Fast, Reliable Garage Conversion ADU Across Delray Beach
A garage conversion ADU in Delray Beach typically costs $145,000 to $225,000 all-in, from the first survey and architectural drawings through final inspection, for a standard attached-garage conversion to a one-bedroom unit with a kitchen and bath. The timeline runs five to nine months, though homes in the Del-Ida Park or Nassau Park historic districts should expect two to four additional months for Historic Preservation Board review. Ellery ADU Studio designs, permits, and builds garage conversions under one contract at one written price, so there’s no gap between the drawings and the hammer. Call (971) 497-2402 to start with a written price for your Delray Beach property.
Why Ellery ADU Studio Is Delray Beach’s Preferred Garage Conversion ADU Company
Delray Beach’s housing stock is mostly 1950s and 1960s single-story CBS ranch homes, especially west of Federal Highway. That’s a specific building type with specific problems: solid concrete block walls, shallow roof pitches, slab floors that were never meant to carry plumbing. Our Garage Conversion ADU team has permitted enough of these in Delray Beach to know exactly where the costs live and where the surprises hide. We quote a written price before any work starts, on every project, per Haven Standard Clause 1. That written price includes the permit set, the structural work, the mechanicals, and the finishes. What’s on the page is what you pay.
Nadia Ellery founded the studio in 2015, and she’s built the practice around a single question: if the drawings and the construction are one contract, who gets blamed when something’s off? The answer is us, and we’d rather it be that way. Every project gets a documented photo record on every visit, so you see what we found and what we did, not a summary of how it felt. And every project carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the finished ADU isn’t built to the permitted drawings, we make it right, in writing, before the project starts.
We’re not a contractor who hands your drawings off to a sub and disappears. We specify the window schedule, we coordinate the structural engineer, we pull the permits, we build the walls. For Delray Beach homeowners in the historic districts, that coordination is the difference between a first-submittal approval and a six-month permit ping-pong.
Our Garage Conversion ADU Services in Delray Beach
Attached Garage Conversion
The most common ADU path in Delray Beach is converting the attached garage on a 1950s CBS ranch into a one-bedroom apartment. The existing slab is usually 4 inches thick and sits at grade, which means new plumbing for a full bath means cutting trenches through concrete, not snaking lines through a crawlspace. We price this honestly on the front end. A typical attached garage conversion ADU in Delray Beach runs $145,000 to $195,000, depending on whether the existing roofline works or needs modification, and whether the property sits in a flood zone that pushes the finished floor up.
Detached Garage Conversion
Detached garages on Delray Beach lots give you more design freedom, but they carry two local costs: setback compliance against the property line, and impact-rated openings under Palm Beach County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone wind codes. If the lot sits east of I-95 in a FEMA AE flood zone, the finished floor elevation requirement can add $8,000 to $18,000 for a stem wall or engineered fill. A detached garage conversion ADU in Delray Beach runs $165,000 to $225,000 all-in.
Carport Conversion
A carport isn’t a garage, but it’s often the cheapest enclosed footprint on the lot. Carport conversions in Delray Beach require new structural framing, insulation, and a new roof assembly, not just walls. Most carports were built with minimal footings, so we budget for new piers at each post. This route typically runs $125,000 to $175,000 in Delray Beach, and it moves faster than a full garage conversion because there’s less demolition.
Garage Partition & Bathroom Add
For a snowbird or a family caregiver, a full second kitchen sometimes isn’t the goal. Partitioning the garage to create a private bedroom suite with a zero-threshold walk-in shower and a wet bar, without adding a full second kitchen, often runs $85,000 to $135,000 in Delray Beach. We include blocking for grab bars in every shower wall, widen doorways to 36 inches where the opening allows, and specify slip-rated tile on the bath floor. This is the aging-in-place conversion we do most often for Delray Beach’s seasonal residents.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Delray Beach
When a project calls for a prefab or modular shell, we specify and coordinate systems from Cover, Dvele, and Mighty Buildings within the same single contract. That means the factory order, site coordination, and foundation work don’t become a three-way blame game between you, a modular vendor, and a separate builder. We’ve found that Dvele’s panelized wall system works well for Delray Beach’s newer east-side lots, while Cover’s unit modules suit the flat, rectangular lots west of Congress Avenue. We don’t push a brand. We pick the system that fits the site, the budget, and the historic-district constraints if they apply.
Common Garage Conversion ADU Problems We See in Delray Beach Homes
- Historic Preservation Board denial after permit submittal: A Del-Ida Park garage conversion gets rejected because the proposed impact-rated vinyl windows don’t match the contributing home’s original casement style, or because a modern standing-seam metal roof violates the district’s character guidelines. This costs months and re-design fees. We’ve seen it happen to owners who hired a contractor new to Delray Beach on the basis of a lower bid.
- Flood elevation failure on final inspection: A detached garage conversion on a canal-front lot east of I-95 fails because the finished floor sits below FEMA AE base flood elevation. Fixing it after the fact means a stem-wall retrofit or a lifted slab, and that’s a five-figure correction, not a punch-list item.
- Unpermitted bathroom adds flagged at sale: A seasonal resident skips the permit for a garage-to-JADU bathroom add, sells the house three years later, and the buyer’s inspector flags the unpermitted plumbing. The tile comes out, the walls come open, and the sale stalls. Delray Beach is a five-football-fields-a-year real estate market; unpermitted work gets caught.
- CBS wall routing costs surprise the budget: A contractor bids the conversion as if the garage has wood-frame walls. It doesn’t. Routing new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC through solid concrete block runs labor costs 20 to 30 percent higher than frame construction. We bid CBS walls realistically from day one because we’ve measured enough of them in Delray Beach to know what they cost.
Pricing for Garage Conversion ADU in Delray Beach, FL
Here are the real numbers for Delray Beach, not a range that could apply to any city in Florida. An attached garage conversion ADU runs $145,000 to $195,000. A detached garage conversion runs $165,000 to $225,000. A carport conversion runs $125,000 to $175,000. A garage partition with a zero-threshold bath runs $85,000 to $135,000. A garage JADU, which shares sewer and water with the main house and skips the full kitchen rough-in, runs $75,000 to $115,000.
What moves the number in Delray Beach: flood zone elevation requirements east of I-95 and along the canals, Historic Preservation Board conditions in Del-Ida Park and Nassau Park, CBS wall routing labor west of Federal Highway, and impact-rated window and door packages under Palm Beach County wind codes. Those are line items we write into the scope up front, under Haven Standard Clause 1: a written price before any work starts. No door-side upsells, no scope creep after signing. Call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll walk your property, measure the slab, check the flood map, and hand you a written price. If you already have a written estimate from another builder, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it, line by line.
We Also Serve Cities Near Delray Beach
Our crews serve Delray Beach daily, and we regularly take on garage conversion ADU projects in Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Lake Worth, and Pompano Beach. If your property sits just over the city line, the flood zone rules and historic-district requirements change, and we’ll tell you exactly which ones apply. The same written price guarantee governs every project, in every city we serve.
Serving Delray Beach, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Delray Beach area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Garage Conversion ADU in Delray Beach
No. Historic Preservation Board review applies only to properties within the designated historic districts, primarily Del-Ida Park and Nassau Park, and to individually designated historic structures. If your property is not in a historic district, your garage conversion goes through the standard Delray Beach building permit process without the additional design-review layer. Call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll confirm your property’s status before you spend a dollar on drawings.
Yes. Palm Beach County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone wind codes require impact-rated openings on any new ADU structure, including a converted garage. That’s non-negotiable whether you’re east of I-95 or west of Congress Avenue. In historic districts, the windows must also match the contributing home’s original style, which usually means impact-rated casement or double-hung units in wood-look finishes rather than vinyl. We specify the window package in the permit set, so there’s no surprise at the supplier counter. Call (971) 497-2402 for a written price that includes the rated openings.
Yes, and this is one of the most common garage conversion ADU projects we do in Delray Beach. The ADU gets its own entrance, its own kitchen and bath, and its own meter, so you can lease it for October through April at the Atlantic Avenue-driven seasonal rates without sharing your living space. We design for this specifically: separate HVAC zone, private outdoor access, and sound separation at the shared wall. A one-bedroom garage conversion ADU in Delray Beach designed for seasonal rental typically runs $145,000 to $195,000. Call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll price yours in writing.
Yes, but it requires cutting the slab. On a typical 4-inch garage slab in Delray Beach, we saw-cut and remove a section of concrete to recess the shower pan so the finished floor is flush with the surrounding tile. We also install blocking for grab bars in the shower walls before the tile goes up, and we widen the entry door to 36 inches where the existing opening allows. This is standard aging-in-place work in our Delray Beach garage conversions, and it’s included in the written price from the start. Call (971) 497-2402 to discuss your specific slab condition.
Typically two to four months, depending on the board’s meeting cycle and whether your first submittal meets their design guidelines. We’ve had Del-Ida Park projects pass on the first submittal because we matched the contributing home’s window style, roof profile, and finish materials before we ever submitted. A garage conversion ADU in a Delray Beach historic district usually takes seven to twelve months total, compared to five to nine months outside the districts. Call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll give you a realistic timeline for your specific block.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio, serving Delray Beach with written-price garage conversion ADUs since 2015.