Room Additions in Cerritos, Built in Order
Cerritos room additions that follow a set sequence: the old footing checked, plans approved, the shell framed and roofed, then the old wall opened.
On a Cerritos addition the shovel waits its turn. Ahead of it come a look at the existing footing through a small test hole, the engineer's sizing of the new foundation, a call to have buried lines marked, and an approved set from the city building department. Each of those can change where the trench runs or how wide it is, so none of them can trail behind. After the pour, the frame goes up and the old wall opens last.
Why the old wall opens last
A house that stays weathertight is the reason the cut into the existing wall comes late. The addition rises beside it as a separate shell, framed, sheathed and roofed while the original rooms stay closed. When that shell is dried in, we cut the opening, set the header the engineer specified, and tie the floors, walls and roof sheathing across the seam with the hardware on the plans. Plastic sheeting and a temporary door guard the interior side, so dust from the cut stays in the work area. The kitchen, the baths and the bedrooms keep working through it.
Inspections that set the pace
Inspections give the job its rhythm. The inspector sees the trench and the tied rebar before any concrete is ordered, along with the dowels drilled into the old footing. Later the frame is checked with its straps, hold-downs and shear wall nailing exposed, then the insulation, then the drywall fastening. A failed visit stops the next trade until the correction is made and seen again, so the schedule we hand you lists each inspection as a gate with the work that waits behind it. Roofing and windows go in between framing and insulation, which keeps the new shell dry before anything soft is installed.
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That answer comes early in the sequence, before design goes far. A test hole beside the house shows the footing's width and depth, and the engineer weighs it against the walls, floor and roof a second level adds. If it falls short, the plans call for new footing sections or posts on pads, built and inspected ahead of upper framing.
Late, by design. The new frame is complete and roofed first. Then a strip of the old wall comes out, a header goes over the opening, new joists hang from the old rim or a bolted ledger, and straps cross the break at the plates. Roof sheathing laps across the joint, and flashing is woven in course by course.
The timing suits it. With the crawlspace already open beside the new footing, bolting the old sill to its foundation and sheathing any short cripple walls can share the addition's permit and its inspection visits. The engineer decides what the older part of the house needs, and the quote prices each of those items separately.
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Describe the house and what it needs. We look at the structure first and send the quote in writing.