Builder Guide
Garage Conversion ADU: Complete Guide
Turn your attached or detached garage into a legal ADU. Costs, permits, insulation, HVAC, and everything you need to know.
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Builder Guide
How to vet ADU contractors, compare bids, manage your build timeline, and avoid the most costly mistakes homeowners make.
Choosing the right ADU builder — and managing them well — is the single biggest predictor of whether your project finishes on budget and on time. Our builder guides walk you through the full process: how to vet contractors and prefab companies, what licensing and insurance to verify, how to read and compare bids on the same scope, what milestones to write into the contract, and how to spot the red flags that show up before a build goes sideways. We also publish location-specific guides (starting with Los Angeles) for markets where the builder pool is concentrated and the cost-quality trade-offs are well documented. Every guide is written from the homeowner's side of the table, not the contractor's.
What you'll find in Builder Guide
- How to vet ADU contractors — license, insurance, bonding, and complaint history checklist
- How to compare bids on the same scope and catch hidden exclusions
- Step-by-step build process from feasibility to certificate of occupancy
- Best ADU builders by market (currently Los Angeles, more cities in progress)
- Common mistakes and how to write them out of the contract before signing