Kitchen and Bath Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks
Eighteen answers on cost, permits, timing and materials, written for Sherman Oaks and Valley homes.
These are the remodel questions in Sherman Oaks, CA that come up before anyone signs anything. There are four groups, and every number links to where it came from. Your question isn't here? Call and ask. It's better answered now than 3 days into demo.
One rule for reading them: an answer describes how the work usually goes, and your house can differ. The design visit is where a general answer becomes yours. More cost detail sits on the cost page, and that page has its own list of remodel questions in Sherman Oaks about the figures.
Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks: Cost
Why won't you quote a full room over the phone?
Because the price is in the walls. A shower that looks fine can have a soft subfloor, and a kitchen can hide a cracked cast-iron drain. Before we name a number, we open the cabinets, look under the sinks and press on the floors, so the price holds once demo starts. A small job like a vanity swap can often get a range from photos.
What does a universal design bathroom cost in LA?
In the 2025 Cost vs Value report, a universal design bath remodel in Los Angeles came to $44,580, against $27,143 for a midrange one. The difference is mostly framing and waterproofing: a curbless shower needs a lowered or sloped floor, wider doorways need new framing, and blocking goes in for grab bars.
Is refacing cabinets cheaper than replacing them?
Usually, if the boxes are sound. Refacing keeps the existing boxes and swaps doors, drawer fronts and veneer, so the run isn't demoed and the wall behind it isn't patched. That's how a midrange minor kitchen ran $29,765 in LA against $86,214 for a major one, per the Cost vs Value report. We stop recommending refacing when boxes are swollen from a leak or the layout is wrong.
How many quotes should I get, and what should they list?
Two or three is enough. Compare them line by line, not by total. A good scope names each trade, the fixtures and finishes, who pulls the permit, what happens to old materials and what is left out. A low bid that skips demo, permit or waterproofing isn't low. It's incomplete, and the gap shows up as a change order on day 4.
What costs extra that people forget to budget?
Things behind the wall: a corroded drain, outdated wiring, a floor that needs leveling. Also an HOA's move-in fees, a dumpster permit on a narrow street, and the temporary kitchen you'll cook in for 3 or 4 weeks on a full gut. A known risk gets an allowance in the scope, and an unknown one gets a heads-up as soon as it shows.
Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks: Permits and Rules
What is an Express Permit and does my bath qualify?
LADBS Express Permits need no plan check and cover a kitchen or bathroom remodel in a residential building without changing the structure. If your plan only replaces fixtures, cabinets, tile and finishes, it likely qualifies. Moving a bearing wall or enlarging a window opening usually means a plan check. The design visit settles which one you need.
When does the inspector come, and why does it matter?
LADBS says you must call for inspection before you cover or conceal any work. That means plumbing and wiring get checked while the studs are still open, before drywall or tile. Requests can be made online or through 311. When we book them early, we avoid the usual trap, because a missed inspection can mean opening finished walls.
Why did my permit ask about toilets and faucets?
That's California Civil Code 1101.4. For alterations to a single-family home, the permit applicant must replace noncompliant plumbing fixtures with water-conserving ones before final permit approval. In a 60-year-old Valley house, that often means swapping old toilets, showerheads and faucets. Listing those fixtures in the scope keeps the final sign-off from stalling.
Does lead paint matter in a 1960s house?
Yes. Under the EPA's RRP rule, firms doing renovation in housing built before 1978 must be lead-safe certified and follow lead-safe work practices. In ZIP 91423, 76% of homes were built before 1980, so it applies to much of the Valley. Ask any contractor about lead rules before demo.
What does my condo HOA need to approve?
Usually a written alteration request before any work, plus rules on work hours, elevator reservations and floor underlayment. Many Valley condos share a drain stack, so plumbing changes need the board's sign-off. In ZIP 91403, 50% of homes sit in buildings of 10 or more units, so the building's rules are the first thing to ask for.
Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks: Timing and Living at Home
Do I have to move out during a remodel?
Not always. A hall bath leaves you with another bathroom, and a kitchen job can run on a hot plate, a microwave and a bar sink set up in another room. A one-bath house or a whole-home job is harder. On the visit we say which days are truly unlivable: demo, and the days the water is off. They go on the schedule.
What gets built first, plumbing or cabinets?
Plumbing and wiring come first, while the walls are open. Then inspection, then drywall, then cabinets, then counters, which can't be templated until the cabinets are set. Tile and flooring fit around that depending on the job. When the order slips, you get delays and damaged finishes, so we put the order on the schedule.
What if you open a wall and find a problem?
Then work stops, you get shown, and a change is written before anyone fixes it. That might be rot, a leaking valve, an old circuit or a drain that has to be replaced. Some jobs have none and some have a few. The scope names the known risks, and anything new gets a written price before work continues.
Do I need to be home while the crew works?
Not for the whole day, but be reachable. Someone usually needs to let the crew in, and decisions come up, like where an outlet goes or which way a door swings. Tell us your schedule on the visit, and the days that need you get planned around it, with the key arrangement in writing.
Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks: Materials and Choices
Quartz or granite for kitchen counters?
Quartz is engineered and needs no sealing, but a hot pan can scorch its resin. Granite handles heat better, though it needs periodic sealing, and its pattern varies by slab. Both are heavy and both need a base cabinet that's level and sound. Look at a full slab in person, not a small sample, before choosing.
Can I tile over my old tile?
Sometimes on a floor, if it's flat and solid and the added height works with doors and the toilet flange. In a shower, almost never. Tile that's 50 years old, set over a mud bed, may hide a failed pan or wet backer, and new tile on top buries the problem. Tapping the tile and probing the wall shows what's there.
Will a curbless shower leak?
Not if the floor and waterproofing are built right. The shower floor has to slope to the drain, and the membrane has to run up the walls and sit through a 24-hour flood test before any tile goes down. Curbless showers need more care because there's no curb to hold water in, which is why they often need a lowered or reframed floor.
Do I pick the materials, or do you?
You pick the big visible items: tile, cabinets, counters, fixtures. We help with sizes, lead times and fit for the room, plus a warning when a choice will cause trouble, like a heavy slab on a weak wall. Each choice goes in the written scope with its price, so the order is clear before anything is bought.
More Remodel Questions in Sherman Oaks?
Send a few photos, and the answer comes back for your house, not for a house in general.