North Hills Structural Work for a New Wing That Feels Original
Floor framing, footings and beams for North Hills additions, sized so old and new rooms meet at one level and permitted through LADBS.
Walk from the old hallway into a new bedroom wing and the floor should simply carry on. There should be no step at the seam, no ridge under the hall runner, no slope that sends a marble rolling toward a corner. That is a framing result, and it gets decided at the start of a North Hills addition, when the engineer picks the depth of the new joists to suit the ones already there.
Making the joint disappear
Old and new floors seldom sit at the same height by accident. Sizing the new joists so their tops land level with the existing subfloor takes a measurement of the old framing and a choice of member depth to suit. Where the new wing sits on a fresh foundation, it can settle a little differently from the old one, so the connection between them is detailed to allow for that. Flooring is then run across the seam in a single direction, and the line of the boards never changes.
A bigger house that still works
Beyond the floor line, daily use sets other limits. A bedroom wing needs a ceiling that does not hum when someone walks above it, walls stiff enough to hold shelves, and a doorway wide enough for a bed to pass. A stiff floor frame costs little to specify at design time and a great deal to fix after the drywall is up. The engineer's drawings set the member sizes, and the building department checks them before the permit is issued.
Structural Work in North Hills: what families ask
Possibly, once an engineer has measured what exists. A second floor adds a great deal of weight to the lower walls and footings, and it raises the earthquake forces the frame must resist. The study covers both, and the result is either a go-ahead as the house stands or a list of reinforcements.
The wall needs an engineered beam above it, posts that carry the beam's load down to proper footings, and a permit. Ceiling weight rides on props while the switch is made. If the wall hides wiring or pipes, those move before the opening is cut. The finished opening is then patched to match the rooms on both sides.
North Hills addresses fall under the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, whose inspector checks the open framing against the approved drawings. Walls stay open until that visit has happened and any corrections are made, so nothing structural is hidden before someone qualified has looked at it.
Structural Work in other cities
Other projects we take on in North Hills
Your North Hills project, start to finish
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