ADU Before & After in San Diego, CA
Anyone can show renderings. We’d rather show you what actually happens on San Diego lots, from Allied Gardens to El Cajon. Here’s a running record of accessory dwelling units we’ve built, garage conversions we’ve completed, and home additions we’ve tied into existing rooflines. Some photos are shots of finished work. Some are mid-construction. All of them are real transformations, each one priced in writing before the first hammer swing.
Recent Transformations
Detached Backyard ADU Off a 1950s Rancho Bernardo Home
The backyard was a sloped, underused patch of ice plant and cracked concrete. The homeowner wanted rental income but assumed the grade ruled out a detached unit. We designed a 540-square-foot one-bedroom ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on a pier-and-grade-beam foundation, keeping the existing oak tree and running utilities from the main house. The result is a fully permitted, separately metered rental that brings in about $2,200 a month in that neighborhood.
Garage Conversion in Normal Heights with Laundry and Full Bath
A two-car garage that had become a storage locker for holiday decorations and old furniture. The owners wanted space for an aging parent without a stair climb. We converted the 420-square-foot garage into a studio JADU (junior accessory dwelling unit) with a kitchenette, a zero-threshold shower, and its own entrance off the alley. Final inspection passed on the first visit. Written price before demo started, and it never moved.
Prefab ADU Delivery and Site Work in Chula Vista
The owner bought a Dvele unit and needed a local contractor to handle what the factory doesn’t: foundation, utility trenching, setbacks, and final connection. We pulled permits, prepped the pad, and coordinated the crane day so the module landed within a quarter inch of plan. Site work went from bare dirt to a turned-on, inspection-ready unit in 11 days. Dvele, Abodu, Cover, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, and Mighty Buildings all have different connection details, and we’ve worked with every one of them.
Detached Home Office ADU with James Hardie Siding in La Mesa
The lot had a freestanding 1970s shed with a rotting floor and no insulation. The owners wanted a quiet place to work that wasn’t the dining room table. We demoed the shed to the slab, reframed the walls, and wrapped the exterior in James Hardie plank to match the main house. The unit is a 280-square-foot office ADU with a mini-split, Ethernet, and enough natural light that the owners now fight over who gets to use it.
Attached Addition Tied Into a Spanish-Style Roof in Point Loma
Tying new framing into an 80-year-old Spanish tile roof is where a lot of contractors get nervous. The owners wanted a primary-suite addition with a walk-in closet and a bathroom, and they wanted the roofline to look original to the house. We matched the clay tile profile, flashed every transition, and rebuilt the parapet so water sheds the way the original builder intended. The addition reads as original from the street, which is exactly the point.
Tuff Shed-to-ADU Conversion in Oceanside
Yes, a Tuff Shed can become a legal ADU, but the work is more than running an extension cord. We upgraded the floor framing for live load, insulated the walls and ceiling, brought in a new subpanel, and added a bathroom with a composting toilet and a 30-gallon water heater. The unit passed Oceanside’s ADU inspection with no corrections, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to this job the same as it does to a full ground-up build.
Want Results Like These?
Every project above started the same way: a phone call to (619) 376-2760 and a walk of the lot with Russ Delmar. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, a clean job site, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. No renderings. No vague estimates. Call (619) 376-2760 and we’ll set up a time to look at your San Diego property this week.
Written by Russ Delmar, Owner at Lodgewick ADU San Diego, serving San Diego since 2010.
