Kitchens, shade, fire, decks and fencing, with gas, power and water laid out once, before the patio goes down.
Free site visit from our lead contractor, for homes in LA County and the Conejo Valley. Where we work
Our lead contractor walks the yard with you, listens, and checks the sun, the slope, where gas and power can reach, and how the crew gets in. Then you get a written proposal for your project.
Free site visit and written proposal for homes in Los Angeles County and the Conejo Valley. Where we work
What are you planning?
Find the one that sounds like you. Each one leads to the part of the outdoor room that answers it.
Most outdoor rooms start with an evening you'd like to spend outside.
The kitchen sits on the patio, often under a cover, and close enough to the house to carry things out. The fire feature goes where wind and smoke won't bother the table.
Light ties the room together after dark.
01Cook where the people are
An outdoor kitchen built into your backyard plan, with gas, power and water run before the first block goes in.
When people call us about outdoor kitchens
Tap one to see where the cook stands and where people sit.
Each one adds a line or a cutout, so we plan them before the island is built.
Clean and paintable.
Heavier and warmer.
Needs good grout joints outdoors.
Some stones stain or get hot in full sun. Lighter colors stay cooler.
The lines and the footings go in first.
Our crews build the island.
The finish and the countertop go on.
Appliances go in.
Lights and shade come last.
02Shade where you sit
Wood pergolas and patio covers, placed where the afternoon sun actually hits and planned with the patio and the kitchen.
When people call us about shade
Tap a type of shade, then move the sun across the afternoon.
Footings, sized for the soil and the structure.
Posts and beams.
Rafters, or a roof.
Finish and sealing.
Lights and fans, by a licensed electrician (C-10).
Wired by a licensed electrician.
Wood needs resealing or repainting on a schedule. If it's skipped, it grays and weathers.
03Warmth on cool nights
In most of the LA area, gas is the easier choice, because winter no-burn days don't apply to it.
When people call us about fire features
Lights with a switch. Not affected by no-burn days in the LA basin.
A wall of warmth by the table. Needs a footing and a gas line.
Low and wide. People can set a drink on the edge.
Real wood smell, but it can't be used on no-burn days, and new homes have limits.
Pick the spot: away from the house, out of the wind.
Run the gas line, with a permit.
Pour the footing.
Build the structure.
Finish it in stone, stucco or tile.
We light it and walk you through it.
04Level ground where there wasn't
Wood decks, including decks that turn a slope into level space you can use. We design and build them, with footings planned for the slope.
When people call us about decks
Warm and easy to shape on site. Needs sealing on a schedule.
Planned with the deck height and your city's rules.
05Privacy, and a gate that latches
Fences planned with the yard's privacy and planting, with gates that latch and a height your city allows.
When people call us about fences
Warm and easy to repair. Needs sealing, and posts can rot at the ground.
A clean, modern line. Needs more posts to stay straight.
Strong and open to the view. Can get hot in the sun.
Low upkeep, but it can expand in LA heat, so gates and spans are planned for it.
Have their own rules for height, gaps and self-closing gates.
An outdoor kitchen or fire feature needs gas, power and sometimes water arriving at one spot. Those lines are easiest to run before the patio goes down.
Plan where the grill, sink, lights and fire feature go.
Every line gets a place to arrive before anything is dug.Run gas, power and water lines, with permits.
They go in a trench under the future patio, and they're inspected before it's closed.Pour footings for the island, the cover or the fireplace.
Each footing is sized for what will stand on it.Build the structure.
The island goes up, and the posts and beams of the cover.Finish it: countertop, stone or stucco, appliances.
The lines come up right where the grill and the sink go.Lights and fans, wired by a licensed electrician.
Wiring planned before the cover is built has a place to hide.Easy to run before the patio. Much harder to add after it.
Drainage and walls come first. Then the lines and the footings, then the patio. The kitchen, the cover and the fire feature come last, on a surface built for them.
On video
A bare slope became levels you can use: a sunken fire pit with built-in seating, steps between the levels, and a pergola for shade.
A bare slope turned into an outdoor room Terraced levels, steps, a sunken fire pit and a pergola where the hillside used to be.
The rules change by city and by parcel. These are the ones we check before design.
In the LA basin, winter no-burn days cover wood fire pits, fireplaces and wood-fired ovens. Gas fire features aren't affected by those alerts.
Homes built there since March 9, 2009 generally can't add a permanently installed wood-burning fireplace or fire pit.
If your home is in a mapped High or Very High fire hazard zone, wildfire construction rules apply to many new structures near the house, like attached patio covers and decks. We check your zone and choose materials for it.
In LA County fire hazard areas, open recreational fires have extra limits. We check your zone before we plan a fire feature.
Santa Ana winds can gust hard in canyon and foothill areas. We place fire features and shade with the wind in mind.
As of October 2026, California's proposed Zone 0 rule for the first five feet around homes is not in effect. We design the area next to the house with the pending rule in mind.
Gas, power and water for an outdoor kitchen need trade permits and inspections. We plan for them from the start.
How tall a wall or fence can be along the street or the side of your lot depends on your zone and your city. We check before design.
California requires at least two drowning-prevention features on a new or remodeled home pool, and some cities require more. We help you choose the combination that fits your yard and your city.
We confirm what applies to your property at the site visit and during design.
General information, not legal advice.
The kitchen, the cover, the fire feature and the lines under them are drawn as one plan, so each part has its footing and its line before the patio goes down.
You'll know who to call.
Before we call the job done, we walk the yard with you.
They also talked us into built-in bench seating along the edges, which sounded like a minor detail at the time but has become one of our favorite parts of the whole thing. ... Clean site every evening, no drama, no delays. The deck has completely changed how we spend our weekends. We're outside constantly now.
We hired Ace Design & Build for a full backyard remodel that included a new pool and outdoor kitchen, and we couldn't be happier with the result. They completely transformed the space and did a great job with the layout and overall design. ... We've already gotten so much use out of the backyard and it feels like we have a whole new space to enjoy.
They listened to our ideas, helped bring our vision to life, and paid attention to the details throughout the project. The quality of the work really stood out, and our backyard turned out beautiful. The process was smooth, communication was great, and the team was respectful of our home and property.
Close enough to the house to carry things out, out of the main wind, and where the cook isn't facing the afternoon sun. Gas, power and water also shape it, so we plan the spot and the lines together.
Not always, but in LA sun, shade over the cook and the counter makes it easier to use on hot afternoons. A cover also protects the appliances. We plan it with the kitchen, so the posts and footings fit.
Yes. Lights and fans are wired by a licensed electrician, and the wiring is easiest to plan before the cover is built.
Often, yes. An attached cover ties into the house wall or roofline, which means more checks: the structure, the roof drainage and, in fire hazard zones, the materials. A freestanding pergola avoids some of that. We look at both.
Free site visit and written proposal for homes in Los Angeles County and the Conejo Valley. Where we work
What are you planning?
After you ask
Licensed in California
5-star reviews on Google
Who does the work. How the work gets done
Where we work. Serving Los Angeles County and the Conejo Valley
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