From your project leadEvery Friday until you move in
Your first Friday note comes from us the week we start.
Before that comes the yard visit. Book it online, or call and tell us the address.
Drawings, engineering and the permit
ADU plans and permits in Los Angeles, with the city's corrections answered by us
We draw the back house with you and have the structure engineered. You approve every sheet before anything goes to the city.
On every build
- Every FridayPhotos and the week's work in writing
- Yard visit to move-inOne project lead, one direct number
- Before day oneA note to the neighbors on each side
- Month elevenWe come back and walk it with you
The drawings and the city permit are part of every back house we build. You don't line up a designer and an engineer and then go looking for someone to build it. One project lead runs it from the yard visit to the day you move in, and the plans are drawn for the building we are going to put up.
What we check before we draw
- The setbacks along your side and back property lines
- Whether the lot is in a hillside, coastal, historic or fire hazard area, each of which brings its own review
- Where the sewer line runs, and how deep it sits
- The electrical panel and the meter
- Easements, and any trees the city protects
City rules and fees change. We check your lot against your city's current rules before we draw anything.
What the drawings include
- A site plan showing where the back house sits, the setbacks and the utility runs
- Floor plans, room by room
- Elevations of each side, with the windows and doors where you want them
- The structural drawings and calculations from the engineer
- The energy calculations California asks for, called Title 24
The first step is a free yard visit.
About an hour at your house, and it costs nothing. Three working days later the price reaches you in writing, with a schedule of the work and payment dates.
How we draw it with you
We start from the yard visit: who will live there, and the path they'd take from your back door. The first drawing puts the rooms on your lot. You mark it up and we redraw it, and nothing goes to the city until you've approved every sheet.
How the permit goes
- We file the plans with your city's building department once you've approved them.
- The plan checker reads them and sends back a list of corrections, which most plan sets get.
- We answer the corrections ourselves. If a change touches a sheet you approved, you see the new sheet before it goes back.
- The city issues the permit. The approved plans come on site with us, and every inspection is checked against them.
What the price depends on
- The size of the back house, and one story or two
- How much engineering the lot needs, for example on a slope
- Whether it's a new building or a garage you already have
- Changes you ask for after the plans are filed
The permit and plan check fees belong to the city, so they sit outside our price. You pay them yourself, and your written estimate shows the figure from day one.
What you get
- Every sheet of the drawings signed off by you
- The structural engineering and the energy calculations
- The plan checker's corrections answered by us
- The permit, and the plans the city approved
Questions about ADU plans and permits
Do you do the building, or just the drawings?
The building too. We draw the back house and then build it ourselves, with one project lead from the yard visit to move-in.
How long is the wait at the city?
The city sets that wait. Plan check moves at your building department's pace, and no builder can hurry it. Drawing and building are ours to schedule, and your estimate arrives with dates for both.
Can the city change my plans?
The plan checker can ask for changes. We tell you what was asked for and why, and show you the changed sheet before it goes back. Where there's more than one way to answer a correction, you choose.