The Valley gets hot and stays hot. We design outdoor space around where the sun actually lands at four in the afternoon.
Licensed & insured · Free in-home consultation · Fixed written pricing
The San Fernando Valley gets hot in a way the rest of Los Angeles does not, and it stays hot into the evening. That single fact should drive every decision about an outdoor space here, and it is the one most designs ignore.
A patio with no shade on the west side of a house is a beautiful surface that nobody sits on from June through September. A covered patio with a fan, the right orientation, and a solid roof instead of a slatted one is a room you use nine months a year. The difference is not budget. It is whether anyone looked at where the sun actually lands at four in the afternoon.
We build outdoor space as construction rather than as landscaping. Footings, structure, roof framing, electrical, gas, drainage, and materials selected for direct sun and real temperature swing. Anything attached to the house is designed to shed water away from it, because the most common failure we get called to fix is a patio cover ledger that has been quietly rotting the wall behind it.
The other half of the job is the connection to the house. A wide slider or a folding door system changes how a living room works far more than the patio itself does, and it is dramatically cheaper to install while framing is already open during a remodel than as a standalone project later.
Several of the hillside neighborhoods we work in fall inside designated fire hazard severity zones, and that designation carries real construction requirements affecting materials, vents, and details on exterior structures. We confirm your parcel's status before specifying anything rather than after.
Every square foot of new hard surface is a square foot that no longer absorbs water. On a sloped lot that water has to go somewhere, and if nobody decided where, it goes toward the house. Drainage is designed into the project rather than added when a problem appears.
Priced in writing after we have walked the yard, checked the grade, and found out where the gas and electrical actually run.
Call (818) 881-8333These range from a weekend of framing to a project on the scale of an addition. Knowing which one you actually want saves the most money of any decision here.
A solid roof attached to the house or freestanding. The most useful outdoor structure in this climate because it blocks sun completely rather than partially, and it lets you run fans, lighting, and heaters. Attached covers need proper flashing and a ledger detail that keeps water out of the wall. Freestanding avoids that entirely and is often the better choice on a house with a complicated roofline.
Open or adjustable structures. A traditional pergola filters light rather than blocking it, which is lovely in April and inadequate in August. Adjustable louvered systems solve that by closing completely when you want shade or rain protection, and they cost accordingly. If you only build one outdoor structure in the Valley, this is the choice worth thinking hardest about.
Adding walls and glazing to create a real room. This crosses the line from outdoor structure into building construction: foundation, envelope, energy compliance, permits, and usually HVAC. It also adds permitted square footage to the house, which matters at resale. Enclosing an existing covered patio is a common project and a good one, provided the existing structure was built to carry it.
Grill, counter, sink, refrigeration, and storage. The visible part is the easy part. Gas line sizing back to the meter, a dedicated circuit, drainage for the sink, and cabinetry actually rated for outdoor use are what determine whether it still works in year five. Porcelain slab and sealed concrete handle sun better than most stone.
Patios, walkways, seat walls, steps, and the drainage under all of it. Plus the opening between inside and out, which is where a project like this earns most of its value.
Check the sun before you check the catalog. Stand in the yard at four in the afternoon in July, not at ten in the morning in March. Where the shade needs to be is the only design constraint on this page that cannot be bought around later.
Direct sun, dry heat, and a large daily temperature swing are hard on materials in ways a coastal climate is not.
| Material | Holds up to | Watch out for | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porcelain paver | Sun, stains, freeze-thaw, heat underfoot | Requires a proper setting bed | Rinse |
| Concrete | Almost everything, cost-effective | Cracking without proper joints; heat gain in dark colors | Seal periodically |
| Natural stone | Appearance, longevity | Gets very hot in direct sun; varies lot to lot | Seal |
| Composite decking | Water, insects, splintering | Surface temperature in full sun | Wash |
| Cedar and redwood | Appearance, workability | UV greying and checking | Refinish on a cycle |
Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
Lighting and fans are what extend the hours a space is used. A covered patio with no power is a shaded slab after sunset. Run the circuits during construction, when it costs a fraction of what retrofitting costs.
Outdoor work is where homeowners most often assume no permit is required, and where unpermitted structures most often turn up later during an unrelated project. It is worth getting right the first time.
Anything structural attached to the house. Anything freestanding above a certain size threshold. Anything carrying electrical or gas. Enclosures of any kind, because adding walls and a roof creates habitable or semi-habitable space and brings energy compliance with it. Retaining walls above a certain height. Work in a hillside area, where thresholds are tighter.
Small freestanding shade structures, ground-level hardscape that does not change drainage patterns, and detached low garden walls. Exemptions have specific size and setback limits, and attaching something to the house almost always ends the exemption regardless of how small it is.
When you eventually submit plans for an addition, an ADU, or a sale-related correction, existing conditions get reviewed. An unpermitted patio enclosure that has been there for fifteen years becomes a live issue at exactly the moment you least want one. Sometimes it can be legalized as part of the new project and sometimes it has to come out. Building it correctly the first time costs less than either.
Enclosing a patio adds square footage to the house on record. That is usually a good thing for value, and it is the reason enclosures get reviewed like construction rather than like landscaping. Anyone offering to enclose a patio without pulling anything is selling you a future problem.
If a remodel or an addition is anywhere in your plans, build the outdoor connection at the same time. Opening a wall once is far cheaper than opening it twice, and the two projects share permits, mobilization, and trades.
We build outdoor space throughout Encino and the surrounding San Fernando Valley and Westside communities. Tap your city for local conditions and permitting.
Not on the list? Call (818) 881-8333 — we travel outside our core area for the right project.
We will walk the yard, look at the grade and the sun, find out where the gas and electrical run, and put a fixed written price in front of you.