Custom Home Additions
New Space That Meets Old Structure
An addition succeeds or fails at the joint where new framing meets the existing house. Alain Hirsch Construction Corp. surveys the current structure, identifies how loads travel, and designs the tie-in so the two halves behave as one building. Footings are sized to the new load, walls are connected with proper hardware, and the roofline is carried through so the addition reads as part of the original home rather than a box bolted to its side.
Typical work includes primary suite additions, second-story pop-ups, family-room extensions, bedroom wings, laundry and mudroom additions, and garage conversions. Because additions disturb the daily life of a household, the crew stages access, contains demolition dust, and keeps weather-tight barriers in place until the new envelope closes.
The firm also handles the less visible work that additions require: moving or extending utilities, upgrading electrical service where new loads demand it, reinforcing floor systems, and correcting drainage so water does not collect at the new foundation line. Every addition is drawn, permitted and inspected before the first footing is poured. Owners receive a scope that separates structural work from finish work, so they can see where the money goes and where there is room to adjust without weakening the build.
Structural Framing Packages
A Skeleton Coordinated Before It Is Built
A framing package from this firm is more than an order of lumber. It is a coordinated structural system with walls, headers, beams, floor joists, roof framing, shear panels, hold-downs and connectors resolved together. Members are sized to the spans and loads shown on the plans, cut lists are organized by phase, and materials arrive labeled so the crew is not searching through a pile while a crane waits.
The advantage shows up at inspection. When shear nailing, hardware schedules and blocking are planned in advance, the framing inspector finds a complete assembly rather than a puzzle. That keeps the schedule moving and protects the trades that follow, because straight walls and level floors make every subsequent finish fit properly.
The team frames additions, whole homes, garages, decks, stairways and structural repairs. Older Long Beach homes frequently need selective reframing where previous work was undersized or water-damaged, and the firm documents those conditions with photographs before correcting them. Windows and door openings are laid out to the finish dimensions, so expensive openings land where the drawings promised and trim does not have to compensate for drift.
Kitchen and Bath Renovations
The Most Systems Per Square Foot
Kitchens and bathrooms concentrate plumbing, electrical, ventilation and waterproofing into a small area, which leaves little room for improvised decisions. Alain Hirsch Construction Corp. plans these rooms as integrated assemblies: plumbing is routed and vented correctly, dedicated circuits are provided for the loads the room will actually carry, and exhaust is ducted to the exterior rather than dumped into an attic.
Waterproofing is treated as a system, not a coat of paint. Wet areas receive proper substrate preparation, bonded membranes, sealed corners and flood-tested pans before tile is set. Cabinetry is set level and shimmed plumb, and countertops are templated after the boxes are in place, which avoids the gaps and lippage that come from ordering tops against a drawing that the field never matched.
Beyond the wet work, the firm handles layout changes that open a kitchen to a dining room, relocate a laundry, or convert a hall bath into a functional guest bathroom. Where walls move, the structural implications are addressed first, with beams and posts designed and permitted before any demolition begins. The result is a room that looks finished and behaves like it, holding up to daily use in a busy household.
Concrete and Foundation Work
What Everything Above Depends On
Foundation and concrete work from this firm covers excavation, formwork, reinforcement, placement, finishing and curing for footings, stem walls, slab-on-grade, raised floors, retaining walls, walkways and driveways. Elevation is established from a surveyed benchmark and checked repeatedly, because a foundation that is out of level by a fraction of an inch creates problems all the way up the building.
Reinforcement is placed with proper cover and tied to the schedule, and concrete is placed in a single continuous operation wherever structural continuity matters. Curing is managed rather than ignored, since how concrete is protected in its first days determines its long-term strength and crack resistance.
Drainage is designed alongside the concrete, not afterward. Site grading, surface fall, footing drains and sub-slab vapor barriers are all addressed so water moves away from the structure. Where existing foundations are cracked, undermined or settling, the firm evaluates the cause before proposing a repair, because patching a symptom without correcting the source only delays a larger failure.
Roofing and Waterproofing
The Details Where Water Actually Enters
Roofing work here begins with the premise that flashings are the real roof. Valleys, wall intersections, pipe penetrations, skylight curbs, chimney crickets and drip edges receive the most attention, because those are the places where water finds its way in. Underlayment is installed as a secondary drainage plane rather than an afterthought, and deck surfaces are inspected and repaired before any covering goes down.
For coastal Long Beach, material selection accounts for salt air, UV exposure and wind-driven rain. Fasteners and metal components are specified to resist corrosion, and ventilation is balanced so attic moisture can escape instead of condensing on the underside of the sheathing. Where low-slope areas exist, membrane systems are installed with properly terminated edges and positive drainage to scuppers or drains.
Waterproofing extends below the roof line as well, covering decks, balconies, planters, exterior stairs and foundation walls. These assemblies are detailed with continuous membranes, correct slopes and protected terminations so they remain serviceable for years. Finished areas beneath waterproofed decks are flood tested before cover, which is the only reliable way to confirm that a hidden failure will not damage the space below.
Permit and Code Compliance
Legal, Documented, Inspected
Permit and code compliance is a service in its own right at Alain Hirsch Construction Corp. The firm prepares permit applications, construction drawings, structural calculations, energy documentation and inspection schedules, then coordinates with the local building department through every phase. Corrections are anticipated and answered early, which keeps projects from stalling after work has already begun.
On site, the crew builds to inspection, meaning rough framing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and energy inspections are scheduled and passed in sequence rather than treated as a final hurdle. The firm walks each phase with the inspector when possible, so questions are resolved directly and the record shows a project that was built correctly from the start.
At closeout, all permits are finalized, inspection records are collected, and a documentation package is handed to the owner for future sales, refinancing, insurance or future remodel planning. Unpermitted work is a liability that surfaces at the worst possible time, so the firm also helps owners understand what existing work may need to be legalized, what that process involves, and how to sequence it sensibly.
Process overview
Four Phases, One Stairwell
1. Survey and Scope
A site walk, measured survey and written scope that separates structural work from finish work and sets a realistic budget range.
2. Design and Permit
Drawings, calculations and energy documentation are prepared and submitted so approvals arrive before materials are ordered.
3. Build and Inspect
Concrete, framing, envelope and systems are built in sequence with scheduled inspections and weekly owner check-ins.
4. Finish and Handover
Finish work, punch list corrections, final inspection and a documentation package that protects the investment long term.