Deck Planning Guide

Deck Permits and Planning in Los Angeles

Understand why attached, elevated, hillside and rooftop decks may require drawings, engineering, permits and inspections in Los Angeles.

Permit Needs Depend on the Actual Scope

Height, attachment, structural alteration, location, setbacks, hillside conditions, roof occupancy and other factors can affect review. Internet rules of thumb should not replace confirmation for the address.

Height, attachment, structural alteration, location, setbacks, hillside conditions, roof occupancy and other factors can affect review. Internet rules of thumb should not replace confirmation for the address. Apply this point to the actual property and product rather than relying on a general rule or a small sample viewed indoors.

Plans and Engineering

Complex decks may require measured drawings and structural calculations. The design should be developed before construction pricing is finalized when foundations and lateral systems are not yet known.

Complex decks may require measured drawings and structural calculations. The design should be developed before construction pricing is finalized when foundations and lateral systems are not yet known. Apply this point to the actual property and product rather than relying on a general rule or a small sample viewed indoors.

Inspections Are Part of the Sequence

Permitted work may involve inspections of foundations, framing, connections, guards and final completion. The schedule should allow those checkpoints.

Permitted work may involve inspections of foundations, framing, connections, guards and final completion. The schedule should allow those checkpoints. Apply this point to the actual property and product rather than relying on a general rule or a small sample viewed indoors.

Clarify Responsibility

A proposal should identify who prepares plans, who coordinates engineering, who submits permits, what fees are excluded and how revisions are handled.

A proposal should identify who prepares plans, who coordinates engineering, who submits permits, what fees are excluded and how revisions are handled. Apply this point to the actual property and product rather than relying on a general rule or a small sample viewed indoors.

Start a Project

Discuss Your Deck Project

Share the property location, deck type, existing conditions, material preference and the result you want to create.