Huntington Beach and West County
Much of Huntington Beach was built as large single-storey tracts in the 1960s and 1970s, and a lot of those houses still have the kitchen they were built with: a closed room or a narrow galley, a wall between the cooking and the living, and a window over the sink looking at the side yard. Opening that kitchen up is the project many owners here have in mind. This guide explains what that involves, what the city’s own permit list says, and how the neighboring West County cities differ.
Kitchen Remodel Orange County is a referral service, not a contractor. A request from this page goes to an independent remodeler in your part of the county, who gives you their own written estimate.
Huntington Beach at a glance
- Permits from
- City of Huntington Beach
- Homes
- Large 1960s and 1970s single-storey tracts, Huntington Harbour, Downtown and Seacliff
- Typical project
- Opening a closed or galley kitchen to the family room
- Nearby
- Fountain Valley, Seal Beach, Westminster, Garden Grove, Cypress and Los Alamitos each issue their own permits
Tract kitchens, then and now
A tract kitchen was designed to be efficient and separate. The counters are often short, upper cabinets run to a soffit, and the dining area sits on the other side of a wall or a pass-through. Over sixty years many have had new counters or doors, but the plan underneath has not moved. When owners call a remodeler, it is usually because they want the kitchen to face the family room, fit an island, or simply hold more than one cook.
Huntington Harbour, with its waterfront homes on the channels, Downtown near Main Street, and the Seacliff neighborhood each bring different houses and, in places, associations with their own rules. Tell a remodeler which part of the city you live in, and whether an association reviews changes, at the first call.
Opening a galley kitchen
Taking out the wall between a kitchen and a family room is a structural question before it is a design one. Some walls only divide rooms; others hold up the framing above them. Only someone who looks at the framing can tell you which you have, and if the wall is load-bearing, the opening usually needs a beam, a design for it and a permit.
- Ask the contractor who decides whether the wall is load-bearing, and whether an engineer is involved
- Ask what runs inside the wall: wiring, plumbing vents, ducts or a gas line all have to be moved
- Ask how the floor will be patched where the wall stood, and whether the flooring will match
- Ask how the new layout changes the lighting, since the kitchen will now share light with the room beside it
Moving the sink to an island means new drain and vent lines, which is plumbing work with its own permit. A range moved to a new wall may need a new gas line or a new circuit, and a vent hood ducted to the outside brings mechanical work. Each of those items is something to see itemized in every bid.
What Huntington Beach lists as exempt
The city publishes a list of work exempt from permits. It names painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work as exempt from a building permit. The same list says that separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits will be required for those exempted items, so a new sink, a new outlet or a new hood vent still needs its permit.
The list also says items in a Floodplain Overlay District or an Environmentally Sensitive Area, or work that needs discretionary planning approval, are not exempt. If you are not sure whether your address falls in one of those, ask the city before you plan. Your contractor pulls the permit and the city decides what is needed.
Worth knowing
Cabinet and counter work being exempt from a building permit does not mean the whole kitchen is. Count every plumbing, electrical and mechanical change on the plan.
Want to talk through a Huntington Beach kitchen with a local remodeler?
West County cities
Fountain Valley, Westminster and Garden Grove share much of Huntington Beach’s postwar housing, and Cypress and Los Alamitos sit farther north. Seal Beach has its Old Town near the pier, and Leisure World, a separate retirement community with its own rules for alterations. Each of these is its own city with its own building department, so Huntington Beach’s list does not apply there. Check with the city’s building department for your address.
Before you hire
A remodel that moves walls and plumbing is a job for a contractor who can carry several trades under one contract. CSLB says that if a kitchen remodel will involve plumbing, electrical and carpentry work under one contract, you should hire a B General Building contractor. Look the license up on the CSLB website, ask to see the pocket license, and ask for a certificate of insurance.
- Get at least three written bids based on the same plan and scope, as CSLB suggests
- Make sure the contract says who gets the permits before work starts, and whether the fees are included
- Check that the payment schedule follows the work: California says payments may not get ahead of the work done or materials delivered
- Put every change in writing, with its price, before it is done
If your cabinet boxes are sound and you like the layout, cabinet refacing in Orange County may be all you need. Owners nearer the bay can read kitchen remodel Newport Beach, and anyone in a planned community with an association can start with kitchen remodel Irvine or kitchen remodel Mission Viejo.
Questions people ask
Does Huntington Beach require a permit for new kitchen cabinets?
The city’s list names cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work as exempt from a building permit, but it also says separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits will be required for those items. Your contractor pulls the permit and the city decides.
Can I take out the wall between my kitchen and family room?
Often, but whether the wall is load-bearing decides how. Ask the contractor who checks the framing, whether a beam and an engineer are needed, and who pulls the permit.
Do Fountain Valley and Westminster follow Huntington Beach’s rules?
No. Each is its own city with its own building department. Check with the city’s building department for your address.
Who will call me back?
An independent remodeler who works in Huntington Beach and West County. Kitchen Remodel Orange County is a referral service, not a contractor, and it does not do or bid the work. The remodeler gives you their own written estimate.
