Northridge
Northridge landscaping questions, answered
What Northridge homeowners ask before they start.
Yes, across the whole area, from the streets near the university up through the bigger properties toward Porter Ranch and Granada Hills. We are in Woodland Hills and the west Valley most days, and Northridge is a short run from there, so there is no travel charge.
Square footage is the first thing that moves the price, so a deep Northridge front yard is a bigger job than the same work in a tighter tract. It is also where a conversion pays back hardest, because that is a lot of grass to keep alive through a Valley August. We measure and quote the finished scope, and we are happy to phase it.
On a large Northridge lot it is the strongest case in the Valley. The saving scales with area, so the bigger the lawn the bigger the difference. Done properly it is not a bare gravel lot either, it is layered planting, grasses, boulders, and decomposed granite that reads fuller than the lawn it replaced. Our landscaping page covers how the install is sequenced.
Yes, on these streets you generally should. Fifty year old canopy is irreplaceable and it is the best feature on a lot of these properties. We plan around root zones, avoid raising grade over roots, and keep new irrigation from constantly wetting the trunk flare, which is what kills established trees more often than anything else.
Yes. North of Devonshire there are still properties with the room and the zoning for it. The usual work is the same, planting, irrigation, hardscape, and lighting, just at a larger scale with longer runs. Access is usually good on these lots, which keeps costs more reasonable than the tight jobs further south.
It comes up more than you would expect, because a lot of Northridge homes were repaired or rebuilt afterward and that sometimes changed the grading, the hardscape, or where utilities run. We look for it at the walkthrough. If a driveway or a patio was replaced at a different level than the original, that can be why water now runs the wrong way.
We can. It is worth doing while the ground is open. Standing water and water tracking toward the house are grading problems. We regrade so it runs away from the structure and add French drains, catch basins, or a dry creek bed that doubles as a feature rather than an eyesore.
Yes. Paver patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls, seating walls, and stone work. On the clay soil here the base is what decides whether it stays flat, so we excavate to real depth and compact in lifts. See our hardscaping page.
Yes. Bigger back yards are where this makes the most sense, because there is room to give a seating area its own space. Shade first, then a fire feature, then cooking. More on our outdoor living page.
It depends on the exposure, and Northridge has more variety than most of the Valley because of the tree canopy. Full sun areas want succulents, agave, grasses, lavender, rosemary, and westringia. The shaded parts under mature trees open up options that would scorch on an exposed lot.
Northridge is in LADWP territory, and turf replacement rebates have run on and off with changing terms. They typically require approval before the lawn is removed. Given how much square footage is involved on these lots, it is worth checking before you start, and we will tell you what is running when we quote.
Certainly, and on a large lot both matter more than people expect. Proper zoning stops half the yard struggling while the other half drowns, and lighting a deep front yard with mature trees is one of the highest impact things you can do. See our irrigation and lighting page.
A front yard is a week or so. A full property with hardscape, drainage, and planting runs several weeks, and the larger lots here sit at the longer end simply because there is more of everything. You get a real schedule at the estimate.
Yes, on a big property it is often the sensible route. We plan the whole thing once so the grading, drainage, and irrigation happen in the right order, then build it in stages. Front yard now, back yard next season, with the look staying consistent.
We come out and walk the property, look at the trees, the grade, and the irrigation, and talk through what you want and what you want to spend. Request a free quote and we will set it up.