Service Area · Los Angeles County
General Contractor in Brentwood, CA
Custom homes, additions and ADUs planned around what Brentwood asks of a builder: deep setbacks on the flat streets south of Sunset, and hillside grading and fire-zone rules in the canyons above it.
- Licensed California general contractor
- Custom homes, ADUs & additions
- Permits with LADBS
- Written, line-item estimates
Brentwood, CA
Building and Remodeling in Brentwood
Simply Construction works as a general contractor in Brentwood for homeowners planning large projects: new custom homes, second stories, room additions, ADUs and full remodels. Brentwood is really two building environments. South of Sunset Boulevard, most lots are flat and fall under the city's Baseline Mansionization Ordinance. North of Sunset, the canyons climb into the Santa Monica Mountains, where the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, grading limits and the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone shape every set of plans.
We are a licensed California general contractor, and we run each project from the first feasibility check through LADBS plan check, inspections and final sign-off. Before any design money is spent, we pull the lot's zoning and hillside status, look at access for trucks and cranes, and tell you plainly what the site will and will not allow.
Local Knowledge
Building in Brentwood: Flat Estate Streets and Steep Canyons
Brentwood Park, first mapped in 1906, still follows its original plan: streets that curve with the land and dozens of landscaped circles and ovals at intersections and mid-block. Its original deed restrictions called for at least 100 feet of lot frontage and deep front setbacks, which is why so many houses there sit far back from the street. Much of the housing south of Sunset dates from the 1920s through the 1940s, in Spanish Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival and Tudor styles, near San Vicente Boulevard and its coral tree median, a city Historic-Cultural Monument.
North of Sunset, Mandeville Canyon runs about three miles into the mountains and is described as the longest dead-end street in the City of Los Angeles. Kenter Canyon and the ridges of Crestwood Hills hold post-war modern houses, including the cooperative community designed in the late 1940s by a team led by A. Quincy Jones. This terrain has burned before. The 1961 Bel Air-Brentwood fire destroyed 484 homes, the 2019 Getty Fire destroyed 10, and in January 2025 the Palisades Fire moved into Mandeville Canyon and forced evacuations. The Fire Department requires brush clearance up to 200 feet from structures in this zone.
Services
Construction & Remodeling Services in Brentwood
From ground-up homes to kitchens, here is how each of our services applies to Brentwood properties.
Custom Home Building in Brentwood
Custom home building in Brentwood usually starts with a tear-down, and the lot decides the rules. On a flat parcel south of Sunset, the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance limits floor area, so we model the allowed square footage before the architect draws a room. In Brentwood Park, deep setbacks and mature street trees also shape where the house sits and how equipment reaches it. Above Sunset, a new home must meet hillside floor area limits and ignition-resistant construction standards, and if the dig exports more than 1,000 cubic yards of earth, the haul route needs a public hearing before the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners.
ADU Construction in Brentwood
A detached ADU on a large Brentwood lot is rarely limited by state size rules, which allow detached units up to 1,200 square feet and require the city to permit at least 800 square feet with 4-foot side and rear setbacks. The harder question is placement on a property with mature trees, a pool and a long driveway. On canyon lots north of Sunset, we check the fire-zone and hillside designations first, since they add review steps and construction standards to the permit. The city must act on a complete ADU application within 60 days.
Garage Conversions in Brentwood
Many older houses south of Sunset have a detached garage at the back of the lot, reached by a long side driveway. Those garages convert well into a guest suite or ADU, and under state law a garage converted into an ADU does not need replacement parking. Before pricing, we check the existing slab and footings, because a garage built in the 1920s or 1930s may need foundation work before it can carry a habitable room. We also plan insulation, egress windows and utility runs back to the main house.
Room Additions in Brentwood
Room additions in Brentwood tend to be substantial: a primary suite wing, or a family room that opens to the garden. On flat lots, the addition has to fit inside the Baseline Mansionization floor area cap together with the existing house, so we verify the remaining allowance early. For a Spanish Colonial Revival or Tudor house, matching roof pitch, plaster texture, window proportions and trim takes deliberate planning, because a visible seam between old and new construction is hard to correct once the stucco is on.
Second-Story Additions in Brentwood
A second story changes how a single-story Brentwood house reads from the street, and on the older blocks south of Sunset that affects the character of the whole frontage. Structurally, we begin with an engineer's review of the existing foundation and walls, since older homes often need new footings or shear walls to carry the added load. On hillside lots, the hillside ordinance applies its own height and floor area rules, so a second floor that works on a flat street may not fit on a canyon parcel. We confirm that before design.
Garage Construction in Brentwood
A new garage in Brentwood is often one piece of a larger plan, such as a detached garage with an ADU above it, or a garage built into the slope on a canyon lot. On hillside parcels, a street-level garage with the house stepping up or down behind it puts retaining walls and drainage at the center of the design. We handle the structural, grading and building permits together so the garage, walls and driveway approach pass inspection as one coordinated scope.
Whole-House Remodeling in Brentwood
Whole-house remodels in Brentwood often involve homes that have been added onto several times since the 1930s or 1940s. We open walls expecting a mix of original framing with wiring and plumbing from different decades, and we plan the schedule around that. In Crestwood Hills, where post-war modern design is the point of the house, the work is usually about keeping the glass walls, post-and-beam structure and open plan while bringing insulation, glazing and systems up to current code.
Kitchen Remodeling in Brentwood
Kitchen remodels in Brentwood often mean opening a closed 1930s kitchen to a family room, or reworking a mid-century canyon kitchen to face the view. Removing a bearing wall calls for an engineered beam and a permit, and older houses frequently need a larger electrical panel to run induction ranges, steam ovens and multiple refrigeration units. We coordinate cabinetry and stone lead times with demolition so the household is without a working kitchen for as short a stretch as possible.
Bathroom Remodeling in Brentwood
Primary baths in older Brentwood houses are often small by current standards, so a remodel frequently borrows space from a closet or an adjoining bedroom. We rebuild with a full waterproofing system under the tile, a correctly sized exhaust fan and new supply lines, since original galvanized piping may still be present in houses of this age. In a Spanish Colonial Revival home, we can carry period tile patterns and arched openings into the new bath while everything behind the walls is new.
Fire Rebuilds in Brentwood
Brentwood's canyons have a documented fire history, from the 1961 Bel Air-Brentwood fire to the 2019 Getty Fire and the 2025 Palisades Fire, which reached Mandeville Canyon. A rebuild north of Sunset goes through LADBS under the state's wildland-urban interface standards, with ignition-resistant roofing, siding, vents and decks. Homes lost in the January 2025 fires may qualify for the streamlined like-for-like path, which allows rebuilding at up to 110 percent of the original footprint and height. We manage the insurance scope, soils and survey work, and the full permit set.
Junior ADUs (JADU) in Brentwood
A junior ADU suits Brentwood's larger single-story homes, where a bedroom wing near the entry can be closed off into a unit of up to 500 square feet with its own entrance and an efficiency kitchen. Under state law, the owner lives in either the main house or the JADU. Because the unit stays inside the existing walls, it avoids the hillside grading and setback questions that a new structure raises on a canyon lot, which keeps the permit comparatively simple.
SB 9 Lot Splits & Duplexes in Brentwood
SB 9 can apply to Brentwood's single-family lots, but the details narrow the field quickly. Canyon parcels north of Sunset sit in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which SB 9 excludes unless the project adopts the required fire mitigation measures. A lot split also requires each new parcel to be at least 1,200 square feet and at least 40 percent of the original lot, and the owner must sign an affidavit to live on the property for three years. We test a lot against those rules before design begins.
Patios, Decks & Outdoor Living in Brentwood
Outdoor living in Brentwood ranges from a loggia and outdoor kitchen behind a traditional house in Brentwood Park to a cantilevered deck off a canyon home. North of Sunset, decks and patio covers attached to the house must meet wildland-urban interface requirements for ignition-resistant or noncombustible materials, and brush clearance rules shape what can grow near the structure. On flat lots, we plan grading and drainage so a new terrace sends water away from the house rather than toward it.
Why Choose Us
Why Brentwood 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 Brentwood homeowner to do exactly that before signing with anyone, including us.
One Team From Plans to Final Inspection
Design, engineering, permitting and construction sit under one contract and one project lead, so nobody points fingers between the designer, the engineer and the builder when a detail changes. You get one schedule, one point of contact and regular progress updates from the first site visit through the final inspection and sign-off on your Brentwood project.
Care for Your Street and Your Neighbors
Large projects happen next door to people who live there. We plan staging, dumpster placement, deliveries and working hours around Brentwood rules, keep the site secured at the end of each day, and give you notice before loud or disruptive phases such as demolition, concrete pours or crane lifts, so you can give your neighbors a heads-up too.
Nearby Service Areas
We Also Build Near Brentwood
FAQ
Building in Brentwood: Common Questions
Do I need a haul route approval to build a new home in Brentwood?
Only if the lot is in a designated hillside grading area and the project imports or exports more than 1,000 cubic yards of earth. That threshold triggers a public hearing before the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners, with neighbor notice and conditions that become part of the grading permit. Most flat lots south of Sunset never reach it, but a basement or garage dug into a canyon slope can.
How does the fire zone affect a remodel or addition north of Sunset?
The canyons north of Sunset fall within the city's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. New construction and additions there are built to California's wildland-urban interface standards, which govern roofs, siding, vents, windows and decks. The Fire Department also requires brush clearance up to 200 feet from structures, which affects landscape design and where outbuildings can go.
Can I add an ADU behind a traditional house in Brentwood Park?
In most cases, yes. State law requires the city to allow at least an 800-square-foot ADU with 4-foot side and rear setbacks, and detached units can generally reach 1,200 square feet. The practical work is siting it among mature trees, keeping the main house's presence from the street intact, and bringing utilities across a deep lot.
Start Your Project
Start Your Brentwood Project
Tell us what you are planning. We will visit the property, talk through options and costs, and send a written, line-item estimate.
Licensed California General Contractor · CSLB [CSLB LICENSE # PLACEHOLDER]