Custom Home Building · Encino
Custom Home Building in Encino, CA
New homes for Encino's estate and hillside lots, planned around floor area rules, protected oaks, steep access and fire zone construction before design gets expensive.
- Licensed California general contractor
- Permits with LADBS
- Written, line-item estimates
- Design, engineering & construction
Encino, CA
Custom Home Building for Encino Homeowners
Custom home building in Encino tends to happen on two very different kinds of land. North of Ventura Boulevard, owners replace older houses on large, flat lots; south of it, new homes step up winding streets toward Mulholland Drive. We manage both from the first site review through design coordination, LADBS plan check, construction and final inspection.
Our job is to keep design, engineering and budget in the same conversation. On an Encino lot, that means answering early questions about floor area, soils, trees, fire requirements and access, so the architect is drawing a house the city will approve and the site will support.
Local Knowledge
New Construction Conditions in Encino
Amestoy Estates, the area north of Ventura between White Oak Avenue and Balboa Boulevard that runs up to Killion Street, is known for flat parcels, wide streets and mature trees, which is why builders of estate-scale homes are drawn to it. The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance sets the maximum floor area there. Big lots allow big homes, but the cap still governs how the house, garage and accessory buildings share the site.
Royal Oaks and the Encino Hills are another matter. Their winding streets and hillside lots offer privacy and views, and they come with the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, which lowers allowable floor area as slope increases, weighs street width, and limits grading. Many of those parcels are also in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, so ignition-resistant construction is part of the design brief from day one.
Across Encino, trees matter. The name itself refers to oaks, and native oaks on a lot are protected by the city. We locate them on the survey, bring in an arborist, and shape the footprint and utility routes to protect root zones instead of discovering a conflict during excavation.
What's Included
Custom Home Services
- Parcel research covering zoning, hillside status, fire zone mapping and protected trees
- One coordinated team of architect and civil, structural, soils and energy consultants
- Grading, drainage and retaining wall planning for sloped lots
- LADBS plan check, grading and building permits, and responses to corrections
- Demolition, foundation, framing, roofing and ignition-resistant exterior work where required
- Solar PV and energy compliance under the California Energy Code version that governs your application
- Interior finishes, final inspections and the certificate of occupancy
For the full scope, process and options, see our main custom home building page, or browse everything we build on our Encino service area page.
Planning Considerations
Encino Custom Home Considerations
Construction access on hillside streets
Royal Oaks and the Encino Hills are known for winding streets, and those curves limit the trucks, pumps and cranes that can reach a site. Concrete pours, steel deliveries and demolition haul-off all need a plan for staging and for the neighbors who share the road. We walk the route before pricing, because access decisions affect both the budget and how long the job disrupts the street.
Designing around oaks
A mature oak can be the best thing on an Encino lot and the hardest thing to build around. Foundations, utility trenches and even heavy equipment parked under the canopy can damage roots. We work with an arborist to define protection zones, route utilities around them and, where needed, use foundation systems that bridge roots rather than cutting through them.
Fitting the room list to the allowance
Owners often arrive with a room list that exceeds what the lot allows. Under the city's mansionization and hillside rules, basements, garages and covered areas can count differently, and those distinctions can free up or consume meaningful square footage. We model the program against the allowance early, so design effort goes into a house that can actually be permitted.
Why Choose Us
Why Encino Homeowners Choose Simply Construction
Licensed, Bonded and Easy to Verify
Simply Construction inc. is a licensed California general contractor, CSLB [CSLB LICENSE # PLACEHOLDER]. State law requires a license for any job of $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and anyone can check a contractor's license, bond and workers' compensation status on the CSLB website in about a minute. We encourage every Encino homeowner to do exactly that before signing with anyone, including us.
Permits Handled With LADBS
Most delays on large residential projects start at the permit counter. We prepare the drawing set, coordinate structural and Title 24 energy calculations, answer plan-check comments and schedule inspections with LADBS, so you are not the one chasing corrections. For ADUs, state law requires the agency to act on a complete application within 60 days, and a complete, well-coordinated submittal is what starts that clock.
Built to Current California Energy Code
New homes and ADUs in California are built to the Title 24 energy code, which has required solar PV on most new single-family homes since 2020, and permit applications filed on or after January 1, 2026 fall under the 2025 Energy Code. We plan insulation, windows, mechanical systems and solar into the design from the start instead of treating compliance as a late fix.
More in Encino
Other Services in Encino
FAQ
Custom Home Building in Encino: Common Questions
How long does LADBS plan check take for a new home in Encino?
Plan check time varies with project complexity, the department's current workload and how many correction rounds are needed. Hillside homes usually involve grading and soils review on top of building plan check. We cannot promise a date, but we reduce delays by submitting complete, coordinated drawings and turning corrections around quickly.
What does the fire zone mean for a new hillside home?
The exterior is governed by the California Building Code's wildland-urban interface provisions. That means a Class A roof, ignition-resistant siding and decking, ember-resistant vents, protected eaves and multi-pane windows with tempered glass. On these parcels the fire department also enforces brush clearance around structures, which shapes the landscape plan as much as the house.
Can I tear down an older house?
In most cases, yes, with a demolition permit, though a parcel with a historic designation adds review. The city surveyed the Encino-Tarzana area for historic resources, so we check your parcel's status before you commit to a teardown. If an oak stands near the demolition area, it needs protection during that phase as well.
Start Your Project
Planning a Custom Home in Encino?
Tell us about your property and goals. We will walk the site, flag anything LADBS will care about, and give you a written, line-item estimate.
Licensed California General Contractor · CSLB [CSLB LICENSE # PLACEHOLDER]