You have questions, we have answers.

Most residential builds are designed and constructed in fragments, with no single point of accountability. Westside Build is the opposite. We are a vertically integrated design-build team: architecture, engineering, fabrication, and construction under one roof, coordinated through a single live digital model that every trade works from. Combined with our in-house lumber supply, fabrication facilities, and $300M currently under construction across Los Angeles, that integration delivers a level of precision, efficiency, and timeline protection that traditional contractors cannot match. We have delivered more than $500M in custom homes since our founding, and every one of them was built under the same integrated system.

Yes. We design and build luxury homes and support rebuild projects across West Los Angeles and Coastal LA, including Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Malibu, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Venice, and Marina del Rey.

Yes, everything is handled by a single team. You never have to coordinate between architects, engineers, and builders, or manage communication across separate firms. Because our teams use the same model from day one, decisions made in design carry directly into construction without translation errors, handoffs, or rework. That unified approach reduces delays, eliminates misalignment, and keeps your project on track.

A digital twin is a fully coordinated 3D model of your home (structure, architecture, mechanical, plumbing, electrical), capturing every system before any of them get built. Before construction begins, we build your home digitally to identify conflicts, refine sequencing, and lock in decisions in the model rather than in the field. The result: less rework, faster construction, and a home that performs exactly as designed.

Timelines vary depending on size, complexity, permitting, and whether the project is a new build or a fire rebuild. Typical ranges:

• Custom luxury homes: 12–18 months after permitting
• Fire rebuilds: 12–36 months, depending on insurance settlement, permitting, and site cleanup timing

On both paths, our integrated model reduces timeline risk in concrete ways: decisions are locked in upfront rather than made reactively in the field, design and construction teams never hand off to each other, and our owned supply chain protects material timelines from the open-market scarcity that delays less-integrated builders.

You will work directly with your dedicated project lead and our in-house team throughout the build. Because we are vertically integrated, you always know exactly who to contact, and the person you reach has full visibility across design, preconstruction, and field operations. There is no phone tree, no third-party coordinator, and no moment where the answer to your question is sitting with someone on a different team.

Design-build means one team handles your architecture, engineering, preconstruction, and construction from start to finish. In a traditional model, those are separate firms with separate contracts, separate timelines, and no shared accountability when something goes wrong. When they’re unified, design decisions are made with construction in mind from day one, which means fewer revisions, faster approvals, and a home that is built exactly as it was designed. The integration also means that if something needs to change, one conversation resolves it across the whole team rather than triggering a chain of correspondence between separate parties.

Yes. We work seamlessly with outside architects and welcome the collaboration. That said, our in-house design studio gives clients the benefit of early coordination between design and construction from the first conversation, which tends to produce faster approvals, cleaner transitions into construction, and fewer surprises along the way.

We design and build across the full range of Westside architectural styles, including:

• Modern and Contemporary
• California Coastal
• Warm Minimalism
• Traditional and Transitional
• Modern Mediterranean
• Luxury Farmhouse

Every home is tailored to your lifestyle, site conditions, and aesthetic goals. We don’t have a house style; we have a building system that produces exceptional results across all of them.

Every Westside Build home is engineered for long-term performance, indoor air quality, and comfort, not just at move-in, but through the decades that follow. Standard features include high-performance insulation, advanced thermal envelope strategies, HEPA air filtration, energy recovery ventilators, low-VOC materials, smart mechanical zoning, and optional solar and water-saving integrations. These are design decisions we make early in the process, not systems bolted on at the end.

You will work directly with our design studio to select finishes that fit your aesthetic and budget. Through DG Lumber and our own fabrication facilities, we source and process many materials directly, providing clients with greater cost certainty and quality control than open-market procurement allows. We also maintain long-standing relationships with premium fixture and finish suppliers across the Westside, giving our clients access to a wider range of options than most builders can reliably offer.

Yes. Every home we build exceeds California’s fire-resilient construction standards. These are not optional add-ons; they are the baseline for every Westside Build project:

• Class A fire-rated roofing systems
• Non-combustible exterior cladding
• Ember-resistant vents and sealed openings
• Tempered glass windows and doors
• Defensible space and fire-wise landscaping
• Airtight, high-performance building envelopes

For homeowners seeking an additional layer of active protection, we also offer integration of the FireFyto system through our partnership with Fyto, an AI-powered, fully automated wildfire detection and suppression system capable of drenching a structure within 45 seconds of activation.

Yes, hillside and coastal builds are among the most technically demanding projects on the Westside, and they are a significant part of our portfolio. Sloped lots introduce challenges that flat-site builders are not equipped to handle: engineered foundations that account for soil stability and seismic conditions, site access constraints that affect how and when materials can be delivered, drainage and retaining systems that must be resolved early in design, and permitting requirements that are more complex than standard residential submissions.

Because our architecture, engineering, and construction teams work from the same model from day one, these challenges are identified and resolved in the digital environment before they become costly field problems. We also work closely with Whitestone, our land use and preconstruction partner with 30 years of Los Angeles hillside and complex-site experience, on projects that require additional permitting or geotechnical expertise.

The timeline for rebuilding after a fire depends on several factors: insurance settlement timing, site cleanup completion, permitting, and material availability. Most rebuilds run 12–36 months from start to finish. On a Westside Build project, timeline risk is reduced in specific ways: decisions are locked before construction begins rather than made reactively in the field, our design and construction teams never hand off to each other, and our owned supply chain — including direct-from-mill lumber sourcing and secured regional warehousing — protects material timelines from the open-market scarcity that adds weeks or months to less integrated builds.

The early weeks after a fire involve several parallel tracks. The most important steps:

• Document the damage: gather any photos or videos of your property prior to the fire for insurance purposes.
• Contact your insurance provider: file your claim as soon as possible and request a full copy of your policy, including all endorsements and coverage limits.
• Evaluate your site cleanup options: decide whether to use the city-backed cleanup program or hire a private licensed contractor. Both have trade-offs in timing and cost; see our FAQ below for details.
• Contact us early: the sooner we are involved, the more we can help shape the insurance and permitting process in your favor. We provide pre-bid cost documentation for insurance submissions and can help you understand what your coverage actually covers before you settle.

A site evaluation is the only way to determine this accurately. In most Palisades fire cases, the heat is intense enough to compromise concrete foundations and underground piping, even when the damage is not immediately visible. The general consensus among the engineers and specialists we work with is that if the structure were to burn completely, the concrete elements would need to be replaced in their entirety. We coordinate site evaluation with our engineering team and trusted specialist partners, who will provide a clear, honest assessment of what the site requires before design begins.

Every Westside Build home is built to exceed California’s fire-resilient construction standards. The following materials and systems form the baseline of every project we build, they are not optional upgrades:

• Roofing: Class A fire-rated systems — metal or concrete tile
• Exterior cladding: non-combustible materials including fiber cement, engineered stucco, or metal siding
• Windows and doors: tempered glass assemblies designed to withstand radiant heat and impact
• Vents and openings: ember-resistant vents and sealed penetrations throughout
• Building envelope: airtight construction with fire-resistant insulation and barriers
• Landscaping: defensible space design using fire-resistant plants and hardscaping

For homeowners who want an active layer of protection beyond the structure itself, we offer integration of the FireFyto system through our Fyto partnership, an AI-powered automated suppression system that activates when a wildfire is within one mile of your property, drenching the structure within 45 seconds and continuing to protect it even after evacuation. Batteries keep the system running during a power outage.

Every situation is different. Some homeowners will have adequate coverage for a full rebuild; others will face a gap between their policy limits and actual construction costs, particularly given how much construction costs have risen since the fires and the additional expense of updated California Building Code requirements.

We support homeowners through this process directly:

• We provide detailed pre-bid cost documentation for insurance submissions, grounded in current Palisades market rates, not generic cost tables
• We coordinate with insurance adjusters, mortgage servicers, and city departments on your behalf
• We help you understand your coverage limits before you settle, so there are no surprises once design begins

What we do not provide is legal or financial advice. For disputes that escalate to formal proceedings, a licensed public adjuster or insurance attorney is the right resource.

The most effective fire protection is built into the structure from the start, not added after the fact. Every Westside Build home is designed with resilience as a baseline: fire-rated roofing and cladding, tempered glass, ember-resistant vents, sealed building envelopes, and defensible space landscaping. For active protection, the FireFyto suppression system monitors conditions around your property and responds automatically, even when you are not home.

Contact us through our website to start the conversation. We will review your project details, discuss timelines and processes, and help you understand what the next steps look like, whether you are planning a custom home from the ground up or beginning a rebuild after a fire. There is no pressure and no commitment required to have that first conversation.

Tax implications vary depending on individual circumstances. For a solid overview of the issues fire victims may face, Forbes has published a relevant guide: Los Angeles Area Fire Victims May Also Have Tax Issues to Address. We recommend consulting a licensed tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation. Proposition 19 may also offer property tax relief for homeowners rebuilding a primary residence, worth discussing with your advisor early in the process.

In most Palisades fire cases, yes. Based on our work with engineers and structural specialists across the rebuild portfolio, the consistent finding is that if a structure burned completely, the heat compromises the integrity of concrete foundations and underground piping, even where visible damage appears limited. We recommend a full engineering evaluation before making any assumptions about what can be retained, and we coordinate that evaluation as part of our early engagement process.

Site cleanup happens in two phases. Phase 1 covers hazardous material removal by the EPA. You can check your parcel’s EPA status using the link below. Phase 2 is the structural debris removal, which can be handled either through the city-backed program or by a private licensed contractor.

The city-backed program is not free; signing the consent form also gives the cleanup team first position on any insurance funds allocated for site cleanup. Hiring a private contractor gives you more control over timing and process, which can matter significantly for your overall rebuild schedule.

We have worked with several private cleanup teams licensed for hazardous waste removal, alongside hygienists who can complete the required AQMD testing. Once lab results are returned, those teams can submit results and move forward with cleanup without waiting for the standard 14-day AQMD response period.

Check EPA cleanup status by parcel → storymaps.arcgis.com

Not in most cases. The Mayor’s office committed the city to returning your first round of comments within 30 days, which is meaningfully faster than the normal intake process. However, full approval still typically involves several rounds of review and can take many months. We have seen one notable exception: a client whose construction was completed three months before the fire was able to secure a new permit over the counter using their previously approved drawing set.

The most current guidance on permitting timelines comes from our expediting partners, who track the city’s rebuild policies in real time.

To opt out of the LA County Fire Debris Removal Program and manage cleanup privately, follow these steps:

• Obtain and complete the “Los Angeles County Local Fire Debris Removal Program Application” opt-out form.
• Submit the application by email to [email protected] (include your property address or APN in the subject line), by mail to LA County Public Works – Environmental Programs Division, P.O. Box 1460, Alhambra, CA 91802, or in person at a Disaster Recovery Center (locations at recovery.lacounty.gov/recovery-centers/).
• Obtain necessary permits: contact LA County Department of Building and Safety to confirm whether a demolition permit is required for your property.
• Hire licensed contractors: engage contractors certified in hazardous material handling and debris removal who comply with all regulatory requirements.
• Complete debris removal per your approved work plan, following all safety and environmental regulations.
• Schedule a final inspection and obtain a Fire Debris Approval Certificate from Public Works once cleanup is confirmed complete.

Download the opt-out form → file.lacounty.gov