Field Notes
Articles for owners deciding how to rebuild or harden a house in fire country.
Field Notes
Fire Rated Windows in Pasadena: Installed Price Factors, Opening by Opening
An installed window price is really a stack of opening prices. What moves each one, from glass and frame to the stucco patch, and how our quote lists them.Read the article
Hiring a General Contractor in Pasadena for a Fire-Hardened House
When vents, glass, walls and rooms all need work, one contract has to own the joints between them. What moves the bid on a damaged or standing house.Read the article
Hiring a Fire Damage Repair Contractor in Pasadena
A house that took heat or smoke but still stands is a repair job, not a rebuild. Here is what sets the price and how our written quote is built.Read the article
Choosing a Stucco Contractor in Pasadena for a Fire-Hardened Exterior
A stucco job on a house in fire country is a chance to fix the base, the vents and the eaves along with the cracks. Here is what sets the price.Read the article
Rebuilding in Altadena: Choosing a Builder for an Eaton Fire Lot
An Altadena rebuild runs through county offices, not a city hall. Here is the order of the work and the questions that separate one rebuild builder from another.Read the article
Ember-Resistant Roof Vent Installation in Pasadena: What Sets the Price
Count the openings, check the wall around each one, then price it. What moves the cost of fitting ember-resistant attic and roof vents on a standing house.Read the article
Hiring a Fire-Resistant Siding Contractor in Pasadena: Cost and Scope
Fiber cement, stucco or a mix: what moves the cost of a fire-resistant wall from framing out, and how we quote cladding on a rebuild or a standing house.Read the article
Zone 0 Deck Replacement Cost in Pasadena: The First Five Feet, Priced
The deck end, the fence that meets the wall and the mulch bed along the foundation. What moves the price of rebuilding the first five feet around a house.Read the article
Before you harden or rebuild
Yes. A standing house can be retrofitted one assembly at a time: vents, eaves, windows, siding and the ground right next to the walls. We start with the openings embers use most.
It is the part of the California Building Code that sets materials and construction methods for buildings in wildfire areas. It covers vents, roofs, exterior walls, eaves, decks and glazing.
Yes. We take a cleared lot through plans, permits and construction, and we build the new exterior to the wildfire code from the foundation up.
Send the form with the address and what you need. We walk the property and write a scope that lists each assembly, then price it from that scope.
Start with a walk-through of the house
Tell us about the property and what happened to it, or what you want to protect. We reply about a visit and a written scope.