Rebuilding After a Fire: The Decisions That Matter

If you are reading this because you lost a house, we are sorry. This page is deliberately not a gallery of ideas. It is the set of decisions that come up in a rebuild, in roughly the order they arrive, so that you can think about them before anyone asks you to sign something.

For how we work on these projects, see fire rebuild.

Rebuild what was there, or build what you need now

This is the first fork and it has consequences in both directions. Rebuilding substantially what existed is usually the faster path and generally sits more comfortably with insurance, which is written around replacement. Designing something different gives you a house suited to how you live now rather than to how the previous owners lived in 1958.

There is a middle path most people end up on: keep the footprint and the broad form, change the plan inside it. That tends to satisfy both the insurance framing and the desire not to rebuild a house that never quite worked.

Understand what your policy actually covers before you design

Design decisions have insurance consequences, and the order matters. Replacement cost, extended replacement cost, ordinance-and-law coverage and additional living expenses are separate things, and the gap between what a policy pays to replace and what it costs to build to current code is the single most common source of shortfall.

We are contractors, not insurance advisers, and we will not tell you what your policy means. What we will do is give you a real construction cost for a defined scope, in writing, so that the conversation with your adjuster is about numbers rather than impressions.

Current code, not the code the house was built to

A rebuild is new construction, and it is built to today’s requirements. In practice that usually means more insulation, current energy standards, updated electrical, and — in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone — fire-hardening requirements for roofing, eaves, vents, exterior cladding and windows.

This is where costs diverge from the old house, and it is exactly what ordinance-and-law coverage exists for. It is worth knowing the number early.

Fire hardening, and what it is actually worth

If you are rebuilding in a fire zone, some of this will be required. The parts most worth understanding:

Roof and eaves. A Class A roof and enclosed, protected eaves. Embers entering an open eave is a leading cause of loss.
Vents. Ember-resistant vents. Small cost, disproportionate protection.
Windows. Multi-pane and tempered glazing performs far better under radiant heat.
Cladding and decks. Non-combustible or ignition-resistant materials.
The first five feet around the house. Not construction at all, and one of the highest-value things you control.

Rebuild once, and build in what you will want

You will not have this access again. While the house is being built: insulation above code, conduit for solar and EV charging, structural provision for anything you might add, acoustic separation, and generous electrical provision. All marginal now.

The things people say afterwards

Two themes come up repeatedly from people who have been through it. The first is that they wish they had taken longer over the plan and less time agonising over finishes — the plan is what they live in. The second is that they underestimated how much decision-making the process required at a time when they had the least capacity for it.

If that is where you are, it is a reasonable thing to say to your builder. A good one will bring you fewer, better-framed decisions rather than every choice at once.

What costs more than people expect

Bringing the site back. Debris, utilities and sometimes the foundation.
Current code compliance against the old house.
Fire-zone requirements in materials and detailing.
Time. Living elsewhere is a real and lengthy cost.

What is cheaper than people expect

Improving the plan while rebuilding the same footprint.
Everything built in during construction.
Defensible space around the house.
Getting a proper written scope early, which is what makes the insurance conversation concrete.

Questions we get asked

Should I rebuild the same house or design something new?

Rebuilding broadly what existed is usually faster and sits more comfortably with insurance, which is written around replacement. Most people end up keeping the footprint and general form while changing the plan inside it, which satisfies both.

Will the rebuild have to meet current codes?

Yes. A rebuild is new construction and is built to today’s requirements — more insulation, current energy standards, updated electrical, and fire-hardening requirements if you are in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. That divergence from the old house is what ordinance-and-law coverage exists for.

Can you help with my insurance claim?

We are contractors, not insurance advisers, so we will not interpret your policy. What we can do is give you a real, written construction cost for a defined scope, which is what makes the conversation with an adjuster concrete rather than a matter of opinion.

What fire-hardening measures matter most?

A Class A roof with enclosed protected eaves, ember-resistant vents, multi-pane tempered glazing, and ignition-resistant cladding and decking. Alongside those, the first five feet around the house is not construction at all and is among the highest-value things you control.

What do people wish they had done differently?

Two things come up repeatedly: spending more time on the plan and less agonising over finishes, and underestimating how many decisions the process demands at a time when they had least capacity for them.

What should I build in while the house is going up?

Insulation above code, conduit for solar and EV charging, structural provision for anything you might add later, acoustic separation and generous electrical provision. All marginal during construction and expensive afterwards.

Tell us about your rebuild

Send us the basics — the address, where you are with the insurance claim and the permits, and roughly when you would like to start — and we will come out, take measurements and put a written scope and estimate in front of you within about 48 hours of the visit.

Call (800) 348-3050