A single accountable team for design, permitting, and construction — so you can rebuild with clarity, not chaos.
Licensed California General Contractor · Decades of integrated design-build experience · Trusted by Los Angeles homeowners.
For families across Pacific Palisades and Altadena, losing a home in the January 2025 wildfires was more than a property event — it was a rupture in everything daily life is built around. The path forward is harder than it needs to be, in large part because the industry that surrounds you treats rebuilding as a sequence of fragmented transactions rather than as one continuous responsibility.
NERA Builders takes the opposite position. We are a single firm with a single accountable team, carrying your project from first conversation through final walkthrough — design, engineering, permitting, construction, and verification held under one signature. That structural simplicity is the difference between a process you can plan around, and a process that consumes you.
We are not the cheapest answer. We are the answer that gets the home built — to a high standard, on a coordinated schedule, with the kind of communication you should expect at every stage of one of the largest financial undertakings of your life.
You're returning to a lot you know and a community you love. The home is gone; the address still matters. We start where you are.
We will give you an honest read on what your lot supports, what a credible rebuild budget looks like, and what realistic timing is — before you have to commit.
We're experienced with insurance scope, ALE timelines, replacement cost documentation, and the coordination required between your carrier, your adjuster, and your build team.
Whether you want exactly what you had or something better suited to how your family lives now, we can deliver both under the same disciplined process.
The traditional rebuild model places homeowners in the middle of a sequence of handoffs — architect to engineer, engineer to permit expediter, permit expediter to general contractor. Each handoff introduces friction, delay, and the opportunity for the next party to disclaim responsibility for what came before.
NERA's design-build delivery model eliminates that fragmentation. Architecture, engineering, permitting, construction, and final verification are coordinated by one team operating under one agreement, with one set of timelines and one accountable point of contact.
The practical result for fire-rebuild families: clearer pricing earlier, faster permitting, fewer change orders, and a project that progresses on a coordinated plan rather than a series of disconnected negotiations.
A direct conversation about your lot, your priorities, and what you're trying to rebuild. We listen first, then advise — no fees, no pressure.
We help you organize and validate your insurance scope, replacement cost, and ALE timelines, working alongside your carrier and public adjuster as needed.
We coordinate debris removal status, site testing, and lot preparation — connecting you with the right specialists where needed, and confirming you're ready to permit and build.
Our in-house and partnered design team handles architecture, structural and MEP engineering, and the full permit submission package — including taking advantage of expedited rebuild orders where available.
Before construction begins, you receive a transparent, fixed-price construction agreement based on completed drawings — not an open-ended cost-plus arrangement. You know the number before we break ground.
Execution by our construction team, with weekly transparent reporting, milestone-based payments, and a rigorous final walkthrough before keys are handed over.
Every NERA rebuild is engineered to meet — and where possible exceed — the latest California WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) and Chapter 7A standards. We don't treat wildfire resilience as an upgrade. We treat it as the baseline.
The highest fire-resistance rating, applied across the full roof envelope, with attention to soffit and eave detailing where ember intrusion is most common.
Mesh-screened, ember-resistant vents and dryer terminations engineered to resist ember entry — addressing the primary mode of structure ignition in wildfire events.
Non-combustible cladding systems and fire-rated wall assemblies, selected for both code compliance and architectural integrity.
Dual-pane tempered glass at all exterior openings, providing meaningful resistance to the radiant and embers-driven failure modes that consumed thousands of windows in 2025.
Site planning that respects Zone 0 (the first five feet) and Zone 1 (5 to 30 feet) defensible-space requirements — landscape, hardscape, and structure considered together.
Title 24 compliance, all-electric and solar-ready systems, modern insulation envelopes, and finishes appropriate to long-term durability in coastal and foothill climates.
Rebuilding is one of the largest financial commitments of your life. You should not have to take any builder's word — including ours — on faith alone.
NERA Builders is happy to support, and where appropriate to introduce, independent third-party verification of our construction quality and process — including independent inspectors, owner's representatives, and consulting professionals chosen by you, not by us.
This is the kind of transparency that defines how we operate. A rebuild that meets every code is a starting point. A rebuild that has been independently checked and signed off on, in your interest, is the standard.
NERA Builders has been building architecturally significant Los Angeles residences for more than two decades — a portfolio that spans hillside contemporary new construction, condominium renovation, and custom single-family work across the city's most considered neighborhoods. We bring that depth of discipline to every fire-rebuild engagement, applied with the empathy and clarity these projects deserve.
From the start of design through completion of construction, most rebuilds run 18 to 30 months. The variables are lot complexity, debris and site-readiness status, design scope, and permitting throughput. Expedited rebuild orders in Pacific Palisades and Altadena have meaningfully reduced permit timelines for qualifying like-for-like rebuilds, and we structure our process to take full advantage of those programs where applicable.
Both paths are available, and we will help you understand which makes sense for your situation. Like-for-like rebuilds typically benefit from streamlined permitting and faster timelines. Full redesigns offer the chance to address things you would have changed about your previous home. Many families end up with a hybrid: same footprint and massing, refined interior layout, modern systems.
Insurance recovery is its own track that runs alongside design and construction. We help you document the rebuild scope, the replacement cost basis, and the timeline to your carrier — and we work with your public adjuster or insurance attorney where one is involved. We've seen the full range of carrier behavior and can advise you on what's reasonable to expect at each stage.
That's a legitimate question — and an early consultation with us can help you answer it. We will give you an honest read on rebuild cost, timeline, and the comparative market value of a finished home on your lot. There is no obligation, and no pressure either way. We would rather you make the right decision for your family than the right decision for our pipeline.
We prefer fixed-price construction agreements built on complete drawings. Cost-plus and open-ended arrangements transfer too much financial risk to the homeowner during an already stressful period. Our process is built to deliver a credible fixed-price contract before construction starts, and we are transparent about the inputs that drive it.
Yes. Both jurisdictions have implemented expedited rebuild programs, and the requirements continue to evolve. Our permitting team stays current with the specific submission requirements, plan check protocols, and waiver opportunities in each — and we structure our drawing sets to align with what each plan check office is currently asking for.
At minimum: Class A roof assemblies, ember-resistant venting, non-combustible or fire-rated cladding, tempered exterior glazing, and Zone 0 / Zone 1 defensible-space-ready site planning. Beyond minimums: detail-level choices in eave construction, decking, fencing connections, and landscape composition that meaningfully reduce ignition risk. These are not upgrades — they are the baseline of how we build now.
One team. One project lead. One agreement. Design, engineering, permitting, and construction are coordinated under one accountable point of contact at NERA — which means you get one set of timelines, one set of expectations, and one number to call when you have a question.
We work both ways. Many families come to us with an architect already engaged, and we adapt our delivery model to integrate cleanly with their work. Others prefer the simplicity of NERA's integrated design-build offering. Both produce excellent outcomes — the right answer depends on your project.
Send us a note. A short email to hello@nerabuilders.com with your lot address (or general location), where you are in the insurance process, and what questions are most pressing — that's enough for us to schedule a no-obligation conversation and start being useful to you.
No pressure. No fees for an initial consultation. Just a direct conversation about your lot, your priorities, and what rebuilding right looks like for your family.
Request Consultation →hello@nerabuilders.com
NERA Builders provides fire rebuild construction services across Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu, Pasadena, Brentwood, Santa Monica, and the broader Los Angeles region. As a licensed California general contractor with deep experience in residential design-build delivery, we partner with families navigating insurance recovery, expedited permit programs, and the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon fires.