Outdoor living, Los Angeles
Outdoor living in Los Angeles, built as one yard.
Akopi Builders is a licensed general contractor (CSLB #1112420) that builds outdoor living in Los Angeles: covered patios and pergolas, outdoor kitchens, in-ground pools and spas, pavers, stone and hardscape. We work in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, the Palisades and Malibu, and across the San Fernando Valley. One team designs, permits and builds the whole backyard, in the order it has to be built.
What we build
A backyard is a construction project.
It has a foundation, an inspection sequence and gas, water and power running under it. Akopi Builders builds the whole yard: the pool, the covers, the kitchen and the paving, by one team on one schedule. See the Arnwood build, photographed from the first trench to the finished patio.
Covered patios and pergolas
Covered patios and pergolas.
We build open wood pergolas, solid patio covers roofed to match the house, steel frames and motorized louvered roofs. Most of LA pays about $4,000 to $15,000 for an open wood pergola, $8,000 to $35,000 for a solid patio cover and $12,000 to $55,000 and up for a louvered system. In Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, the Palisades and Malibu, plan on the upper end and above.
In the City of Los Angeles there is no 120 square foot permit exemption for a patio cover. Most covers and pergolas need a permit, and an attached cover has to stay open on its sides to stay a patio cover. We draw it, get the engineering where it is needed and pull the permit.
Outdoor kitchens
Outdoor kitchens.
A built-in grill island, a full outdoor kitchen with a sink, refrigeration and a pizza oven, or a cooking pavilion under its own roof. Most of LA pays about $15,000 to $25,000 for a grill island, $25,000 to $50,000 for a mid-range kitchen and $50,000 to $100,000 and up for a full high-end one. In the high-end areas the same kitchen runs about 25 to 35 percent more.
Gas, water and power are what make an outdoor kitchen a construction project. Each needs a permit, and the lines go in before the paving. Gas fire pits and fireplaces are planned with them. A new permanent wood-burning fireplace is limited by South Coast AQMD Rule 445, so most new fire features here are gas.
Pools and spas
Custom pools and spas.
We build gunite pools and attached spas, with tile, coping, pebble finishes and the equipment, and we build them as part of the yard, not apart from it. A basic gunite pool in most of LA costs about $80,000 to $160,000. In Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, the Palisades and Malibu, plan on $150,000 to $300,000 and up, and $200,000 to $500,000 and up on a hillside or with a vanishing edge.
From design to swimming, a pool usually takes 4 to 6 months. Permits take about 6 to 12 weeks on a standard lot and 8 to 16 weeks on a hillside. Every pool needs a barrier at least 60 inches high and at least two drowning prevention features.
What an in-ground pool costs in LA
Pavers and hardscape
Pavers, stone and hardscape.
Patios, pool decks, walks, steps, planters, seat walls and drainage. Installed, most of LA pays about $8 to $18 a square foot for poured concrete, $18 to $32 for concrete pavers, $25 to $45 for travertine and $35 to $65 for limestone, bluestone and other natural stone. In Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, the Palisades and Malibu, natural stone runs about $50 to $80 and up.
Around a pool we use tumbled or brushed stone, never polished or honed, because it stays cooler and less slippery underfoot. Flat paving 30 inches or less above grade needs no City of LA building permit, but a retaining wall, a curb cut or new utility lines do.
Pavers vs natural stone vs concrete in LA
The whole yard
Planned together, built in order.
Utilities and grade go in first. Then the pool is dug, its steel and plumbing set, and the shell shot. Covers and kitchens follow, and the paving goes in last, over lines that are already inspected. A pool, its deck and basic hardscape add up to about $125,000 to $250,000 in much of LA. A full outdoor living build commonly runs $400,000 or more.
Where we work
From the Westside to the Valley.
Westside and Beverly Hills
We are based in Beverly Hills and build outdoor living in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Access, parking and hillside lots add time and cost to every day on site here, so prices in these areas run higher than the rest of LA. Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu run their own building departments.
San Fernando Valley
In the Valley we build in Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and Calabasas. Most of the Valley is in the City of Los Angeles, so permits go through LADBS. Calabasas has its own building department.
Why Akopi
One builder for the whole yard.
- Licensed
- CSLB #1112420, a licensed California general contractor.
- One builder for the yard
- Pool, patio cover, kitchen and paving on one schedule, so nothing is torn up twice.
- Built in order
- Utilities and drainage first, the pool shell next, covers and paving after. The order is fixed, and we plan to it.
- One accountable builder
- Led by Hovik Akopyan. One person owns the schedule and the result.
- Since 2014
- Building in Los Angeles since 2014.
How it goes
From a walk of the yard to the first swim.
-
Walk the yard
We look at the grade, the access, the utilities and what the lot allows.
-
Design and written quote
A plan for the whole yard and a written quote with the line items visible.
-
Permits
We pull the permits with LADBS or your city's building department.
-
Build
Our crew builds it in order, with written updates every week.
Questions
Outdoor living questions.
- Who builds covered patios in Los Angeles?
- Akopi Builders designs, permits and builds covered patios, patio covers and pergolas in Los Angeles, from Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood to the San Fernando Valley. We build wood, steel and louvered covers, and roofs framed to match the house. Patio cover and pergola costs.
- Who builds outdoor kitchens in Los Angeles?
- Akopi Builders builds outdoor kitchens in Los Angeles, including the gas, water and electrical lines and the permits for them, and the covers, fire features and paving around them. Most of LA pays about $25,000 to $50,000 for a mid-range outdoor kitchen. Outdoor kitchen costs.
- Who builds custom pools in Beverly Hills and Bel Air?
- Akopi Builders builds custom gunite pools and spas in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood and the rest of Los Angeles, including on hillside lots. In those areas a custom pool typically runs $150,000 to $300,000 and up, and more on a hillside. In-ground pool costs.
- Who does high-end backyard hardscape in Brentwood?
- Akopi Builders builds high-end hardscape in Brentwood and across the Westside: natural stone and porcelain patios, pool decks, steps, seat walls, planters and drainage, planned with the pool and covers so the levels carry through. Paving costs by material.
- What does a full backyard remodel with a pool cost in Los Angeles?
- A pool, its deck and basic hardscape add up to about $125,000 to $250,000 in much of LA. A full outdoor living build with a pool, covers, a kitchen and stone paving commonly runs $400,000 or more. Your number comes as a written quote after we walk the yard. Full backyard costs.
- Can one contractor build the pool, the patio cover and the outdoor kitchen?
- Yes. That is how we work. One builder runs the trenching, the pool, the gas and electrical, the covers and the paving on one schedule and one set of permits, so the utilities go in once, before anything is poured over them. See the Arnwood backyard build.
Begin
Start with a walk of the yard.
Call (818) 214-7500 or send us a note about your yard. Akopi Builders, licensed general contractor, CSLB #1112420.