For now, Frazier is getting quotes on windows, skylights and other home fixtures in hopes of locking in prices before they go up as more construction projects ramp up, or in response to the Trump administration’s ongoing trade war.
“I’m doing things like scouring Home Depot, finding slate tiles that look modern and beautiful, but they’re actually really cheap,” she said.
Recreating a home in the Palisades
DeAnn Heline, a TV showrunner, knows what it’s like to build her dream house from the ground up.
She waited more than two years for construction to be completed on the five-bedroom, eight-bath home with ocean views. Once the project was done, her husband vowed to never build another house. The family lived there for six years before it was destroyed in the Palisades Fire.
“It was ash. There was nothing,” Heline said.
The couple, who have two daughters, have lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years. They couldn’t imagine giving up and not rebuilding.
“Not only are we building another house, we’re building the exact same house again,” Heline said, noting the new home will have some upgrades including fire-resistant materials and sprinklers for the exterior of the house.
Recently, they cleared debris from the land where the house once stood, a particularly onerous task because the home featured a large basement into which much of the structure collapsed as it burned.
Heline isn’t sure when construction will begin, but figures it could be two or three years. She wonders, however, what the neighborhood will look like by then.
“What are you going back to? You’re going back to a moonscape? Are you there and no one else is on your block, or are you going back to a construction zone for many more years?” she said.
Banding together as a community
The Eaton wildfire destroyed many of the more than 270 historic Janes Cottages in Altadena, including the three-bedroom home Tim Vordtriede shared with his wife and two young children.
The family had only lived in the roughly 100-year-old house for three years.
“We just loved the storybook cottage and the vibe, and of course the grander vibe of Altadena,” he said. “It was perfect.”
Vordtriede, 44, has decided to rebuild, but not just yet. For now, he is using his experience as a construction project manager to help others who also lost their homes.
He co-founded Altadena Collective, a group providing assistance with home designs and guidance on how to navigate the complex and lengthy approval process for rebuilding permits. Of the roughly two dozen clients that the group is serving, at reduced cost, three are in the early stages of the permitting process.
Even after projects reach shovel-ready status, homeowners will have to wait perhaps more than a year before they can move in, he said.
“My first statement when anyone walks in the door is: We’re not here to help you design your dream home,” Vordtriede said. “This isn’t a dream time. This is a nightmare, and our job is to get you out of the nightmare as soon as possible.”
