Fiber cement, stucco, wood and conversions on 1920s–50s cottages on the walk-streets of the Sand Section, replaced or repaired by one licensed, insured general contractor, with the dry rot and flashing behind the wall fixed under the same City of Manhattan Beach permit, one fixed written price and a 10-year written workmanship warranty.
Professional, licensed & insuredFixed-price proposalsPermits & reviews handledOur own crew, not subs
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Call now · (818) 210-4544Siding contractor in Manhattan Beach, CA: Right Image Builders (CSLB #1021284, licensed and insured since 2016) replaces and repairs siding and stucco on 1920s–50s cottages on the walk-streets of the Sand Section, 1950s–70s ranch houses in the Tree Section and east of Sepulveda, and 1990s–2020s rebuilds on narrow lots, with stucco, wood and fiber cement on the same block across the Hill Section, Manhattan Village and east Manhattan Beach, with the dry rot, sheathing and flashing behind the wall repaired by the same crew on the same City of Manhattan Beach permit.
Fiber cement (James Hardie and similar), three-coat re-stucco and stucco repair, wood and engineered wood, stucco-to-siding conversions; no part of Manhattan Beach is mapped Very High, so Chapter 7A does not apply; the ocean sets the rules here instead; stainless and hot-dip galvanized metal for the salt air. Two to four weeks on site for a single-storey house, four to six for two-storey and hillside houses; one fixed written price after a free on-site estimate; 10-year written workmanship warranty. Office in Valley Glen.
Updated October 2026 · Right Image Builders project team · CSLB #1021284 · 5.0★ Google (45 reviews) · 4.9★ Angi (103 reviews)
Manhattan Beach is three different wall problems on three different sections. In the Sand Section the walk-street cottages and the rebuilds behind them sit in salt air every hour of the year: a wood wall never dries on the ocean side, paint goes first and the bottom courses follow, and the steel nails and flashing behind a fiber cement wall rust through before the boards show anything. In the Tree Section the ranch houses are a mile inland and shaded; the same walls stay damp for the opposite reason. East of Sepulveda it is a Valley problem: stucco and sun.
Because there is no fire zone here, the material choice is open, and the right answer is decided by the metal, not the board. Fiber cement, three-coat stucco and wood all last on the beach if the fasteners, the weep screed, the flashing and the vents are stainless or hot-dip galvanized and the base of the wall drains. We specify the metal by distance from the water, as the manufacturers do, and we write it into the scope.
The paperwork is the City's own, from City Hall on Highland Avenue, with the Coastal Zone adding a step west of Sepulveda: a repair in kind is usually exempt, a change of material or anything that counts as development needs the coastal permit first. We confirm which it is from the parcel before we price, and on a 30-foot walk-street lot we plan the scaffold with the neighbours in mind.
Almost never in the middle of the wall. Always at an opening, an edge or the base. This is what we open and look at before we price.
A licensed, insured general contractor, not a siding installer: the framing behind the wall, the barrier and flashing, and the cladding, under one permit and one contract.
James Hardie, Allura and similar lap, panel and shingle, in the climate-rated grade for Southern California, factory-finished or painted on site, over a lapped and taped weather-resistive barrier with every opening flashed. Noncombustible, so it is the usual answer in the fire zones.
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Three-coat stucco over new paper and lath where the old coat has let go, floated and textured to match the house; crack, patch and parapet repair where the field is sound; the weep screed and base flashing replaced where the soil has buried them.
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Cedar, redwood and engineered wood lap, board-and-batten and shingle, profile-matched to the original on Craftsman and ranch houses; listed fire-retardant-treated wood where the parcel sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
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Full tear-off to the sheathing, framing and sheathing repaired, new barrier and flashing, then the new cladding; the conversion is permitted as an alteration and we handle the design-review or HOA submittal where there is one.
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Because we are a general contractor, the soft sill plate, the rotted sheathing, the missing window head flashing or the deck ledger that was sided over is repaired under the same permit and the same contract, not referred to someone else.
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In the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones the cladding has to be noncombustible or ignition-resistant and the vents ember-resistant; we specify from the State Fire Marshal listings and detail the eaves and trim to match, so the inspection passes the first time.
Get a free estimateProfessional, licensed and insured, and we put that in writing at every step, because re-siding a house is a trust decision before it is a construction decision.
California general contractor license CSLB #1021284 (General Building B), active since 2016, with general liability and workers' compensation insurance. Check the license yourself at cslb.ca.gov before you sign anything, with us or anyone else.
The proposal lists what comes off, what gets repaired, how the wall is flashed, which cladding goes on and which permit and reviews cover it. If it is not written down, it is not in the job.
When the old siding or stucco comes off we photograph the sheathing and framing and send you the pictures. Anything beyond the scope is priced in writing before the crew continues. You never find out from the invoice.
California law caps a home-improvement deposit at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract, whichever is less. We follow it. Progress payments follow the work, and the final payment comes after your walkthrough.
We prepare the design-review, HOA or Art Jury submittal where the city has one, pull the permit, meet the inspector and close it. You get the closed-permit record a buyer or an insurer will ask for.
The people who inspect the wall are the people who re-clad it. No subcontractor hand-offs, no call center; your project lead answers the phone during the job and after it.
Every wall we re-clad is built the same way from the framing out, to the manufacturer’s written specification and the code for the parcel. Skip a layer and the warranty means nothing.
BeforeAfter
From our Calabasas hillside project: weathered wood siding to painted James Hardie fiber cement, full tear-off, six weeks on the slope. Two photographs from different spots on the hillside; drag the handle.
Manhattan Beach issues its own permits: siding and stucco work goes through the City of Manhattan Beach Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division at City Hall, 1400 Highland Avenue, with applications through the City's Citizen Self Service portal, not LADBS. A like-for-like re-side or re-stucco is a simpler permit than a conversion or a wall that needs framing repair, which goes to plan check.
The blocks west of Sepulveda are in the Coastal Zone under the City's Local Coastal Program: a like-for-like exterior repair is usually exempt, but anything the program defines as development needs a coastal development permit, applied for before or with the building permit, and parcels in the appealable area carry a notice to the neighbours within 100 feet.
We prepare whichever review comes first, submit the permit, schedule the inspections, meet the inspector at the flashing stage and at the final, and close the permit before the final payment. You keep the closed-permit record.
Sources, checked October 27, 2026: City of Manhattan Beach, Community Development, coastal development permit instructions; CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps (2025 local-responsibility-area update).
Two things decide the material before taste does: whether the parcel is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and how close it is to the ocean. The rest is what is behind the cladding.
Exterior walls have to be noncombustible or ignition-resistant: fiber cement, three-coat stucco, listed fire-retardant-treated wood or an assembly tested to the State Fire Marshal standard, with ember-resistant vents and the eaves and trim detailed to match.
Within reach of the salt air the fasteners, flashing, screed and vents fail before the field does. Manufacturers call for hot-dip galvanized or stainless metal by distance from the water; we specify it for the parcel, not from a catalogue.
We look the parcel up on the CAL FIRE and city maps at the estimate, write the material and the fastening into the scope, prepare any design-review or HOA submittal, and pull the permit that matches. No part of Manhattan Beach is mapped Very High, so Chapter 7A does not apply; the ocean sets the rules here instead.
Sources: California Building Code Chapter 7A and the Office of the State Fire Marshal WUI product listings; CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps (2025 update); manufacturer installation guides for coastal fastening; the city and county pages cited above. Checked October 2026. Confirm the zone for your parcel with the city or county.
Honest, straightforward, and clear. The team was so professional, respectful, and clean. Everything was as planned and within the timeline.Zachary R. · Google
The fixed-price contract was exactly what we needed. No surprise invoices, no scope creep. The owner personally showed up to every major milestone.David & Sarah K. · Houzz
Prompt, thorough, and responsive. The price was very fair unlike three other contractors I requested bids from.Sherry C. · Yelp
CSLB #1021284, licensed and insured since 2016. Framing repair, flashing and cladding on one license, one permit, one contract.
One itemized price after the estimate. Hidden conditions photographed and priced in writing before the crew continues.
In the contract, handed over with the closed permit. Manufacturer warranties registered in your name where offered.
At the house in Manhattan Beach, with the base of the wall checked and a test section opened, not a quote from the driveway.
Also serving: Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Topanga, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, La Cañada Flintridge, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Bradbury, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Stevenson Ranch, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Habra Heights
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Plain answers on fire-zone materials, fiber cement versus wood versus vinyl, stucco versus siding and hiring, written for Los Angeles houses and kept current.
Which claddings qualify, what the vents and eaves have to do, and how the permit checks it.
Read the guide →Decision guideFiber cement, engineered wood and vinyl compared for Los Angeles sun, fire zones and maintenance.
Read the guide →Decision guideWhen the stucco can be saved, when it cannot, and what a conversion involves.
Read the guide →AnswersPermits by city, fire-zone materials, repair versus replacement, what a proposal must include.
Read the answers →West of Sepulveda the parcel is in the Coastal Zone under the City's Local Coastal Program. A like-for-like repair or re-clad is usually exempt; a change of material, added square footage or anything the program defines as development needs a coastal development permit, applied for before or with the building permit, with a neighbour notice in the appealable area. We confirm the parcel and handle the application with the permit.
Any of the three main claddings, if the metal behind it is right. Fiber cement and three-coat stucco are the low-maintenance choices; wood works for owners who keep it painted. In the Sand Section we specify stainless fasteners, flashing and screed, hot-dip galvanized further inland, following the manufacturers' guidance for distance from the water, because on this coast the nails fail before the boards do.
The City of Manhattan Beach Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division, at City Hall on Highland Avenue, through the Citizen Self Service portal, with the coastal permit or exemption first where the parcel needs one. We pull it, meet the inspections and close it before the final payment.
Yes. Right Image Builders, Inc. holds California general contractor license CSLB #1021284 (General Building B), active since 2016, with general liability and workers' compensation insurance. Verify the license at cslb.ca.gov and ask us for the insurance certificates; we expect you to.
Usually whichever the house already has, done properly: a re-stucco over new paper and lath on a stucco house, fiber cement or wood on a sided house, because the look, the trim and the neighbours are already set. A conversion makes sense when the owner wants the other look or the existing wall has to come off anyway. We open a test section at the estimate and recommend from what is behind the wall, not from a catalogue.
Two to four weeks on site for a single-storey house and four to six for a two-storey or hillside house that needs scaffolding on every elevation, after the permit and any design review are in hand. The schedule is written before the first day and the house is kept weather-tight between elevations.
Everything the estimate scoped: tear-off, the repairs we can see, the weather-resistive barrier, flashing, the cladding, trim and finish where scoped, the permit, the inspections and any design-review submittal. Anything uncovered at tear-off is photographed and priced in writing before the crew continues, and the final payment comes after your walkthrough. No surprise invoices.
Fix the wall before the next rain. One licensed, insured crew, one fixed written price, the permit closed, a 10-year written warranty.
