There is no single Sherman Oaks remodel. An 1,800 square foot ranch in the Chandler Estates flats, a post-and-beam in Royal Woods where half the walls you want gone are holding the roof up, and an estate off Beverly Glen with slope engineering and view lines to protect are three different jobs with three different budgets. Burbank Remodeling Contractor takes on all three in Sherman Oaks, California, and the walkthrough exists to establish which conversation we are having.
If somebody has told you the wall in your post-and-beam cannot come out, get a second opinion before you redesign the house around it. Usually it can, with the right beam and the right engineering, and knowing the difference between structural and merely load-bearing-looking is what five generations of carpentry is for. Matt, who runs the company, is an Air Force veteran with more than 30 years on job sites, and our own carpenters do the framing rather than a sub we met last month.
Call (747) 330-0305 and we will walk it, tell you what is genuinely structural, and price the work with the engineering already in the number instead of arriving as a change order later.
The Chandler Estates Ranch Remodel
Chandler Estates, in the northern flats, is a preserved pocket of intact 1950s ranch homes, and it produces the most common project we do in this neighborhood: taking an 1,800 square foot postwar ranch and turning it into an open-plan family house with a proper primary suite.
Structurally that is a predictable job with a predictable set of surprises. The wall between kitchen and living room carries load and needs an engineered beam. The panel is undersized. The single bathroom sits in the middle of the plan and moving it means new waste routing. Done as one project with the systems handled at the same time, it produces a house that competes with anything newer on the street.
Working on Mid-Century Post-and-Beam Homes in Royal Woods
Royal Woods, south of the 101 near the Sepulveda Pass, is known specifically for mid-century modern architecture, and post-and-beam construction has to be approached differently from ordinary stick framing.
In a post-and-beam house the structure is the architecture. Exposed beams carry the roof and the walls between them are frequently non-structural infill, which sometimes means a wall can come out easily and sometimes means the opposite of what a standard framing assumption would suggest. Getting it wrong in either direction costs money. Detail matters just as much: the flat roofs, the horizontal massing and the window wall composition are why the house is worth what it is worth, and traditional detail applied to one of these houses ruins it.
Estate Renovation in Longridge and the Sherman Oaks Hills
Longridge Estates, in the hills toward Studio City, carries old Hollywood era estates ranging from mid-century modern to contemporary on large landscaped lots. Houses here commonly run from 3,000 to well over 10,000 square feet, and whole-house renovation rather than a single room is the norm.
Up off Beverly Glen and Woodcliff the lots get steeper and the constraints shift to slope engineering, retaining, drainage and view preservation. A second story on a hillside lot has to be designed around what it does to the neighbors' views as well as what the ordinance allows, and it is worth resolving that early rather than in a plan check correction.
What We Build in Sherman Oaks
- Whole-house remodels and open-plan conversions of 1950s ranch homes
- Primary suite additions and second stories in the flats
- Structurally sensitive work on mid-century post-and-beam houses
- Estate-scale renovations in Longridge and the surrounding hills
- Hillside additions with engineered foundations and retaining
- Detached ADUs and garage conversions on flats lots with backyard room
Where We Work in Sherman Oaks
Get a straight read on your Sherman Oaks house
Ranch, post-and-beam or hillside estate, tell us what you want to change and we will tell you what it takes and what it costs.
Call (747) 330-0305Frequently asked questions
Can the wall come out in my mid-century post-and-beam house?
Sometimes easily and sometimes not at all, and the honest answer requires looking at the actual structure. In post-and-beam construction the beams carry the roof, so infill walls between them are often non-structural. But some of these houses use walls as shear elements even when they are not carrying gravity load, and removing one without replacing that capacity is a serious mistake.
How much can I add to a Chandler Estates ranch?
It depends on your lot coverage and setbacks, and most of these lots have meaningful room at the rear. The common addition is a primary suite off the back, typically 400 to 700 square feet. A second story is possible on many of them, though the existing foundation almost always needs reinforcement first.
Do hillside rules apply in Sherman Oaks?
On the hillside parcels off Beverly Glen, Woodcliff and up toward Mulholland, yes, with the grading, slope and haul route requirements that come with them. Flats properties in Chandler Estates and the northern parts of the neighborhood do not carry those constraints. It is mapped, and we verify it by parcel.
How far is Sherman Oaks from your Burbank base?
About eight miles, roughly fifteen minutes on the 101 outside of rush hour. It is well within our normal service area and we have crews working there routinely, which means a walkthrough this week rather than a slot next month. Call (747) 330-0305 and we will book one.