The recent Palisades and Eaton fires have left families not only grieving the loss of their homes but also facing an uphill battle to rebuild amid rising costs, permitting backlogs, and limited construction labor. At Letter Four, we’ve always taken pride in offering a seamless, full-service design-build experience that brings clarity, creativity, and care to complex projects.

In response to the unique needs of fire-affected homeowners, we're expanding our toolkit. We’ve partnered with innovative prefab and modular manufacturers to offer an approach that blends our signature design and project management services with the speed, cost efficiency, and enhanced fire performance of factory-built construction. This is custom prefab done the Letter Four way, fully customizable, design-forward, and handled end-to-end by our team.

This isn't a product line. It's a process, bespoke modular design and construction tailored for your site, your needs, and your goals.

Why Modular? Why Now?

The article from the Center for American Progress argues that scaling up modular construction can significantly reduce building costs and timelines, thereby increasing the supply of affordable housing, especially in high-need areas.

With custom modular construction, we can radically streamline that process.

• Timelines Cut in Half or MoreBecause homes are built offsite in tandem with site prep, we're able to overlap phases that would normally be sequential—cutting months off the project.
• Up to 20% in Potential Cost Savings Factory efficiency and material buying power allow us to pass on savings—especially important as demand and tariffs push traditional construction costs higher.
• Built for Fire ResilienceWe're working with prefab partners whose homes are designed from the ground up to meet or exceed High and Very High Fire Severity fire safety standards, details, and ratings.
• Controlled Quality, Fewer Delays Fabrication in a protected environment means no weather-related damage, consistent quality, and a much smaller chance of materials being delayed or stolen on-site. The quality level is actually higher than many conventionally-built homes, and we’re able to reduce what goes into the landfill as well, making modular construction the more eco-friendly option. It also means reducing the number of on-site inspections at a time when inspectors' calendars will be overloaded with appointments.

It’s Not a Box: Custom Prefab That Reflects You

Prefab often brings to mind generic, lookalike homes—but personalized prefab can be just as rich, warm, and tailored as any stick-built structure.

Our approach lets you retain the full benefits of Letter Four’s design sensibilities:

✧ Customization, Start to Finish

These aren't off-the-shelf models with no flexibility. We work with manufacturers that allow for adjustable layouts, window placements, finish packages, and more. Whether you're imagining a light-filled modern cottage or a sleek mid-century-inspired home, we'll make it yours. With Letter Four, no one would ever know that your home was built via factory-built or modular construction methods.

✧ Full-Service, White-Glove Experience

Just like our traditional projects, you'll work with one integrated team through:

• Site evaluation and feasibility
• Architectural design
• Plan check and permitting
• Site grading, foundation, and utilities
• Modular home installation
• Landscape, hardscape, and fencing
• Interior finishes and furnishings

We’ll coordinate with cities, manufacturers, subcontractors, and consultants so you don’t have to. Our goal is to make this process feel just as comprehensive and cared-for as our custom ground-up builds—just on a shorter timeline and at a more accessible price point.

✧ Design-Forward and Community-Minded

Many of the prefab homes we’re working with already feature clean lines, open layouts, and thoughtful details—making them a perfect fit for neighborhoods in the Palisades and Altadena. Want to lean modern, rustic, or cottage-core? We’ll help you personalize the look and feel, inside and out.

Engineered for Resilience

After a wildfire, design decisions aren’t just about aesthetics—they’re about peace of mind. That’s why fire-resistance and durability are at the core of all of our offerings.

Together with our factory partners, we’re integrating assemblies that protect against radiant heat, embers, and ignition, including:

• Non-combustible exterior cladding and decking
• Triple-glazed, fire-rated window systems
• Vented soffits and roofs built to WUI specs
• Ember-resistant design features
• Strategic landscaping for defensible space

These aren't just homes that comply—they're homes that defend, while exceeding expectations and requirements.

A Smart Approach for Neighborhood Groups: Creating an Economy of Scale with Custom Modular Construction

One of the most compelling advantages of modular construction is its scalability—especially in communities where multiple homes were affected. If you and your neighbors (or HOA) are open to exploring group rebuilding, we can unlock powerful efficiencies and additional cost savings by coordinating efforts.

When multiple properties in the same area rebuild using the same design-build team and modular manufacturer, we can:

• Share costs for site work, grading, and utility trenching
• Streamline permit submission with coordinated planning
• Use bulk ordering for materials and fixtures
• Align installation schedules for speed and efficiency, as well as reduced staging costs
• Maintain individuality while reducing overall cost

It’s a modern take on how many neighborhoods were originally built—similar layouts with enough variation to feel personal, built efficiently and affordably. Except now, we can deliver much more in terms of fire safety, energy performance, and design style flexibility.

Our Process: Letter Four’s 4-Step Approach to Custom Modular Construction

At Letter Four, we follow a structured 4-step process that guides each project from vision to completion. This approach is especially effective when paired with modular construction, allowing us to reduce timelines and costs without sacrificing quality, design integrity, or personal service. Whether you're rebuilding after a wildfire or exploring a more efficient way to build, our team ensures a smooth and highly customized experience at every stage.

Step 1: Action Plan

We start every project with a strategic Action Plan. This step lays the groundwork for success by uncovering site constraints, exploring modular options, and aligning the design with your budget and goals.

Includes:

• Site visit and feasibility study
• Review of rebuild rights, zoning, and fire zone compliance
• Development of a customized design concept (modular or hybrid)
• High-level coordination with modular providers
• Initial cost and timeline estimates
• Preliminary pricing for site work, home delivery, finishes, and extras

This phase ensures that your rebuild is viable, aligned with local codes, and scoped realistically from day one.

Step 2: Technical Phases

Once the direction is set, we move into the technical design and documentation process. Even with modular homes, there’s a significant amount of customization, engineering, and coordination involved.

Includes:

• Schematic Design to allow you to view your home in three dimensions, on your site topography and confirm that room sizes, window and door placement, roof configurations, and ceiling heights all look and feel good to you
• Design Development including architectural details, layout refinement, and modular-home integration as we coordinate engineering and prepare to submit for permits
• Construction Documents for all site-built components (grading, foundations, decks, garages, etc.) and connection of the modules and installation of additional custom design details
• Coordination with modular engineers
• Consultant management, including Structural, Geotechnical, Civil, Title 24, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Landscape Design, and others

We take care of all the technical heavy lifting to ensure your home is code-compliant, well-integrated with the site, and ready for permitting and fabrication. We keep you updated every step of the way so that you always know where you stand as we prepare for construction.

Step 3: Finishing Touches

As the modular home is being built offsite, we shift focus to everything that will make the final product feel complete and personal. 

Includes:

• Full permit submittals and management of agency approvals
• Interior Design services to finalize materials, finishes, fixtures, and furnishings. Many of these items will be installed in-factory and we’ll coordinate logistics to avoid delays once fabrication starts
• Landscape and hardscape design to complement your home and lot, ensuring that the design of your outdoor space is just as personalized and the design of your home itself
• Final detailing and quality assurance to ensure seamless coordination between off-site and on-site construction

This step is where we fine-tune the experience, preparing your home for smooth delivery and creating a unified design inside and out. Our licensed architects and interior designers remain on-board all the way through site construction and module installation so that every last detail is accounted for before we hand you your keys.

Step 4: Construction

This is where it all comes together—your home is delivered, installed, and finished with the same precision and care we bring to all Letter Four projects. We will install foundations and perform our grading and utility connection work while your modules are built in a factory to compress your schedule and get home into your home sooner. In order to do so, we overlap Steps 3 + 4, working as a team with internal staff, consultants and engineers, our modular fabricator, and our sub-contractors.

Includes:

• Site preparation, grading, and utilities
• Foundation installation
• Modular home delivery and crane set
• Integration of on-site construction and any architectural enhancements and custom details
• Final inspections, landscaping, and optional furnishing installation

You’ll move into a highly customized top-quality, beautifully designed home—on an accelerated timeline and at a cost savings compared to traditional construction.

Whether you're rebuilding after a fire or simply looking for a smarter way to design and build your home, Letter Four’s process and white glove service offers clarity, customization, and confidence from day one.

Why Homeowners Are Choosing Custom Modular Construction

This approach is ideal for:

• Families looking to return home sooner without sacrificing design or losing the ability to customize their home to suit their needs
• Busy professionals who don’t have the time to attend to every detail of their new home’s design decisions, nor to interview, select, and manage separate architects, contractors, interior designers, landscape designers, and other consultants
• Homeowners wanting to stretch insurance funds and reinvest in upgrades
• Communities interested in coordinated, cost-effective rebuilds
• Those who want to work with a single team across design and construction
• Anyone ready to explore alternatives to traditional methods, while meeting or exceeding fire resistance ratings

If you’ve lost your home and are overwhelmed by the thought of starting over, Letter Four’s high-end custom modular construction method can take you from uncertainty and months of standstill to living in a beautiful, highly personalized home—right back in the neighborhood you’ve always loved to call home.

Design-Build is the way to go when it comes to rebuilds. We monitor your budget and ensure that your project is feasible from the get go. You won’t work with an architect who over-designs and blows your budget or a contractor who cuts corners at the expense of your home’s quality.

Letter Four: Your Partner in Personalized Rebuilds

At Letter Four, we’ve supported families through every stage of building a new home. From design and permitting to interiors and final inspections, our integrated team is built to deliver calm, clarity, and results.

With our expanded custom prefab and modular services, we’re bringing that same care and detail to a new type of building method—one that fits the urgency and realities of today’s rebuilding landscape.

You’ll still receive:

• Award-winning architectural design
• Transparent, reliable project management
• Coordination with vetted, top-quality modular manufacturers
• Cost and timeline clarity
• Landscape and hardscape design
• Interior design, finish selections, and move-in styling

We’re not handing you a brochure and sending you off—we’re building with you, for you, every step of the way.

Ready to Explore Your Options?

Prefab isn’t one-size-fits-all—and it certainly isn’t low-quality. When paired with the right design team, it can be beautiful, efficient, and deeply personal.

We’d love to talk about your goals, walk your site, and help you determine whether personalized modular construction is the right fit for your rebuild.

Schedule a consultation with us here or email us at hello@letterfour.com to get started.

Final Thoughts

Rebuilding after a fire doesn’t have to mean endless delays or starting from scratch with a disconnected team. With Letter Four’s custom modular offering, you’ll receive the same trusted service, thoughtful design, and attention to detail—delivered on a shorter timeline, with more cost control, and elevated fire resilience.

Let’s create a space that honors what you lost—and gives you something new to look forward to.

"Adjusters will offer a settlement that's comfortable for them. We make sure it's comfortable for you," notes Amanda Leigh, one of our preferred insurance consultants.

Beyond insurance, we guide clients through SBA Disaster Loans, FEMA grants, and neighborhood buyer collectives that pool orders for similar home designs, driving down material costs without sacrificing customization.

Finally, we monitor property-tax adjustments so you arent surprised by post-rebuild assessments.

At Letter Four, rebuilding your house means rebuilding your life    quickly, transparently, and on budget.