Central LA and the basin
Downtown, Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, Mount Washington, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Koreatown, Hancock Park, Larchmont, Mid-City, Miracle Mile, West Adams, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills and View Park.
This is where the oldest housing stock sits, and it changes the work. A lot of these homes have lath-and-plaster walls instead of drywall. Plaster patches differently, and it is slower work than drywall. Doors stick here because the house has settled over eighty years, so tightening the hinges won’t do it. And in anything built before 1978, sanding or cutting into old paint brings lead rules into play.
The San Fernando Valley
Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Village, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Sunland-Tujunga, Sun Valley, Panorama City, Van Nuys, Reseda, Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, West Hills, Northridge, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and Winnetka.
Mostly postwar single-family housing, which means drywall instead of plaster. Plenty of ceiling fan and light fixture work in the summer, and a lot of fence and gate repair. Valley properties tend to have more yard, and gates take a beating.
The Westside
Santa Monica, Venice, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Marina del Rey, Palms, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Rancho Park, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
A big share of the work here is in apartments and condos, not houses. Mounting a TV without wrecking the wall, hanging curtain rods and mirrors, assembling flat-pack, small painting jobs and touch-ups between tenants. If you’re a landlord or you manage a unit, say so when you send the job in. Access, building rules and timing all change how a visit has to be scheduled, and that is much easier to sort out up front than on the day of the visit.
The South Bay and the harbor
Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Lomita, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Carson, Harbor City, Wilmington, San Pedro, Long Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates.
Salt air is the local factor. Gate hardware, exterior trim and anything wooden facing the ocean wear faster down here than they do inland. So weatherstripping, caulking and small carpentry come up a lot more often than most people would guess.
The San Gabriel Valley
Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, San Marino, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Temple City, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa, Glendora, Covina and West Covina.
Craftsman and mid-century housing, lots of mature trees, and gutters that fill with leaves every fall. Gutter clearing and minor gutter repair are the busiest jobs out here from about September onward, ahead of the rain.
