Electrician in Encino

Encino divides at Ventura Boulevard. To the north are ranch-house streets, mostly between White Oak Avenue and Balboa Boulevard, and Encino Village, laid out in 1955 on the old RKO studio ranch. To the south, houses climbed into the Santa Monica Mountains from the late 1950s through the 1970s, on larger, irregular lots in subdivisions such as Royal Oaks and Royal Woods.

On the flats, a remodel or an ADU raises the question of whether a modest post-war service can carry it; in the hills, how to add to a house that has already been added to. The price is in writing after we've seen the job.

What we do in Encino

Everything we do in Encino, with what each job usually involves here. The photos are from our own jobs.

Panel upgrades in Encino

Service sizing for Encino remodels and ADUs, including the two-meter panel LADWP can approve when an ADU gets its own meter.

More on panel upgradesCall (844) 430-7681

EV charger installation in Encino

Chargers for ranch-house garages north of the Boulevard and for assigned spaces in Encino's courtyard apartment buildings.

More on EV charger installationCall (844) 430-7681

Electrical repair & troubleshooting in Encino

Tracing faults in enlarged hillside houses, through garage and pool-house sub-panels and feeders added by successive owners.

More on electrical repair & troubleshootingCall (844) 430-7681

Rewiring in Encino

Rewiring post-war ranch houses north of Ventura Boulevard while the walls are open for a remodel.

More on rewiringCall (844) 430-7681

Lighting & ceiling fans in Encino

Landscape and exterior lighting for lots near Mulholland Drive: low, shielded, warm in color and aimed onto the property, as the scenic parkway plan requires.

More on lighting & ceiling fansCall (844) 430-7681

Commercial electrical in Encino

Tenant improvements, lighting, meter banks, dedicated circuits and service upgrades for shops, offices, warehouses and multi-unit buildings.

More on commercial electricalCall (844) 430-7681

Also: subpanels, dedicated circuits, 240-volt outlets for dryers and ranges, exterior and security lighting, hard-wired smoke alarms, and small repairs of every kind.

What's common in Encino homes

Encino's housing falls into three groups, and each needs something different from an electrician.

• Ranch houses north of the Boulevard. Modest post-war houses on regular lots. Induction cooking, a heat pump or an ADU can take one past its original panel, so the load calculation belongs in the design stage, before the plans are drawn around a service that can't carry them.
• Hillside houses south of it. Built from the late 1950s into the 1970s on larger, irregular lots. Where one has been enlarged, expect sub-panels in garages and pool houses, and feeders extended more than once.
• Courtyard apartment buildings. Multi-family housing here is mainly 1960s and '70s courtyard buildings north of Ventura Boulevard. For owners, the electrical work is meter banks, house panels for laundry and common lighting, and unit circuits of that era.

Permits and power in Encino

Encino (91316, 91436) is City of Los Angeles from the Sepulveda Basin to Mulholland Drive, so the citywide steps below apply. Close to Mulholland there is one more layer: lots inside the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan go through the plan's design review before LADBS issues a building permit for new construction, an addition or an exterior alteration. Interior remodeling isn't covered, and the plan exempts remodels and repairs of a single-family house that meet its conditions, including no grading. ZIMAS, the city's online parcel map, shows whether a lot is inside the plan.

Parts of the Encino hillside are also in the city's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which brings the fire-zone construction rules into any addition built there.

Permits come from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). A new circuit, an EV charger, a sub-panel or a panel replacement is permitted work, and LADBS will not send an inspector until the permit is issued. We pull it under our license and meet the inspector at the end.

Power comes from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), not Southern California Edison. For repairs, lighting, new outlets and a charger that fits on the existing panel, LADWP is not involved. For a panel or service upgrade it is: the job starts with LADWP's free meter spot, where an Electric Service Representative visits within five to fifteen business days, confirms where the new equipment may go and leaves a sketch at the job (single-family services up to 320 amps can be requested online). When only the meter needs setting, LADWP says that generally happens within ten working days. If the existing LADWP service can carry the new load there are generally no LADWP charges; work in the street, on a transformer or on the lines can add cost and time, and we find that out before you commit.

The permits and utilities guide explains the whole picture for the three counties we serve.

Around Encino

Tarzana to the west and Sherman Oaks to the east share Encino's hillside and its stretch of Ventura Boulevard. Reseda, Lake Balboa and the Sepulveda Basin border it on the north, with Van Nuys to the northeast and Woodland Hills beyond Tarzana. All six are City of Los Angeles neighborhoods, so the permit and utility steps stay the same as you cross into them.

• Sherman Oaks
• Tarzana
• Reseda
• Lake Balboa
• Van Nuys
• Woodland Hills

See the full list of areas we cover across Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.