Home & Room Addition
Contractor in Sherman Oaks, CA

The typical Sherman Oaks house is a 1,600–2,200 sq ft ranch on a 7,000–9,000 sq ft lot, and the room that is missing is usually a primary suite, a second living space or a home office. A well-built addition gives you the extra bedroom, the primary suite, the bigger kitchen, or the second story you need, and it does it on the street and in the neighborhood you already chose.

Right Image Builders is a licensed general contractor based in Valley Glen, just across the Valley floor from Sherman Oaks. An addition is a serious structural project — new foundation, framing tied into the existing house, roof and systems extended, all engineered and permitted. We manage the whole thing: architectural plans, structural engineering, LADBS permits, and construction, under one written fixed-price contract and one accountable company.

Sherman Oaks homes range from 1940s–60s ranch and mid-century to Spanish, on flat lots north of Ventura and larger hillside lots to the south. That shapes what's possible: where lots are tight, a second story adds space without touching the yard; in the hills, the city's Hillside Ordinance guides how — and how much — you build. The art is making the new square footage look original, not bolted on.

Every Sherman Oaks addition starts with the parcel. Most homes here sit on R1 single-family lots, which set the rules: how much floor area you can add, and the front, side, and rear setbacks you have to keep clear. North of Ventura the lots are typically flat; to the south they climb into the hills, where lots run larger but come with more constraints. A ground-floor addition trades yard for square footage; a second story adds space without shrinking the lot.

Because Sherman Oaks is City of Los Angeles, additions are permitted and inspected through LADBS. Homes in the hills south of Ventura Boulevard fall under the city's Hillside Ordinance, which can add grading, haul-route, and access requirements to the plan-check process. That local knowledge matters on additions, where structural review is already more involved than a simple remodel — and where an out-of-area bidder gets surprised.

The first thing we do at the free consultation is pull your parcel on ZIMAS: zone, lot area, the floor-area limit, setbacks and any hillside or fire-zone overlay, so you know the buildable square footage before you spend anything on drawings. Most of Sherman Oaks is R1 on the flats, RE and hillside parcels south of Ventura.

Sherman Oaks splits at Ventura Boulevard. North of it — Chandler Estates, the streets around Fashion Square and the blocks toward Magnolia — lots are mostly flat R1 parcels with mid-century ranch and traditional houses, where a rear addition or a second story is planned around floor-area ratio and setbacks. South of Ventura the lots climb into the hills toward Longridge Estates, Stone Canyon and Mulholland; parcels designated Hillside Area come under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance (height, floor area and grading limits, plus access and haul-route requirements during plan check), and some are in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Roofline integration matters on both sides — most of these homes have low-pitched or hipped roofs that an addition has to match or transition from cleanly. We confirm the Hillside Area designation for your specific parcel before we design.

A Sherman Oaks home addition typically runs a few months of design, engineering and LADBS plan check, then about three to five months of construction for a ground-floor addition and longer for a second story. Hillside Area parcels south of Ventura should expect additional review time for grading, access and structural items.

Flats north of Ventura. Plans and structural calculations, LADBS plan check, then foundation, framing, roof tie-in, rough trades and inspections, drywall, exterior match and finishes. A rear bedroom or family room is the quickest version; a primary suite with a new bathroom adds plumbing and HVAC scope.

Hills south of Ventura. Baseline Hillside Ordinance review, a grading plan and often a soils report come before plan check clears, and site access can slow deliveries and concrete pours. Second stories add the structural evaluation and reinforcement stage before framing. Every proposal shows the combined schedule with realistic dates.

Check the license at cslb.ca.gov (ours is 1021284): active, correctly classified for structural work, bond and workers' compensation on file. Ask for insurance certificates in writing. Then ask the Sherman Oaks question: is my parcel in a designated Hillside Area, and who handles that review? A contractor who cannot answer for the hills south of Ventura will be surprised in plan check — and you will pay for the surprise.

Insist on a written fixed-price contract with an itemized scope, named allowances, written change orders and progress payments that follow completed work; California caps the down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less. Ask specifically how the new roof will meet the old one and how the addition's floor height, stucco and windows will match — on Sherman Oaks' ranch and traditional homes that integration is what separates an addition that adds value from one that looks bolted on.