General Contractor in Sherman Oaks, CA

Dn Builders Group Inc Services is a licensed general building contractor based in Burbank, working throughout Sherman Oaks — kitchen and bathroom remodels, whole-home renovations, additions, ADUs, and Ventura Boulevard buildouts. Sherman Oaks looks like its Valley neighbors on a map, but it carries a construction history few of them share: the heaviest 1994 earthquake damage on this stretch of the Valley, plus two separate design-review layers on top of the standard permit process.

What we build in Sherman Oaks

Permits through LADBS in Van Nuys

Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, not its own city, so remodels, additions and new construction all permit through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. For Valley-side projects that means the district office at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd, the same counter used by every other San Fernando Valley community. Zoning follows LA City Planning rules, split neatly along Ventura Boulevard — hillside lots and the Baseline Hillside Ordinance to the south, standard R1 flats to the north. We confirm zoning and any overlay before we scope a project, not after. Full context on the neighborhood: remodeling in Sherman Oaks — what to know.

What the 1994 earthquake left behind

The Northridge earthquake's epicenter was only a few miles from Sherman Oaks, and the neighborhood was assigned one of the highest shaking-intensity ratings recorded in the 1994 event — widespread, well-documented damage to wood-frame apartment buildings and single-family homes, with structures along corridors like Hazeltine and Magnolia red-tagged as uninhabitable at the time. Most of the housing stock survived and was rebuilt fast, under emergency volume, by crews of uneven quality. When we open walls in a Sherman Oaks home from that era, the quake still shows up: hairline foundation cracks painted over, chimneys rebuilt without proper ties, cripple walls that were never braced. None of it is a reason to avoid a project here — it is a reason to inspect the foundation, chimney and any pre-1995 "repair" before finalizing a budget, and to add foundation bolting while the walls are already open, since it is one of the cheapest seismic upgrades in construction.

A boulevard with its own rulebook, just streamlined

Ventura Boulevard is Sherman Oaks' commercial spine, and it does not run through the standard LADBS process alone. The Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan (Ordinance No. 166,560) layers its own project review over commercial and mixed-use parcels along the corridor, and the City Council amended it effective March 14, 2026, streamlining clearances for signage, interior tenant improvements, and a change of use. A restaurant or storefront buildout on Ventura still goes through Specific Plan review, before the sequence we mapped in the restaurant buildout timeline — just on a faster path now for those three items.

Hillside lots near Mulholland answer to a second specific plan

South of Ventura, streets climbing toward Mulholland Drive sit in LA's designated Hillside Area, where the Baseline Hillside Ordinance governs grading, height, and remodel scope — and many of those lots also sit in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, pulling in Chapter 7A ignition-resistant construction. Lots directly along the Mulholland corridor carry a third layer on top: the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan (Ordinance No. 167,943), adopted in 1992 to protect the ridgeline's views. Any project adding 900+ square feet of floor area cumulatively since then must go before the Mulholland Design Review Board, which meets the first and third Wednesday of each month — at the same 6262 Van Nuys Blvd address as the LADBS counter. We check both layers before pricing a hillside project; see hillside lots in LA — the costs nobody budgets for.

Licensed and bonded

Dn Builders Group Inc Services holds an active California General Building license (#1139710), carries a $25,000 surety bond, and is fully insured. Any California project over $500 in labor and materials requires a licensed contractor. Verify ours, or anyone's, with the CSLB — here is how to check a contractor's license. ADU projects here follow the same state law as the rest of the Valley; see ADU vs JADU in Los Angeles.

How we work

We start by confirming which overlays your parcel answers to, then walk the space, talk honestly about budget, and give a fixed, itemized scope before demolition. We pull the permits through LADBS. Change orders are approved in writing, never sprung at the end. Weekly updates, and a walkthrough at the finish. See our portfolio page.

Questions

Are you a licensed contractor in Sherman Oaks?

Yes. Dn Builders Group Inc Services holds an active California General Building contractor license (#1139710), carries a $25,000 surety bond, and is fully insured. The license covers Sherman Oaks and all of California, and can be verified with the Contractors State License Board.

Is Sherman Oaks its own city, or does it permit through Los Angeles?

Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, not its own city. Permits, plan check and inspections run through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, and for Valley-side projects the counter is the district office at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd — the same office used by every other San Fernando Valley community.

What did the 1994 Northridge earthquake leave behind in Sherman Oaks homes?

The Northridge earthquake's epicenter was only a few miles away, and Sherman Oaks was assigned one of the highest shaking-intensity ratings recorded in the event, with widespread, well-documented damage to wood-frame apartment buildings and homes. Most of the housing stock was repaired quickly afterward, and repair quality from that 1994–95 rush varies — we recommend inspecting the foundation, chimney and any pre-1995 repair work before finalizing a remodel budget.

Are there extra design rules for hillside lots near Mulholland or a commercial space on Ventura Boulevard?

Yes, and they're separate layers. Hillside lots south of Ventura toward Mulholland Drive fall under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, and lots directly along the Mulholland corridor also answer to the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, which routes any project adding 900+ square feet cumulatively since 1992 to a dedicated Design Review Board. Commercial and mixed-use parcels on Ventura Boulevard itself fall under the Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, recently amended (effective March 14, 2026) to streamline signage, tenant-improvement, and change-of-use approvals.

Where else we work

Studio City, North Hollywood, Burbank, and Greater Los Angeles.