Questions about adding on
What families ask before they add a room, a floor or a backyard unit.
Planning the space
The lot decides a lot of it. Setbacks, lot coverage, height limits and any easements set the outer edge. Inside that, we size the room to what your household needs it to do.
Often, if the foundation and walls can carry it or can be reinforced. An engineer checks the existing structure before we draw the second floor.
An addition grows the main house and shares its kitchen and entry. An ADU is a separate unit with its own kitchen and door. The right one depends on who will use the space and how much privacy they need.
Permits and rules
The building department of your city, or the county for unincorporated areas. We prepare and submit the plans and respond to the plan check comments.
Most do. New walls, roof framing, beams over openings and any second floor need structural calculations that the plan checker reviews.
A sloped lot can still take an addition. It may need a stepped foundation, a retaining wall or a soils report, and we will tell you at the first visit whether any of that applies.
Price and the build
After a visit and a look at the plans, we write a quote that breaks out foundation, framing, roof, utilities, finishes and permit work, so you can see where the money goes.
Only for the ADU plans package. Every addition depends on the lot, the structure and the finishes, so each one gets its own written quote.
We wall off the work area, keep a clear path through the house, protect floors and agree ahead of time on any day the water or power is shut off.
Ask us about your house
If your question is not here, send it with the form. We answer by phone or email.