ADUs and Garage Conversions in San Diego

• Detached ADU. A new, standalone structure on the lot.
• Attached ADU. Built onto the main house, with its own entrance.
• Garage conversion. An existing garage turned into living space.

Accessory dwelling units and garage conversions and extensions are both on our construction list.

What a garage conversion changes

A garage is built to park cars, not to live in, so a conversion changes most of what makes it a garage. The door opening is usually framed in, the floor is brought up to suit a living space, the walls and ceiling are insulated and finished, and windows, plumbing, electrical and cooling are added.

Every trade, one company

A new living space needs all four trades: framing and structure, plumbing for a kitchen and a bathroom, electrical with its own circuits and often a subpanel, and cooling, which is often a mini split because the existing ducts usually do not reach. All four are performed in house here, under one CSLB license, so the sequencing between them stays inside one company.

Before you start

Look at the lot first: the space at the back or side, the access to it, and where the water, drain and power connections would come from. The local rules for ADUs differ between the cities in San Diego County, so the lot and the jurisdiction come before the design.

Signs an ADU or conversion fits

• Family who need their own space close by.
• A garage used for storage rather than parking.
• Room at the back or side of the lot.
• A home office or studio that needs separation from the house.
• A rental unit on your own lot.

What to expect

• Call or send the form. Say whether it is a garage conversion or a new unit, and where it would sit on the lot.
• Site visit. General construction usually starts with a site visit.
• The work, structure first, then the plumbing, electrical and cooling follow the new footprint.