Kitchen Remodeler in Hacienda Heights, CA

Split-level kitchens on the slopes above Colima Road

Streets climbing south from Colima Road and Hacienda Boulevard are lined with homes stepped into the hillside. Kitchens are often larger than in flatland tracts and open to a family room or a view, but they sit on raised framing more often than slabs, and split-level plans put short stair runs right beside them.

Raised framing can flex a little, so heavy large-format tile or natural stone floors need a stiff subfloor; engineered wood and vinyl are more forgiving. Generous kitchens also tend to carry an island or long peninsula, where a full slab counter avoids visible seams.

The slopes bring their own risks. The Puente Hills give their name to the Puente Hills thrust fault beneath the region, so tall pantry and wall cabinets should be fastened into studs and heavy stone tops properly supported. Upper streets back onto brushy hillside and open space, where LA County Fire maps fire hazard severity zones and Santa Ana winds raise the stakes each fall. Raised floors here may also have a crawlspace that ventilates to outdoor air, so wood floors above it should be checked for moisture swings before installation. Houses from the 1960s and early 1970s are old enough that disturbing painted cabinets falls under the EPA’s lead-safe renovation rule.

Unincorporated status and LA County permits in Hacienda Heights

Hacienda Heights has no city hall, so a remodel permit for a home here comes from LA County Public Works’ Building & Safety, not LADBS or a neighboring city. A straight replacement of doors, counters and floors on the existing plan is seldom permit work. Reworking the island plumbing, adding a range hood circuit or opening a split-level wall is, and the licensed trades who handle it can be verified at cslb.ca.gov.

We don’t have Hacienda Heights projects to show; this page sticks to what applies to the area. Owners in Rowland Heights and La Puente plan the same trip.

Hsi Lai Temple, the Pomona Freeway and the Puente Hills trails

Hsi Lai Temple, one of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere when it opened in 1988, sits on the hillside above Hacienda Boulevard. The Pomona Freeway (SR-60) runs along the community’s northern edge, Colima Road and Hacienda Boulevard carry most local traffic, and the Hacienda Hills trailhead, run by the Habitat Authority that manages the Puente Hills preserve, opens off a residential street at the top of Seventh Avenue. The former Puente Hills Landfill to the west closed in 2013.

With no city government, services are county-run or come from utilities. Water is split among more than one provider, including Suburban Water Systems, and the county’s planning office points owners to a service locator to confirm which serves an address. Edison supplies power and SoCalGas the gas. Building permits go through LA County Public Works.

West on the Pomona Freeway to Sherman Way

1. 1

   Record the slope details

   Measure the kitchen and note any steps or level changes nearby; photograph the island or peninsula from both sides.

2. 2

   Take the 60 west

   Then the 5 or the 101 toward the 170 and Sherman Way; mid-morning or early afternoon is usually easiest.

3. 3

   Compare large slabs

   Look at full slabs for an island alongside cabinet doors and the floor you intend to run up the steps.

4. 4

   Schedule the delivery

   Confirm access on a hillside street; materials and any requested installation are then booked to your Hacienda Heights address.

Kitchen remodeling options for Hacienda Heights hillside homes