New Construction & Additions
Custom Home Building in Monterey Park, CA
Ground-up homes and tear-down rebuilds planned around Monterey Park's R-1 limits, sloped lots and the 2025 California Energy Code, with design, permits and construction handled as one job.
- Licensed California general contractor
- Plans, engineering & permits handled
- Written, line-item estimates
- One team from design to final inspection
Custom Home Building
A Custom Home Built Around the Way You Live
Custom home building in Monterey Park usually begins with a lot that already holds a house. The city grew fastest after World War II, and an earlier city Housing Element counted about two-thirds of its homes as built before 1970, so a new house here typically replaces an aging original.
A new home is where every structural, mechanical and energy decision is made at once, so early planning mistakes cost the most. We settle floor area, height, setbacks and hillside requirements before an architect draws elevations, then manage soils and structural engineering, plan check, demolition and construction through final inspection and occupancy.
What's Included
What Our Custom Home Service Covers
Lot feasibility study
We review zoning, allowable floor area, setbacks, easements and slope on your parcel before design begins, so the size and footprint of the house are settled early.
Consultant coordination
Your architect, structural engineer, civil engineer and Title 24 energy consultant work from one schedule we manage, and we review drawings for buildability before submittal.
Soils report and foundation design
A geotechnical engineer tests the soil and sets foundation criteria. On sloped lots that report drives footing depth, retaining walls and drainage design.
Demolition and new utilities
We handle demolition permits, utility disconnects and new sewer, water and electrical service sized for an entirely new house rather than the one being replaced.
Solar and energy compliance
Plans are drawn to the current California Energy Code, including the rooftop solar PV that Title 24 has required on most new single-family homes since 2020.
Fire sprinklers and CALGreen
New California houses include an automatic fire sprinkler system and CALGreen measures, such as wiring readiness for an EV charger when the home has an attached garage.
Is It Right for You?
Is a Custom Home the Right Move for Your Lot?
The house needs nearly everything
When foundation, wiring, plumbing and floor plan all need replacing, a remodel starts carrying new-construction scope while still working around old compromises.
Your lot allows more than you have
If your current home sits well below the floor area your lot permits, a new house can use that allowance with a layout designed for how you live now.
A second story looks like a stretch
When an engineer says the existing one-story needs new footings and shear walls throughout, it is worth pricing a rebuild next to the addition.
You are planning for the long term
A custom home involves a long design, permitting and building period. It pays off best when you expect to live in the house for many years.
Our Process
How a Custom Home Gets Built
Feasibility and budget framing
We review the survey, zoning and topography, outline what the lot can hold and which consultants you need, and give you a written scope with a line-item preliminary budget.
Design and engineering
The architect develops plans with structural, civil, soils and energy input. We re-price the design at each milestone so drawings and budget stay matched instead of drifting apart.
Planning review and plan check
We confirm the review path with the Planning Division, then submit to Building and Safety, answer plan check corrections and track the file through the city's online permit portal.
Demolition and foundation
Once permits are issued, we demolish the old house, grade the site and pour foundations to the soils engineer's specifications, with city inspections at each required stage.
Framing, systems and finishes
Framing, roofing, sprinklers, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and insulation are inspected before walls close. Interior and exterior finishes follow, then the final inspection and sign-off for occupancy.
Options Compared
Choosing Your Build Approach
Not every new house starts from bare dirt. These are the main paths to a new home on a lot you already own.
| Option | Best For | What to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Full tear-down and rebuild | Homes with problems in foundation, layout and systems | Full design freedom within R-1 limits, plus every new-home requirement, including solar and sprinklers. |
| Major remodel on the existing foundation | Sound houses whose layout mostly works | Keeps some structure, but extensive wall changes can trigger sprinklers under Monterey Park's local amendments. |
| Factory-built modular home | Simple plans on level lots with street access | Modules are craned onto a site-built foundation; crane reach and transport often decide feasibility. |
| Two homes under SB 9 | Qualifying lots with room for a second unit | Up to two primary units on a qualifying lot; lot splits need a three-year owner-occupancy affidavit. |
Budget Planning
What Shapes the Cost of a Custom Home
We don't publish per-square-foot prices for custom homes, because two houses of the same size can differ widely in cost depending on the lot and the specification. What you get from us is a written, line-item estimate showing where every dollar goes, updated as the design develops.
Slope and soils
Hillside grades and weak soils add retaining walls, deeper footings, drainage and sometimes piles or caissons, all set by the soils and structural engineers.
Size and complexity
Square footage matters, but so do rooflines, long spans, walls of glass and cantilevers, which add engineering, steel and framing labor.
Specifications and finishes
Once the structure is set, cabinetry, stone, windows, flooring and fixtures move the total more than any other category of the budget.
Site work and fixed requirements
Demolition, haul-off, utility connections, solar PV and the sprinkler system are fixed line items on every tear-down rebuild and belong in the budget from day one.
Local Knowledge
Building a New Home in Monterey Park
Monterey Park's single-family zone caps homes at two stories and 30 feet, with front yards of 25 feet and rear yards of 25 feet or a quarter of the lot depth, whichever is less. On the Garvey and Monterey Hills, which once separated the city's northern and southern neighborhoods, hillside rules adjust front setbacks and call for a usable, gently sloped yard area on steep lots, so the soils report becomes the first real design document. We confirm the design review path for a new house with the Planning Division before drawings begin.
Why Choose Us
Why Homeowners Choose Simply Construction for Custom Home Building
One contract from feasibility to final
We manage the architect, structural engineer, soils engineer and energy consultant, then build what they design, all under one agreement. One party stays accountable for cost and schedule from survey to final inspection. California requires a CSLB license for any job of $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and you can confirm our license, bond and workers' compensation status on the CSLB website.
Energy code resolved during design
Title 24 has required solar PV on most new single-family homes since January 1, 2020, and the 2025 Energy Code governs permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026. We bring the energy consultant in during schematic design, so roof orientation, panel placement, insulation and mechanical systems are settled on paper early instead of being revised under pressure during plan check.
Estimates you can read line by line
Every estimate we prepare breaks the work into lines for site work, foundation, framing, systems, finishes and fees. When the design changes, you see exactly which lines moved and why, before anything is built. As a licensed California general contractor with our office on Mira Valle Street, we keep Monterey Park job sites close to home for meetings and inspections.
Service Area
Custom Home Building Across Los Angeles & Ventura Counties
Our custom home building work extends well beyond Monterey Park. Choose your city for local permitting notes, housing details and planning considerations.
San Fernando Valley
Custom Home Building in Burbank
Custom Home Building in Studio City
Custom Home Building in Sherman Oaks
Custom Home Building in Encino
Custom Home Building in Woodland Hills
Custom Home Building in Toluca Lake
Custom Home Building in Valley Village
Custom Home Building in Tarzana
Custom Home Building in Reseda
Custom Home Building in Northridge
Custom Home Building in Porter Ranch
Custom Home Building in Granada Hills
Custom Home Building in Chatsworth
Custom Home Building in West Hills
Glendale, Pasadena & Northeast LA
Westside, Hollywood & the Coast
Custom Home Building in Santa Monica
Custom Home Building in Beverly Hills
Custom Home Building in Pacific Palisades
Custom Home Building in Malibu
Custom Home Building in Brentwood
Custom Home Building in Bel Air
Custom Home Building in Westwood
Custom Home Building in West Hollywood
Custom Home Building in Hollywood Hills
Custom Home Building in Marina del Rey
Custom Home Building in Oakwood
Custom Home Building in Manhattan Beach
Santa Clarita, Conejo & Las Virgenes
Related Services
Often Paired With Custom Home Building
New Construction & Additions
ADU Construction
Detached and attached accessory dwelling units designed, permitted and built under one contract.
Explore ADUsNew Construction & Additions
Garage Construction
New detached and attached garages, including garage and ADU combinations built to current code.
Explore New GaragesRemodeling & More
Fire Rebuilds
Rebuilding homes lost or damaged by wildfire, from debris-cleared lot to certificate of occupancy.
Explore Fire RebuildsWant to know who you would be working with? Read about Simply Construction, see our project gallery, or contact our Monterey Park office.
FAQ
Custom Home Building Questions, Answered
Do new homes in Monterey Park need fire sprinklers?
Yes. The California Residential Code requires automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family dwellings, and Monterey Park has adopted the 2025 edition of that code with local amendments. It is designed with the plumbing and can call for a larger water meter, so we budget for it early.
How large a house can I build on my Monterey Park lot?
Floor area in the R-1 zone is tied to lot size: up to 50 percent of the lot on parcels under 6,000 square feet, 40 percent from 6,000 to 10,000 square feet, and 35 percent above that. Height is limited to two stories and 30 feet. Setbacks, slope and design review then shape how that area is arranged.
Will I need a soils report?
Plan on one. Foundation design depends on how much load the soil can carry, whether it swells with moisture and how deep footings must go, and building officials can require a soil investigation before approving a foundation. On sloped lots the geotechnical report also sets retaining wall and drainage requirements.
What does the 2025 Energy Code mean for my project?
It applies to permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026, so any new home entering plan check now is designed to it. Title 24 also continues the solar PV requirement for most new single-family homes. Our energy consultant runs compliance calculations while the design is still flexible.
Can I build an ADU at the same time as my new house?
Yes. Monterey Park's ADU rules allow a unit on a lot with an existing or proposed primary residence. Building both at once lets the projects share grading, utility trenching, mobilization and inspections, and it lets the site plan place the ADU deliberately.
Start Your Project
Ready to Plan Your Custom Home Building Project?
Share a few details and we will set up a site visit, review your goals and give you a written, line-item estimate.
Licensed California General Contractor · CSLB [CSLB LICENSE # PLACEHOLDER]