Pacific Palisades Rebuild & Remodeling Contractor

Pacific Palisades, California

What building in Pacific Palisades actually involves now

Since the January 2025 fire, Pacific Palisades has been three neighborhoods at the same time. There are lots waiting on a rebuild. There are houses left standing that took smoke, soot and heat damage a repaint does not fix. And there are blocks the fire never reached, where people are getting on with the remodel they were already planning. Those are genuinely different jobs, and a contractor who talks about them as one thing is not paying attention. We take on all three — but we scope them as the different projects they are.

What has not changed is the terrain. Between the Alphabet Streets, Huntington Palisades, Rustic Canyon, Marquez Knolls and the Highlands you have flat lots and steep ones, wide streets and canyon roads a concrete truck cannot turn around on. Hillside grading rules, fire-zone material standards and access limits still drive what a project costs here — and they now sit next to a rebuild permitting process that has been revised repeatedly since the fire. We confirm what currently applies to your address before we put a number on anything.

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Remodeling work by New Cali Construction

Where we work in Pacific Palisades

The Alphabet Streets, Huntington Palisades, Rustic Canyon, Marquez Knolls, Castellammare and the Palisades Highlands.

After the Fire

Where you are decides what we can do

Every Palisades property is at a different point, and the work is not the same work. Find yourself below. We handle all three, and we scope each one as its own project rather than pricing them off the same sheet.

If your lot is empty

We rebuild, start to finish. One design-build contract covers reading your insurance scope, coordinating the architect and engineer, soils and utilities, LADBS permitting, and the build through final inspection — instead of you project-managing five trades from wherever you are living now. Written line-item scope, locked price, weekly photo updates.

If your house is still standing

Homes outside the burn footprint took smoke, soot and heat damage that hides in insulation, ductwork, attic voids and wall cavities. Cosmetic work over the top of it fails — the smell and the staining come back within months. We assess what genuinely has to come out, replace it, and put the whole scope in writing so it lines up with what your insurer agreed to cover.

If you want an ADU first

On a lot where the main house is gone or unlivable, a permitted ADU is often the first structure that can realistically go back up — and it stays an asset long after the main house is finished. Rules for ADUs on fire-affected parcels have been handled differently from a standard build and have changed more than once. We check what applies to your parcel before anyone draws anything.

One thing we will not do: quote a Palisades project off a photo and a phone call. Before we give you a number, we walk the lot.

Our Services

What we build in Pacific Palisades

Kitchen Remodeling by New Cali Construction

Kitchen Remodeling in Pacific Palisades

Kitchens in houses that came through the fire, in rebuilt homes, and on the blocks the fire never reached.

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Bathroom Remodeling by New Cali Construction

Bathroom Remodeling in Pacific Palisades

Bathrooms and primary suites, with ventilation and waterproofing specified for canyon and coastal-facing conditions.

See bathroom remodeling →

ADU & Garage Conversion by New Cali Construction

ADU & Garage Conversion in Pacific Palisades

Permitted ADUs — often the first structure that can realistically go back on a lot, and an asset long after.

See adu & garage conversion →

Whole-Home Remodel by New Cali Construction

Whole-Home Remodel in Pacific Palisades

Ground-up rebuilds and whole-home renovation — structure, systems, fire-zone assemblies and finishes under one contract.

See whole-home remodel →

Fire Rebuild & Smoke Damage by New Cali Construction

Fire Rebuild & Smoke Damage in Pacific Palisades

Ground-up rebuilds on fire-affected lots and smoke and heat damage renovation on the houses that survived — insurance scope through final inspection.

See fire rebuild & smoke damage →

Permits & Local Rules

Who approves your project in Pacific Palisades

Pacific Palisades permits through LADBS, and since the fire that has meant two parallel realities: expedited rebuild pathways created by city and state emergency orders for properties inside the burn area, and the normal hillside and fire-zone process for everyone else. Both have been revised more than once. We verify current requirements with LADBS at the time we quote instead of working from what was true last year.

Rebuild pathways were created by emergency order, including expedited review and relief from parts of the normal discretionary and coastal process for like-for-like rebuilding within the original footprint. Size allowances, eligibility and deadlines have all moved since 2025 — verify before you design, not after.
Insurance scope and permit scope are two different documents. What your carrier agreed to pay for and what plan check requires you to build are frequently not the same list. That gap breaks more rebuild budgets than anything else.
Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone standards govern exterior materials, ember-resistant vents and rated glazing on most Palisades parcels. On a rebuild they are code, not upgrades, and they are a real share of the number.
Hillside grading, drainage and retaining rules still apply, and soils or geology reporting is common on sloped lots regardless of which permitting track you are on.

Local Experience

Three things we plan for on every Pacific Palisades job

01

The gap between your policy and your permit

Insurance settles on what you lost. The city permits what current code requires. Fire-zone materials, updated energy and electrical standards and sprinkler requirements can all be required now and were not covered then. We put that difference in writing at estimate stage, so you are negotiating a known number rather than discovering one in month four.

02

Smoke damage is not a paint job

In houses that survived, soot and odour live in insulation, ductwork, attic spaces and wall cavities. Sealing and painting over it buys a few months. We scope what genuinely has to be removed, and we would rather tell you it is more than you hoped than do the job twice.

03

Access got harder, not easier

Narrow canyon streets with active construction on multiple lots at once means staging, deliveries and truck access are genuinely constrained. We price the access route after walking it. An estimate written off a map is a guess, and here it is an expensive one.

Transparent Pricing

Typical investment ranges

Every Pacific Palisades project gets its own written, line-item quote. These ranges are for planning.

Refresh

$15K - $40K

Single-room refresh — bathroom, kitchen facelift, or flooring throughout. Typically 2-4 weeks.

Renovate

$40K - $120K

Full kitchen, primary suite, or multi-room remodel with layout changes. Typically 4-10 weeks.

Transform

$120K - $500K+

Whole-home remodel or ADU build, design through final inspection. Typically 3-6 months.

Free estimates always. The ranges above cover remodel and ADU work. A ground-up rebuild is scoped and quoted individually against your lot and your insurance scope — every quote is line-item and locked in writing before work begins.

Recent Work

Craftsmanship you can look at

A sample of completed New Cali Construction projects across the Westside. See the full portfolio →

Completed remodel by New Cali Construction

Common Questions

Pacific Palisades FAQs

Do you take on ground-up rebuilds in Pacific Palisades?

Yes. We are a licensed design-build general contractor (California License #1008892) and we handle total-loss rebuilds end to end — reviewing the insurance scope, coordinating the architect and engineer, soils and utilities, LADBS permitting, and the build through final inspection. That is one contract and one company accountable for the schedule, instead of you coordinating five separate trades from wherever you are living now.

What does a rebuild cost in the Palisades?

We do not publish a per-square-foot number for rebuilds here, because in this community it moves more than anywhere else we work — slope, street access, fire-zone assemblies and how much of your lot’s utilities survived all change it materially. What we do instead is walk the lot, read your insurance scope, and give you a written line-item price rather than a wide range designed to win the job and get revised later.

My house survived the fire but still smells of smoke. Is that fixable?

Usually, but not with paint. Soot and odour settle into insulation, ductwork, attic spaces and wall cavities, and cosmetic work over the top of it fails within months. We assess what actually has to be removed and replaced, do that work, and scope it in writing so it lines up with what your insurer has agreed to cover. That is the real job — the finishes are the easy part.

Can I put an ADU on my lot while the main house is rebuilt?

Often yes, and it is one of the more practical moves available: a permitted ADU can be the first structure back on the lot and it stays valuable once the house is done. Rules for ADUs on fire-affected parcels have been treated differently from a standard build and have changed more than once, so we check what currently applies to your address before design begins.

How long does permitting take in the Palisades now?

Honestly, it depends which track you are on and when you ask. Emergency orders created faster pathways for rebuilding inside the burn area, while the normal hillside and fire-zone process applies elsewhere — and both have been revised since 2025. We verify current timelines with LADBS when we quote, and we tell you plainly which parts of the schedule we control and which we do not.

Does the fire hazard zone change what I can build here?

It changes how you build it. Most of the Palisades sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, where California’s wildfire construction standards govern exterior materials, eave and vent detailing and window assemblies. Those requirements are part of plan check, so they belong in the estimate from day one instead of turning up at inspection.

Rebuilding, repairing, or remodeling in the Palisades?

Free consultation, on your lot. We read the insurance scope, walk the site, and come back with a written line-item price — not a range.

Get a Free Estimate (800) 216-1005

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Rebuild & Remodeling Contractor in Pacific Palisades