. See ADUs in Van Nuys.

Not on units under 750 sq ft, which state law exempts from city impact fees. Bigger units pay impact fees in proportion to the main house; school districts can levy their fee on units of 500 sq ft or more (from January 1, 2026); plan-check and permit fees apply to every unit.

A detached ADU up to 1,200 sq ft on a single-family lot in the City of Los Angeles; an attached ADU up to 50 percent of the main house's floor area, with an 800 sq ft unit always allowed; a junior ADU up to 500 sq ft inside the house. Side and rear setbacks are 4 feet, and the lot's zoning and any hillside overlay still apply; the ADU page compares the three types.

Yes, for terms of 30 days or longer. No owner-occupancy rule applies to a standard ADU; a junior ADU does require the owner to live on the property. Renting can start once the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.

Yes, but only on the new unit. The County Assessor values the ADU as new construction and adds it to your existing assessed value through a supplemental assessment; the main house keeps its Proposition 13 base and is not reassessed. The added tax is the unit's assessed value times the local rate, a little over 1 percent a year in most of Los Angeles County.

In our experience it widens the buyer pool rather than narrowing it: a permitted unit with its own entrance and address offers rental income or multigenerational space, and appraisers can count permitted square footage. What hurts a sale is an unpermitted conversion, which lenders and buyers discount; permitting is the whole point.

Yes. State law allows one junior ADU inside the house and one detached ADU on the same single-family lot, provided the owner lives on the property for the JADU and each unit meets its own size, setback and fire-separation rules.

Convert the garage when you want the fastest, least expensive legal unit and the garage is sound. Build detached when you want a full one-bedroom-plus with its own yard and address. Build attached when the lot is too tight for a detached unit but the house can take a wing. The garage conversion vs. detached ADU guide and the garage conversion page walk through each case.

Up to the floor-area limit for the zone, inside the front, side and rear setbacks and under the height limit. On a typical 6,000–7,500 sq ft R1 tract lot in the Valley that usually leaves room for a 300–500 sq ft rear addition or a partial second story; on the RA and RE lots of Encino, Tarzana and Northridge, much more. We pull the parcel on ZIMAS at the free consultation so you know the number before any drawing.

Building out is cheaper per square foot: no stairs, no reinforcement of the existing structure. Building up wins when the yard matters, when the ground-floor footprint is already at the floor-area limit, or when a sloped lot offers no level ground. A ground-floor suite runs $120K–$300K; a second story $250K–$550K+. The build up or build out guide compares them in detail.

Usually, after a structural evaluation. Most 1940s–60s Valley houses can carry one once new footings, anchor bolts, shear walls and hold-downs are added through the first floor. A raised foundation with cripple walls takes more reinforcement than a slab, and the engineer's evaluation comes before any design spending; seesecond-story additions in Los Angeles.

Yes; it is most of the design work. Stucco texture, roof pitch and material, window proportions and floor height are matched so the addition reads as original from the street, and inside the floor runs through without a step. In Glendale's historic districts and the Whitley Heights HPOZ the exterior match is also what the review board looks at.

An addition expands the house you live in and connects to it; an ADU is a separate dwelling with its own kitchen, bath, entrance and address that you can rent. Additions follow the lot's floor-area and setback rules; ADUs follow state ADU law with ministerial review and smaller setbacks. Our addition vs. ADU guide compares them line by line.

Sometimes: when the house has a second bathroom and the structural work sits on one side, one bath plus a temporary kitchen can stay in use while we work through the house in two stages. Phasing adds calendar time, so we price the single-phase and two-phase versions side by side after the walkthrough; seewhole-home remodeling in Van Nuys for a typical sequence.

Yes. In most 1950s Valley houses it is a bearing wall, so a licensed engineer sizes a beam, we install temporary shoring, set the beam and posts and carry it through plan check and inspection as part of the kitchen permit. It is the step that turns a full remodel into the $85K–$225K+ open-concept tier; see kitchen remodeling in Sherman Oaks.

Usually, in a 1950s house. Most Valley tracts still have 60- to 100-amp panels, and an induction range, a double oven and the dedicated small-appliance circuits the code requires push the load past them. The service upgrade goes through LADWP in the City of Los Angeles, Burbank Water and Power, Glendale Water & Power or Southern California Edison in Beverly Hills.

Not by law, but it is the right moment. Galvanized supply lines in a 1940s–60s house are usually choked to half their diameter and cast-iron drains are patched at the traps; replacing them with copper or PEX and ABS while the walls are open costs a fraction of opening them again later, and it is priced in our proposals, not hidden.

Yes. A tub-to-shower conversion runs $22K–$52K in the Valley: the tub out, a sloped and waterproofed pan, frameless glass, a niche, a bench and a relocated drain and valve where needed. Curbless is possible on a slab foundation but adds slab work; on a raised foundation it is crawlspace work. See bathroom remodeling.

The shower is the big line: waterproofing, pan, tile and glass. Moving plumbing comes next, and slab floors cost more to cut; tile and fixture choices decide the rest. A refresh that keeps every fixture where it is costs $18K–$40K; a primary bath with relocated plumbing runs $35K–$95K+.

If you have more than one bathroom, keep a tub in one of them: families with small children and some buyers expect it. In a one-bathroom house the decision is personal; a walk-in shower is easier to use for longer, and the conversion is reversible only at the cost of another remodel.

Yes. California's Title 24 energy code requires high-efficacy lighting, controls and a properly ducted exhaust fan in remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, and new windows and insulation have to meet it too. It is part of the permit set and the inspection, and we build to it on every project.

Go to cslb.ca.gov, open "Check a License" and enter the license number or the business name. The record shows the classification (B, General Building, for a remodel that spans trades), whether the license is active, the bond and the workers' compensation status. Right Image Builders is CSLB #1021284, licensed since 2016; ask every contractor you interview for their number before you compare bids.

Start with the CSLB license check, then ask who draws the plans, who engineers the structure, who takes the permit through LADBS and answers the corrections, and whether the price is fixed and itemized. Right Image Builders (CSLB #1021284) builds additions across the Valley with design, engineering, permits and construction under one fixed-price contract; the room additions page shows the process and the neighborhoods.

Design-build contractors do, and Right Image Builders (CSLB #1021284, Valley Glen) is one: licensed architects we work with draw the plans, a structural engineer stamps them, we file with LADBS or the city, answer the corrections and build through the Certificate of Occupancy on one contract. Ask any ADU company whether the designer, the engineer and the builder are under one agreement; if not, you manage the hand-offs. The design-build guide explains the difference.

Judge reliability by things you can verify: an active CSLB license with bond and insurance on file, attributed reviews on more than one platform, a written itemized fixed price, and permits pulled in the contractor's name. Right Image Builders remodels bathrooms across Van Nuys from its office in Valley Glen, holds CSLB #1021284, and has 5.0★ on Google (45 reviews) and 4.9★ on Angi (103 reviews); see bathroom remodeling in Van Nuys.

Since January 1, 2025, an unlicensed person may take only a job under $1,000 in labor and materials that needs no permit and no hired help; anything larger, anything permitted and anything done with employees requires a California contractor license. A B-license general contractor coordinates plumbing, electrical and HVAC under one contract and carries a bond; a kitchen, bath, addition or ADU always needs one.

$1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, on a home improvement contract. The balance follows a payment schedule tied to completed work, and the law prohibits payments ahead of the work. A contractor asking for a third or a half up front is asking for something California does not allow.

Fixed price, once the scope is defined after an on-site visit and the design: it puts the risk of overruns on the contractor and lets you compare bids line by line. Cost-plus suits genuinely open-ended work, but it leaves you carrying every surprise. Either way, California requires a written home improvement contract with the scope, the schedule, the payment terms and the license number; our contracts guide covers both forms.

No license number on the proposal, a deposit above $1,000 or 10 percent, a price with no line items, "we don't need a permit for that", a contract without a schedule or change-order terms, and reviews that cannot be traced to a platform. Any one of them is a reason to keep interviewing.

Yes. Right Image Builders, Inc. holds California contractor license #1021284 (General Building, B), licensed since 2016, and is bonded and insured; the bond and insurance status are part of the public CSLB record you can check before we meet. See about Right Image Builders.

Our office is at 13709 Burbank Blvd in Valley Glen, Los Angeles. We build in Van Nuys, Valley Glen, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Toluca Lake, Burbank, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Lake Balboa, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, Glendale, the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills, and across Greater Los Angeles for larger projects. The about page has the full profile.

A senior member of our team visits the house, measures, checks the panel, the plumbing and the lot on ZIMAS or the city's parcel map, and talks through what you want. Within 3–5 business days (5–7 for a whole-home remodel) you receive an itemized fixed-price proposal with the schedule. There is no charge and no obligation; our process explains every step.

A deposit capped by California law at $1,000 or 10 percent, then progress payments tied to completed milestones named in the contract, and the final payment only after your walkthrough and the closed permit. Change orders are written and priced before the work they cover begins.

Yes. We build office, retail, restaurant, medical and multi-tenant projects across Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank under the same fixed-price model; 2026 planning ranges run from $80–$250 per sq ft for retail and office work to $250–$650+ for restaurants. See commercial build-outs.

5.0★ on Google (45 reviews) and 4.9★ on Angi (103 reviews), with more on Yelp and Houzz: 210+ reviews in all. Every review on our reviews page is attributed to its platform so you can read it at the source.

Cost figures are the 2026 planning ranges published on our service and neighborhood pages, drawn from our own proposals. Permit and roofing statements follow LADBS Information Bulletin P/BC 2023-013 and the LADBS express-permit rules; ADU statements follow state ADU law (Government Code §66310 and following, including §66311.5 on school fees) and the HCD ADU Handbook; licensing and deposit rules follow the Contractors State License Board (Business and Professions Code §7048 as amended by AB 2622, and §7159); cool-roof rules follow the California Energy Commission's 2025 Energy Code, §150.2(b)1I. All checked October 2026; rules change, so we confirm them for your parcel at the estimate.

Repair when the damage is isolated (a few lifted shingles, a flashing leak, a cracked tile) on a roof with years of life left; replace when leaks recur in different places, the underlayment under tile has failed, asphalt shingles are brittle and losing granules, or a re-roof would cover more than half the roof. Under LADBS rules, re-roofing more than 50 percent of a roof within one year brings the entire roof to current code; the repair vs. replacement guide and our roofing page go deeper.

Typical ranges: asphalt shingle 20–30 years, concrete or clay tile 50 years or more with the underlayment replaced at 20–30, standing-seam metal 40–70 years. Sun and heat age roofing faster on the Valley floor than the rain does; ventilation and underlayment quality decide most of the difference. The tile vs. shingle vs. metal guide compares the materials.

Yes. Re-roofing is permitted through LADBS inside the City of Los Angeles, usually as an express permit for a Class A or B covering over solid sheathing, and through the city building department in Burbank, Glendale and Beverly Hills, with inspection of the deck and the finished roof. The permit is also what records the fire rating and the cool-roof product for the parcel.

Under the 2025 California Energy Code, which applies to permits filed from January 1, 2026, replacing more than half of a single-family roof in Climate Zones 4 and 8–15 (the whole San Fernando Valley is Zone 9) calls for a cool roof product rated by the Cool Roof Rating Council: aged solar reflectance 0.20 on a steep-slope roof, 0.63 on a low-slope roof. Exceptions cover R-38 ceiling insulation, an attic radiant barrier and attics without ducts; we confirm your path at the estimate.

In a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, yes: LADBS requires a Class A roof covering there, which includes most tile, metal and fiberglass-asphalt assemblies and excludes untreated wood shakes. The hillside neighborhoods south of Ventura Boulevard, the Hollywood Hills and Granada Hills north of Rinaldi Street are largely inside the zone; the parcel map shows whether yours is.

It depends on the carrier: many insurers now ask for a roof inspection, limit coverage to the roof's depreciated value, or decline renewal once a roof passes an age threshold, often around 15–20 years for asphalt shingle. Ask your carrier in writing before you decide between repair and replacement; a permitted replacement usually resets the question.

It was a Florida rule, repealed in 2022, that required replacing the whole roof when more than 25 percent was repaired in a year. It has never applied in California. The Los Angeles rule is the 50 percent rule: re-roof more than half of the roof within one year and the entire roof must meet current code, including Class A in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and the cool-roof requirement.