Fire hardening is the baseline, not an upgrade
Malibu has burned in 1993, 2007, 2018, and 2025. Since October 2025 the entire city is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. We do not offer a fire hardened option, because there is no other option we would put our name on. Class A roof assemblies, ember resistant vents, enclosed eaves, noncombustible cladding, tempered multi-pane glazing, and a noncombustible five foot zone are in every set of drawings we build from. Details on fire hardening.
Coastal, hillside, canyon: what each lot demands
A bluff lot brings geotechnical review, Coastal Development Permit conditions, and salt air that decides every exterior material. A hillside lot brings retaining walls, caissons, and a driveway grade that decides the gate. A canyon lot brings the wind corridor that carried the last fire and the cell signal that will not carry your intercom. We have built and lived on these lots. The site walk is where we tell you what yours will ask of the design before the architect starts.
How a build runs with us
- Site walk. Lot, survey, utilities, access, and what the codes will require here.
- Design and permits. Your architect or ours. City of Malibu Planning, Coastal review where it applies, LA County Fire.
- Build. One crew, one schedule, weekly updates with photos.
- Perimeter and outdoor. Gates, fences, garage doors, and outdoor rooms fabricated in our shop and installed to the same drawings.
Gates, fences, and outdoor spaces from the same crew
Most custom builds end with a separate gate company arriving after the builder leaves, working from their own drawings. We fabricate the driveway gate, the fence, the garage door, and the pergola ourselves, in one finish family, designed with the house. The property reads as one piece because one company built it.
Questions we get about custom home construction
Do you build outside Malibu?
Malibu first, then Topanga, Pacific Palisades, and the Conejo side: Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village. Ask about anything else along the coast or in the canyons.
Is fire hardening extra?
No. Every home we build meets the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, the code that replaced Chapter 7A on January 1, 2026, and gets a noncombustible five foot zone. That is the baseline price, not an add-on.
Who designs the house?
Your architect if you have one. If you do not, we bring one in early so the fire hardening, the lot conditions, and the perimeter are drawn together instead of reconciled later.