Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County
Home additions and foundation work in Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre home additions by Aspenwell Construction begin below the floor: footings matched to the old house, doweled concrete and tied framing.
A home addition turns into foundation work first in Sierra Madre when the new room has to meet a raised floor. The original house rests over a crawlspace, the added space must land level with it, and so the footings, stem walls and joists for the addition are drawn to match what is already there. The seam where the two foundations join gets designed before any wall or roof.
Joining the two foundations
We start by uncovering a short run of the original footing to measure its depth and width and to look for cracks. If it proves shallow or broken, the engineer may add a new footing alongside it. Steel dowels set in epoxy connect the new pour to the old concrete, so both act as one base. Above the floor, straps and hold-downs tie the framing and sheathing of the addition to the existing walls. The plans can also carry anchor bolts and cripple wall bracing for the original house, which lets one permit cover the whole load path.
Fire maps, footings and review
Sierra Madre sits in the mountain zone of the San Gabriel Valley, with mapped fire hazard zones reaching into some neighborhoods. An addition on a lot there may need ignition-resistant siding close to grade, finely meshed vents and a Class A roof. If the lot slopes, footings on the low side can step deeper than those on the high side, and the engineer sets each step. The building department that serves Sierra Madre reviews the plans. For a job in nearby Arcadia, Monrovia, San Marino or Pasadena, we confirm the right office from the parcel record before anything is filed.
What we build in Sierra Madre
Structural work comes first on this list, and every service starts with a look at the framing and foundation.
Cities close by
Plan structural work in Sierra Madre
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