Room Additions in Altadena
Altadena room additions with a noncombustible wall base, glass toward the garden and ember details drawn for county review.
Leaf litter, mulch and wind-blown debris pile up at the foot of a wall, and that is where an ember can find fuel. For an Altadena addition the bottom stretch of the new wall is built with a metal weep screed over a concrete curb, and the glass door sill sits clear of the planting bed. Altadena has ground on the fire hazard map.
From curb to sill
A raised concrete curb carries the stucco or fiber cement down to a metal screed, so no wood sits where debris collects. The sliding door sill rests above the finished patio level on a metal pan, which also keeps water out of the floor. Planting beds stay back from the wall, and gravel or pavers fill the strip beside it. These choices are simple to build into the framing stage and awkward to add once the walls are finished and painted.
County review and the roofline
Drawings for Altadena go to the county building department, since the community is unincorporated, and the ember details are shown on the sheets so the reviewer can find them. Above the glass the roof covering carries a Class A fire rating, eaves are boxed with noncombustible soffit and vents are a listed ember-resistant type. A patio cover beside the new wall is aluminum or heavy timber and sits clear of the eave line where the layout allows. Gutters on the new roof carry metal guards, which keeps dry leaves from collecting along the edge.
Room Additions in Altadena: what people ask
A garden wall of mostly glass is workable once a beam is sized to span it. Where ember rules apply, doors and windows use tempered glass in dual-pane units with frames made for the purpose. The product list narrows a little, and the opening itself can stay wide.
Either route works, and the ember rules follow both. Building out adds footprint beside the yard. Building up puts roof edge, eaves and vents high on the house, all to the same standard, once the existing foundation and walls have been reviewed.
Sealing the joint is part of the tie-in line, alongside the roof meeting and the floor heights. Where a fire hazard applies it also holds any vent or eave upgrades the county asks for at the seam, because a gap there can admit embers. The room is totaled separately.
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