Services · ADUs
An ADU lives or dies on the site plan.
California law opened the door to ADUs. Your lot and your city decide how wide that door is. We check feasibility before you spend money on a full set of drawings.
Tell us the project and the city. If it doesn't need a permit, we'll say so.
What an ADU project turns on.
Feasibility first
Lot size, setbacks, existing structures, utilities and access decide what's buildable before design taste ever enters. We check your parcel against state ADU law and your city's standards, and tell you what actually fits — before drawings, not after.
State law is on your side
California requires cities to allow ADUs on most residential lots and caps how long they can take to review a compliant application. Knowing what the state guarantees — and where a city is quietly asking for more than it may — changes how the application is written.
Conversion or new build
A garage conversion, an attached unit and a detached new build are three different projects with different costs, different code paths and different site-plan problems. The right answer comes from the lot, and we'll walk you through the trade-offs.
Utilities decide more than you'd think
Where the sewer lateral runs, panel capacity, and meter questions shape both the design and the budget. We flag the utility picture during feasibility so it doesn't surface as a surprise in plan check — or in construction.
A-2.0
How cities differ
State law sets the floor, but cities still control objective standards — height, setbacks in some cases, design rules and utility connections. Two neighboring cities can treat the identical unit very differently. We've drawn ADUs across multiple counties, and the first step in every one is reading how that city applies the state framework.
Your city
What does an ADU take to approve in your city?
Tell us the project and the city. If it doesn't need a permit, we'll say so.
The deliverables.
- 01Feasibility check against state ADU law and your city's standards
- 02Full permit sets for detached, attached and conversion ADUs
- 03Garage-conversion ADU plans, including the parking and access questions they raise
- 04Title 24 energy documentation and utility coordination
- 05Submittal, expediting and corrections through approval
A-4.0
What we don’t do
We can't make a lot do what zoning won't allow — and we won't sell you drawings for a unit that can't be approved. If the ADU you want isn't feasible, you'll hear it at the feasibility stage, along with what would be.
Asked about ADUs, specifically.
01How big can my ADU be?
It depends on your lot and city, but state law requires cities to allow at least an 800-square-foot ADU on most residential lots, and larger units are common where the lot supports them. The feasibility check gives you the real number for your parcel.
02Can I convert my garage into an ADU?
Usually, yes — garage conversions are one of the most common ADU paths, and state law removed most parking-replacement requirements that used to block them. The structure's condition and utility access are what we check first.
03Can I rent it out?
ADUs can generally be rented (rentals of 30 days or longer). Owner-occupancy rules have loosened under recent state law, but details vary by city and year permitted — we'll walk you through what applies to your situation.
Your project
Get an ADU feasibility check for your lot.
Send the address and what you have in mind. We’ll check the parcel and the jurisdiction, then reply with what your city will require, what we’d produce, and the cost.
- What your city will ask for, specifically
- What we'd draw, and what needs an engineer
- A quote for the drawings, the expediting, or both
- A straight answer if it doesn't need a permit at all
Tell us the project and the city. If it doesn't need a permit, we'll say so.
Or send it now