Rebuilding After a Fire: The First Questions to Answer
After a fire, almost everything feels urgent and almost nothing feels clear. You do not have to decide everything at once. Your architect is the first call: the person who looks at the whole project and, with you, puts a short list of early questions in order so you avoid large commitments on incomplete information.
What do you actually have to work from?
Before any design conversation, gather what still exists: the previous plans, a survey, permit records, photographs, appraisals and anything that documents the size and layout of the lost house. Records that were never kept at home can often be requested from the city or county, from a previous architect, or from a lender. A good set of existing-condition information shortens every later step, and it matters for more than design.
What does the site look like now?
A burned lot is not the same as the lot you remember. Slopes may be less stable, retaining walls may be damaged, utilities may need to be located again, and trees or vegetation may have changed the drainage. A site review by the right professionals, which may include a surveyor and a geotechnical or structural engineer, tells you what the ground and the remaining structures can support. On a steep property, our guide to hillside architecture explains why this step carries extra weight.
Which jurisdiction and which rules apply?
Whether your property sits in the city of Los Angeles, an unincorporated area of the county or another city changes who reviews your project and what they ask for. Some jurisdictions have special procedures for rebuilding after a disaster, and these can change over time. Rules also vary by zone, overlay and fire-hazard designation. None of this should be assumed. Confirm the current process with your local building and planning departments, and see our page on architecture in Los Angeles for how we think about local context.
What does your insurance and lender situation allow?
Policies differ widely in what they cover and in what they ask you to document. Questions about coverage, additional living expenses or rebuilding to current code belong with your insurer and, where relevant, your lender or an adviser you trust. An architect can describe the design and documentation side of a project, but cannot speak for your policy or predict what it will pay.
Do you want the same house back, or something different?
This is the question underneath all the others, and it deserves real time. Some families want their home returned as closely as the rules allow. Others see an opportunity to fix a layout that never worked. Both are legitimate, and each has different consequences for review and design. We look at the choice in more detail in like-for-like or a new design.
Who should be on the team, and in what order?
A rebuild draws on an architect, a surveyor, engineers and eventually a contractor. Bringing the architect in early, before the contractor, helps ensure that the scope, the rules and the budget are examined together. Our guide to questions to ask before hiring an architect applies here as well, and the FAQ covers common questions about how we work.
The most useful thing you can do at the start is not to design. It is to find out what you have, what applies and what you want.
Give yourself permission to go step by step
You will be asked to make decisions before you have the information to make them well. It is reasonable to say that you are still gathering facts. A rebuild is not a quick process, and a calm start usually serves it better than a fast one. It also helps to keep one organized folder for everything: records, correspondence, photographs and notes from each call. When you later sit down with an architect, the insurer or the building department, having the story in one place saves repetition and avoids contradictions.
If you are at this stage and would like to talk it through, the contact form is the easiest place to begin. You can also read about our fire rebuild services.
Start with the architect. Whatever the question is, the design, the permit, the budget or who to bring in next, an architect looks at the whole project first and then helps you choose and coordinate the engineers, designers and builders it needs. Talk with Kevin Cohen, AIA about your project.
General information only, not legal, engineering or code advice. Rules differ by city and change over time, so confirm the details for your property with your local building and planning departments and with qualified professionals.