One-story homes with basements
Single-level living for young families and for staying in the house as you get older, with a basement for the rooms that don't need daylight: media, storage, a gym, or a guest suite.
One-story homes with basementsNew custom homes
New custom homes, designed and built for the foothills.
Ground-up single-family homes in Pasadena, Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, and across the Los Angeles foothills, including one-story homes with basements and rebuilds on fire-affected lots. ROAM Design Studio LLC designs and permits the home; ROAM Builders Inc. (CSLB Lic. #1151324) builds it.
What we build
Homes shaped by how you live and the lot you have.
Two-story and hillside homes
Homes that step with the slope, with the grading, retaining, drainage, and geology work hillside lots require planned from the first sketch.
Fire rebuilds
New homes on lots lost in the Eaton and Palisades fires, designed to the rebuild pathway that fits your goals and built to wildfire-resistant standards.
Altadena fire rebuild · Palisades fire rebuildFrom lot to move-in
How a new home comes together.
- Site review. We start with the lot: zoning, setbacks, height limits, slope, soils, utilities, fire-zone requirements, and anything that limits what can be built. This is where a basement, a second story, or an accessory unit is confirmed or ruled out.
- Design. ROAM Design Studio LLC develops the plan with you, from layouts to exterior and finishes, and coordinates the structural engineer, civil and soils engineers, energy consultant, and other licensed professionals the home needs.
- Permits. We prepare and submit the permit set and answer plan-check comments with the agency for your address, whether that is a city building department, LA County Public Works, or the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.
- Construction. Under a separate written agreement, ROAM Builders Inc. builds to the approved plans, schedules the trades and inspections, and keeps you informed at each phase through final walkthrough.
Two companies, one coordinated team: each works under its own agreement, so you always know who is responsible for which part of the work.
Where we build
New homes across the Los Angeles foothills.
Permit offices, hillside rules, and fire-zone requirements differ from one foothill city to the next. Our service-area guides cover what applies where.
Pasadena · Altadena · La Cañada Flintridge · Sierra Madre · Arcadia · La Crescenta-Montrose · Glendale · Burbank · Sunland-Tujunga · Sun Valley
Common questions
Before you build a new home.
How long does it take to design and build a new custom home?
Plan on design and permits taking several months, and often longer on hillside lots or where design review applies, followed by construction that often takes a year or more, depending on the size of the house and the site. The biggest variables are the permitting agency, the site, and how quickly decisions get made. We give you a project-specific schedule once the scope is defined.
Can I build a one-story home with a basement?
Often, yes. A basement adds bedrooms, a media room, storage, or a guest suite without adding a second story, which keeps the house lower to the ground and can help where height or view limits apply. Whether a basement fits your lot depends on the soils, slope, drainage, and how the local zoning code counts below-grade floor area. See our page on one-story homes with basements for what to check first.
Do you build on hillside lots?
Yes. Much of the foothill area from La Crescenta to Sierra Madre is hillside, where grading, geology and soils reports, retaining walls, drainage, and fire-access requirements shape the design. We bring those questions into the first design conversation instead of discovering them in plan check.
What does wildfire-resistant construction add?
Homes in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and wherever a city applies it more broadly, must meet the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (formerly Building Code Chapter 7A): ignition-resistant exterior walls and roofing, ember-resistant vents, tempered or multi-pane glazing, and related details. We design these in from the start, so they are part of the plan and the price rather than plan-check corrections.
Can you build from plans by an outside architect or designer?
Yes. ROAM Builders Inc. (CSLB Lic. #1151324) can price and build from plans prepared by your own architect or designer. If you are starting from a blank page, ROAM Design Studio LLC can design the home and take it through permits under a separate design agreement.