Building a new home from the ground up in Los Angeles is a multi-phase process that demands tight coordination across at least 8 to 12 separate trades, from foundation through final landscaping. This project — a two-story modern residence in Los Angeles — is a good example of how that sequence works in practice. The homeowner’s goal was a clean contemporary build: white stucco exterior, large-format glazing, a rear pool, and a finished outdoor living area. Here’s how it came together.

What Did the Site Look Like Before Construction Started?

Before a single wall went up, the lot was raw dirt — no existing structure, no utilities stubbed, no hardscape of any kind. The early-phase photo shows the framing and stucco shell essentially complete but the yard still bare, with construction debris and material bags on the ground and a temporary chain-link fence marking the property boundary.

At this stage the exterior stucco had been applied and the dark-framed window and door openings were in place, but the landscaping, pool, fencing, and exterior lighting fixtures were still weeks away. The structure itself — a two-story volume with a flat roof, cantilevered upper-floor sections, and a lower single-story wing — was already reading clearly as modern architecture. The cube-on-cube massing, the deep window recesses, and the absence of pitched rooflines were all intentional design choices carried through from permit drawings to finished product without deviation.

How Were the Windows Installed to Meet California’s Title 24 Building Energy Standards?

Every window opening was flashed with Fortiflash self-adhering flashing tape before the window unit was set, creating a watertight sill and jamb assembly that satisfies both the water-resistive barrier requirements and California’s Title 24 building energy standards for fenestration air sealing.

The window package for this project was Marvin — a manufacturer known for narrow-profile aluminum-clad frames that suit the aesthetic of modern homes while delivering good thermal performance. The photo shows one unit already set in its rough opening, with Fortiflash tape lapped fully around all 4 sides of the frame before stucco and trim work covered the assembly. Our crews set the Marvin units across 3 separate rough opening sizes on this project, each requiring the same tape-and-sill-pan sequence before the stucco lath went over the top. Skipping this step is the single most common cause of water intrusion complaints we see on homes built in the 2000s and earlier — a significant share of Los Angeles’s housing stock predates modern flashing requirements entirely.

What Does the Finished Home Look Like?

The completed rear elevation shows a clean white stucco facade with floor-to-ceiling black-framed sliding glass doors at ground level, a second-story balcony with black steel horizontal railing, an aluminum pergola structure at the roofline, and wall-mounted exterior lighting at 5 fixture locations across the rear face.

The backyard is finished with:

• A rectangular pool running along the south property line
• Black powder-coated steel pool safety fencing with a self-closing gate
• Concrete stepping-stone pavers set in a grid pattern with synthetic turf infill
• White river rock bordering the pool coping
• Mature privacy hedge plantings along the east fence line

The louvered screen wall visible on the left wing of the rear elevation adds both privacy and visual texture without breaking the monochromatic palette. As of 2026, this kind of indoor-outdoor flow — large sliding glass walls, a pool immediately off the main living space, and a covered upper-floor deck — is the most-requested configuration we see on new construction permits filed in Los Angeles.

How Long Does a Ground-Up New Construction Project Like This Take?

A two-story wood-frame new construction build in Los Angeles typically runs 12 to 18 months from permit issuance to final inspection, depending on plan-check processing time, weather delays, and subcontractor scheduling. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety plan-check alone can add 6 to 14 weeks to the pre-construction timeline for projects of this scope.

On this particular build, the pool and landscaping were the last 2 scopes to complete — consistent with the standard sequencing where hardscape and planting happen only after the exterior envelope is fully closed and waterproofed. Across our Los Angeles new construction projects, we’ve seen pool and landscape installation account for roughly 10 to 15 percent of total project duration, even though it often feels like the final sprint.

Ready to Build in Los Angeles?

If you’re planning a ground-up home or a major addition in the Los Angeles area, call Hollywood Construction Corp to schedule a project consultation. We’ll walk through your site, your plans, and a realistic timeline before any contracts are signed.

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