Building decks in Bel Air

Bel Air is hillside building at the top end of the market, and the two things that decide a deck here are the slope and the fire zone. Much of it sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and the 1961 Bel Air fire is still the reference point for how quickly this terrain moves.

California moved its wildfire-zone construction rules into the new California Wildland-Urban Interface Code in January 2026, replacing Chapter 7A and Section R337. It regulates the walking surface — deck boards and stair treads — and the bar is a California State Fire Marshal listing, not a manufacturer's flame-spread claim. The test that matters puts burning embers on the deck.

We build with TimberTech AZEK Vintage and Kayu Batu, both listed Class A with no conditions, and with Ipe through suppliers that hold an actual listing. Trex's listed lines carry a condition on the adjacent wall covering; Trex Enhance carries no listing.

Permits run through LADBS, and Bel Air lots off Stone Canyon, Bellagio and Roscomare are steep enough that most decks are elevated — new footings, engineered post-and-beam framing, often a waterproofed assembly over living space below, and the underside enclosed to grade.

The work here tends to be view-driven, which is where stainless cable railing and custom steel earn their cost. We fabricate our own, so a railing is built to the deck rather than ordered to fit it.

Call (818) 345-2866.