Full Home Remodeling in Granada Hills
Granada Hills whole-house remodels with Type X gypsum behind the exterior finish and plywood shear walls beneath it, for lots on mapped fire hazard maps.
Type X gypsum sheathing, fastened over the structural plywood and under the stucco or siding, is a material we raise early for a Granada Hills remodel. Its core carries glass fibers that help it hold together under flame, which slows heat from reaching the studs. Some Granada Hills parcels fall within mapped fire hazard zones, where ember-resistance rules may govern the exterior, and this layer helps meet them.
Two layers, two jobs
The plywood underneath is the shear wall. It is nailed to the studs on the engineer's schedule and tied to the foundation with hold-downs, so it resists the sideways push of an earthquake. The gypsum layer adds fire resistance to that same wall without weakening the nailing beneath. Fasteners for the gypsum are long enough to reach framing through both sheets. When the exterior is stripped for the remodel, both layers go on in one pass, and the inspector sees the plywood nailing before the gypsum hides it.
What else the exterior needs
A fire-resistant wall works only if embers cannot slip in around it. Attic and underfloor vents get fine metal mesh or listed ember-resistant vent units. Eaves can be enclosed with a noncombustible soffit. New windows take tempered glass in at least one pane, and the roof covering is a Class A assembly. LADBS confirms which of these apply when the plans are reviewed for a Granada Hills parcel. The drawings show every exterior detail on the same sheets as the structural work, so the reviewer reads one coordinated set.
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Interior partitions with nothing resting on them come out readily. Before a wall under joists or rafters can go, the engineer designs a beam, and the posts and pads beneath it, to take its place. Exterior walls that also serve as shear walls need a replacement brace somewhere else. LADBS reviews each change, and the survey labels every wall first.
During, since the exterior is being opened anyway. New bolts at the sill, panels on the cripple walls and hold-downs are fastened to bare framing, and the fire-resistant sheathing follows over them. The seismic items are listed separately in the quote, so their scope is easy to read.
Our first stop is the concrete, then the sill and its anchors, cripple walls, floor joists and roof framing. Where the parcel is on a fire hazard map, vents, eaves and the roof covering are recorded too. Our written findings let the designer and engineer plan structure and exterior together.
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Describe the house and what it needs. We look at the structure first and send the quote in writing.