Room Additions in Burbank, Built in the Right Order
Burbank home additions run in a fixed order: a licensed land survey where setbacks are tight, City of Burbank plan review, the frame, then the opening.
A boundary survey by a licensed land surveyor comes first on a Burbank addition whenever the setbacks are tight, because the new walls cannot be placed until the lines are known. The drawings and the City of Burbank plan review follow. Then the foundation, framing and roof go up while the existing exterior wall stays closed, and that wall is opened between old and new only after the new rooms are dried in.
Foundation to roof, beside a closed wall
New footings are dug and inspected, then tied to the existing foundation with epoxied steel dowels if the engineer's detail shows them. Floor framing is set so the new floor meets the old one at the same height. Walls, shear panels and hold-downs go up and are inspected, and the roof is framed to the pitch of the existing roof. Underlayment and the roof covering go on, the windows are flashed in, and the new walls are wrapped and finished. Through all of this the old exterior wall keeps the house weathertight and secure.
Opening up and closing the seam
Where the new roof meets the old wall, step flashing goes in with each course of roofing, and the building paper of the old wall is cut back and lapped down over the upright leg of that flashing. A kickout flashing at the lowest step turns water into the gutter. The new cladding then covers the paper. With the shell closed, the old wall is cut open, a header is installed over the new passage, and the rough trades are inspected. Gaps at the roof joint are blocked with noncombustible material so embers have no way into the attic.
Room Additions in Burbank: common questions
From the top down. A cricket or valley joins the two roofs, step flashing runs up the wall joint, and a kickout sends water to the gutter. Paper on the old wall is opened and laid over the new flashing, the new wall's paper is woven in so each upper sheet overlaps the lower, and cladding covers both. Sealant only backs up the trim joints.
That is a question for a structural engineer, who checks the existing footings, walls and roof framing for the added weight and for earthquake forces. The answer often includes new footings at certain points, added shear walls and hold-downs, or a beam where a wall has to open. The drawings show that work, and the price includes it.
Use decides it. Extra bedrooms or a bigger living room within the same home point to an addition, which joins the main house. A place with its own kitchen, bath and door, for a relative or a tenant, points to an ADU, which follows its own state rules. A single look at your Burbank lot lets us price both paths.
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Tell us about the house and the room additions work. We reply about a walk-through and a written scope.