About this desk

What this guide covers

Santa Clarita Home Guide is an independent editorial desk on the house a person actually lives in: the lot it sits on, the season it faces, the roof and walls around it, the systems inside it, and the work it needs. It is written in American English for owners, future owners and renters in the Santa Clarita Valley, from Valencia and Newhall to Saugus, Canyon Country, Castaic and Stevenson Ranch.

The desk keeps four postes, each with its own cote: CL for heat, wind and fire season; WA for water, soil and slopes; SY for roof, walls and systems; PJ for projects and costs. Every entry answers one question, numbered inside its poste.

Who writes it

The desk writes every entry. It reads the city of Santa Clarita and County of Los Angeles permit pages, California building and residential codes, fire authority clearance guidance, water district notices, manufacturer data on roofing, insulation and cooling equipment, and open research on clay soils, urban heat and indoor air. The entry states what those documents say and names each one it read.

Builders, contractors, inspectors, agencies and suppliers are described in the third person. Photographs are made for each entry and captioned as plates.

How an entry is made

An entry begins as one question a household in the valley asks. The desk gathers the documents, reads them, and writes the answer first, then the detail. The entry carries its cote, its date of record, the number of words and the sources it read. When a document changes, the entry is checked again and its date moves.