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A-03.A · ADU

ADU from
feasibility to
final sign-off.

Detached · Attached · Conversion

California has spent the last several years steadily removing the barriers to building an accessory dwelling unit. Most homeowners still do not know what their lot actually allows.

A-03.A.1

What an ADU
actually involves

An ADU is a complete, independent dwelling on a lot that already has a house: kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area, and its own entrance. It can be detached in the yard, attached to the existing house, or carved out of a garage or other existing structure.

The hard part is almost never the building. It is the feasibility work in front of it — what your lot's setbacks allow, how far the sewer connection runs, whether the existing panel can carry a second dwelling, and whether the structure you want to convert is worth converting at all.

We do that assessment before you commit to anything. Sometimes the honest answer is that a garage conversion will cost nearly as much as a detached new-build and give you a worse unit. We would rather tell you that at the site visit than halfway through.

Completed detached ADU · exterior, Riverside County
A-03.A.2

Four ways to
add a unit

Which one suits your property is a question about your lot, not your preference. We work it out on site.

  1. 01

    Detached new build

    A standalone unit in the rear or side yard. The most flexible option and usually the best rental product — full control over layout, orientation and privacy. Needs its own foundation, utility runs and setbacks, so lot geometry decides feasibility.

  2. 02

    Attached addition

    A unit built onto the existing house sharing one or more walls. Cheaper on foundation and utility runs than detached, but ties into your existing structure, which means the tie-in detailing and the existing framing both get inspected.

  3. 03

    Garage conversion

    Converting an existing attached or detached garage. Often the cheapest route because the shell exists — but only if the slab, framing and roof are sound. A slab poured for a car is not always adequate for a dwelling.

  4. 04

    Junior ADU (JADU)

    Up to 500 sq ft carved out of the existing house, with an efficiency kitchen and either private or shared bath. Lower cost, faster permitting, tighter rules — including an owner-occupancy requirement that a full ADU does not carry.

A-03.A.3

Common questions

Site conditions drive the number far more than square footage. Utility run distance, sewer connection, grade and drainage, whether a structure already exists, and panel capacity can move two identical-sized units a long way apart in price. We give you a real, itemized figure after a site visit rather than a per-square-foot guess over the phone. Typical ADU projects in Riverside County fall between $150,000 and $350,000. We provide an exact, itemized figure through our free site visit.
Design and plan preparation, then plan check with the jurisdiction, then permit issuance, then construction. Plan check is the stage that varies most and is largely outside any contractor's control. We give you a realistic schedule with the estimate and tell you which stages we control and which we do not.
In general, yes — that is a large part of why the state relaxed ADU rules. Short-term rental rules differ by jurisdiction and change, and a JADU carries an owner-occupancy requirement that a standard ADU does not. Confirm current local rules with the city or county before you build to a rental assumption.
It depends on the type and the jurisdiction. Some ADU can share the existing service, others require separate connections or a panel upgrade. We check panel capacity and sewer routing during the feasibility visit, because both are common budget surprises when they are discovered late.
Yes — drawings, plan check submittal, corrections and permit issuance, then inspection scheduling through final sign-off. You are not the one calling the county.

A-03.A.4 · Free, no obligation

Get a real number
in writing

Site visit within 48 hours, itemized estimate after. No deposit, no pressure, and no salesperson — you'll be talking to the people who'll do the work.

Request my estimate Call (626) 922-9105
CSLB #700519 · Bonded · Insured
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