The first ninety days decide most of what follows, and almost none of it is design. In order: secure the site and document everything, open the insurance claim and get your policy limits in writing, engage a public adjuster or attorney if the claim is large, get on the debris-removal list, and establish what the lot permits you to rebuild before anyone draws anything. Design starts after that. The single most common and costly error is designing a house before knowing what the policy will pay and what the parcel now allows.
This page is a general orientation for homeowners, not legal, insurance or financial advice, and rules change. Confirm anything consequential with your carrier, your jurisdiction, and where the claim is significant, your own adjuster or attorney.
The first 30 days
- Do not re-enter until the site is cleared as safe. Post-fire sites carry structural, electrical, asbestos and heavy-metal hazards that are not visible.
- Document everything, exhaustively. Photograph and video the property from every angle before anything is moved or cleared. Reconstruct a contents inventory while memory is fresh — room by room, using old photos, delivery emails and credit-card history. Contents claims are won or lost here.
- Open the claim and request your full policy in writing, including all endorsements. You need to know three numbers precisely: dwelling limit, extended replacement cost percentage if any, and additional living expenses limit and duration.
- Secure temporary housing and keep every receipt. ALE reimbursement is real money and is routinely under-claimed.
- Get on the debris-removal programme list if one has been established, or understand the alternative if you opt out.
Insurance, honestly
The gap between what owners believe they are covered for and what the policy pays is the defining financial feature of a rebuild. A few things worth knowing early:
- Underinsurance is common. Dwelling limits set years ago against then-current construction costs frequently fall short of rebuilding at today's prices, particularly in a post-disaster market where local demand spikes.
- Extended replacement cost is not unlimited. It is typically a percentage above the dwelling limit, and that percentage is in your declarations.
- Code upgrade coverage is separate and often modest. Rebuilding to current code — which you will have to — can cost significantly more than replicating what burned.
- Additional living expenses have a time limit, and rebuild timelines routinely exceed it. Know your limit at the start and plan the schedule against it.
- If the claim is large, get representation. A public adjuster or an attorney experienced in first-party property claims generally pays for themselves on a total loss. Nothing on this page substitutes for that.
Debris removal and the site
Debris removal governs when anything else can start, and it is usually the first hard dependency in the schedule. After a major declared disaster there is typically a government-run programme that clears qualifying properties at no direct cost, alongside the option to retain a private contractor and handle it yourself. Both paths have trade-offs around timing, control, soil testing and documentation. The programme is often slower but simpler; private removal can be faster but carries requirements you must meet and document.
Either way, expect a soil sampling and clearance step before rebuilding, and keep the clearance documentation — it is a prerequisite later.
Establishing what the lot now allows
This is the step most often skipped, and skipping it is expensive. Before design begins, you need to know:
- What you can rebuild as of right. Many jurisdictions allow a like-for-like rebuild of what existed, including non-conforming elements, often with conditions and a time limit on starting. Rebuilding larger or differently may push you into current standards instead.
- Whether expedited review applies. Post-disaster, jurisdictions frequently stand up streamlined rebuild pathways with dedicated staff. They usually have eligibility rules tied to replicating the prior structure.
- What current code now requires. Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone construction standards have tightened materially over the past two decades — ignition-resistant assemblies, ember-resistant venting, Class A roofing, glazing, and defensible-space landscaping.
- Whether hillside, grading or coastal rules apply, which can differ from what governed the original house.
- Utility restoration timing, which is frequently the quiet constraint on when anyone can actually build.
The decision that falls out of this is strategic: replicate, or rebuild better. Replicating is usually faster and may preserve rights you would otherwise lose. Rebuilding better gets you the house you actually want. There is no universally right answer, and it should be made deliberately with the numbers in front of you rather than by drift.
When design actually starts
Once the claim position and the regulatory envelope are known. Starting earlier feels productive and usually produces drawings that have to be redone, because the two things that most constrain the design — budget and buildable envelope — were still unknown.
When it does start, the advantage of resolving everything in a model before construction is sharper here than on any other project type. You are rebuilding under a schedule constraint, an insurance limit, and a contractor market with more demand than capacity. Change orders in that environment are punishing. Seeing the whole house and signing off before trades mobilise is how you protect both the budget and the timeline.
A realistic timeline
| Phase | Typical duration | Runs in parallel with |
|---|---|---|
| Claim opening, documentation, policy review | 2–8 weeks | Temporary housing |
| Debris removal and soil clearance | 2–9 months | Feasibility, claim negotiation |
| Feasibility, survey, entitlement check | 4–8 weeks | Debris removal |
| Design and documentation | 3–7 months | Claim finalisation |
| Permit and plan check | 2–8 months | Contractor selection |
| Construction | 14–26 months | — |
Durations vary enormously with jurisdiction, the scale of the disaster, and whether expedited review applies. Treat this as a shape, not a schedule. Our Palisades and Malibu fire rebuild timeline goes deeper on the local picture.
The mistakes that cost the most
- Designing before knowing the number. Drawings produced against an assumed budget get redrawn against the real one.
- Accepting the first scope-of-loss figure without independent review on a total loss.
- Signing with the first contractor who appears. Post-disaster markets attract both excellent builders and opportunists.
- Missing the deadline to start that attaches to like-for-like rebuild rights in some jurisdictions.
- Under-documenting contents in the first weeks, which cannot be recovered later.
- Letting ALE run out because the schedule was never planned against its limit.
Where we fit
We are designers, not adjusters. What we do is the part after the claim position is clear: feasibility against what the lot now allows, layout and interiors designed together, a permit-ready set, and the whole house resolved in a photoreal model with a 360° walkthrough so you approve it before anyone builds it.
We have done this work in the Palisades — the Pacific Palisades fire rebuild project page shows the full scope, including the before-and-after from construction shell to finished design. If you are earlier than that and just need to know what is possible on your lot, that is a feasibility conversation and we are happy to have it.
Further reading: rebuild timeline, custom home cost per square foot, remodel versus rebuild, and designing in Pacific Palisades or Malibu. For local build costs, see the cost to build in Pacific Palisades and in Malibu.
Common follow-up questions
What should I do in the first week after losing a house to fire?
Stay off the site until it is declared safe, document the property exhaustively by photo and video before anything is cleared, open your insurance claim, request the complete policy with endorsements in writing, secure temporary housing and keep every receipt, and begin a room-by-room contents inventory while your memory is fresh. Design is not a first-week activity.
Can I rebuild exactly what I had?
Often yes. Many jurisdictions permit a like-for-like rebuild of the prior structure, sometimes including non-conforming elements, usually with conditions and a deadline to begin. Rebuilding larger or differently may instead trigger current standards in full. It is parcel- and jurisdiction-specific, and it is the first thing to establish because it shapes both the schedule and the budget.
Will my insurance cover rebuilding to current code?
Only to the extent your policy includes code upgrade coverage, which is a separate limit and often a modest one. Since current wildfire-zone construction standards are considerably more demanding than those of twenty years ago, this gap is one of the most common sources of unexpected out-of-pocket cost. Check the endorsement early.
How long does debris removal take?
Anywhere from a couple of months to the better part of a year, depending on the scale of the disaster, whether you use a government programme or a private contractor, and where you fall in the queue. It is usually the first hard dependency in the schedule, which is why feasibility work should run in parallel rather than waiting for it.
Should I hire a public adjuster?
On a total loss or any large claim it is generally worth serious consideration, and many homeowners find it pays for itself. We are not insurance professionals and cannot advise on your specific claim; what we can say is that the owners we have worked with who had experienced representation tended to reach a workable number faster.
Is it worth designing a better house, or should I replicate?
It depends on your rights, your claim position and your timeline. Replicating is typically faster and may preserve non-conforming rights; rebuilding better gets you the house you want but can move you into current standards and a longer approval path. The important thing is to make it as a deliberate decision with both options costed, rather than arriving at it by accident.
When should we start the design process?
Once you know your claim position and what the lot permits. Those two facts constrain everything, and drawings produced before they are known usually get redone. In practice feasibility can begin while debris removal is still under way, which is the efficient sequence.