Trusted Garage Conversion ADU for Los Angeles Homeowners
Our Garage Conversion ADU in Los Angeles typically costs between $140,000 and $220,000 all-in, from the first site measure through final inspection, and most projects take 5 to 8 months from permit submittal to certificate of occupancy. Those are the numbers you’ll see on our written quote before any contract is signed, not ballpark figures conjured over the phone. Ellery ADU Studio has designed, permitted, and built garage conversions across Los Angeles since 2015, which means we’ve worked through the LADBS plan check cycle, the hillside foundation reviews, the setback questions on mid-city lots, and every other local wrinkle that turns a straightforward conversion into a six-month stall. We’re a design-build studio, not a general contractor subcontracting your drawings to someone you’ll never meet. Nadia Ellery founded this practice because the designer-versus-builder blame gap was costing Los Angeles homeowners real money and real months. One contract, one written price, one team accountable from the first sketch to the final photo record. If you’re already holding an estimate from another firm, call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll give you a free second opinion on it, line by line.
What Our Garage Conversion ADU Service Includes
Attached Garage Conversion
An attached garage conversion turns the two-car garage sharing a wall with your house into a rentable one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit. This is the most common garage conversion in Los Angeles because the existing roofline and foundation usually keep costs down, and the shared wall simplifies the electrical and plumbing runs. Ellery ADU Studio starts every attached conversion with a structural review of the shared wall and the garage slab, then produces a permit set that LADBS will actually approve on the first round. Under Haven Standard Clause 1, your written price for the entire conversion, drawings through final inspection, is set before we submit anything to the city.
Detached Garage Conversion
A detached garage conversion treats a freestanding garage as its own small dwelling, which gives you more design freedom but also a longer utility trench and a separate foundation to evaluate. In Los Angeles neighborhoods like West Adams, Highland Park, and Mar Vista, detached garages often sit on older slabs that were never engineered for residential occupancy, so the foundation line item is where surprises hide. We also handle Garage Conversion ADU in South Gate projects with similar slab conditions. We document the existing slab condition in writing before quoting, and if the slab is 4 inches thick and within range for a conversion, we’ll tell you exactly what that means for your structural scope. The permit set for a detached conversion includes the site plan showing the new setbacks, and we handle the setback variance language, the extra distance the city requires between your ADU and the property line, as part of the same contract.
Carport Conversion
A carport conversion encloses an open carport or porte-cochere and turns it into a legal ADU, which is often the fastest path to adding a unit when a full garage isn’t available. The catch in Los Angeles is that carports were rarely built with residential-grade footings, so the structural upgrade usually drives more of the budget than the actual framing. We bring in a soils report early, because LADBS will ask for it, and we fold that cost into your written quote so it doesn’t show up later as a change order. Ellery ADU Studio has converted carports in neighborhoods from Sawtelle to Eagle Rock, as well as Garage Conversion ADU in Huntington Park projects, and the documentation you receive includes every inspection photo and every permit approval, not a summary of how the project felt.
Garage Partition & Bathroom Add
A garage partition splits an existing oversized garage into a smaller storage bay and a legal ADU, which preserves parking space while still creating a rentable unit. This works well on Los Angeles lots where the garage is 500 square feet or more and the homeowner wants to keep a workshop or vehicle storage area. The partition wall, the fire separation, and the new bathroom rough-in are the three items LADBS reviews most closely, and our permit set addresses all three with specific details rather than generic notes. You’ll get a written scope that locks at signing under Haven Standard Clause 5, which means no door-side upsells and no scope creep halfway through the job.
Garage JADU
A garage JADU, or Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit, is a smaller conversion, typically under 500 square feet, that attaches to or sits within an existing house or garage and can share some systems with the main dwelling. In Los Angeles, JADUs are often the most cost-effective way to create a rental unit because the city waives certain fees and the permitting path is shorter. We also design Garage Conversion ADU - Bell residents can rely on for the same streamlined process. The tradeoff is size and sometimes parking requirements, which we’ll lay out plainly during the first site visit. Ellery ADU Studio designs and permits garage JADUs under the same one-contract model as every other project, with a written price before work starts and a documented photo record on every visit.
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.
Brands We Service for Garage Conversion ADU
We specify and coordinate prefab and modular systems from Abodu, Cover, and Dvele within our garage conversion contracts, and we know each manufacturer’s structural assumptions well enough to catch conflicts before they reach the plan check counter. With Abodu, that means coordinating their panelized wall system with the existing garage slab and ensuring the factory tolerances match what LADBS will accept on site. With Cover, we handle the foundation interface and the utility stubs, because their panel system requires precise slab elevations and our crews set those elevations from the permit set, not from a field guess.
Dvele’s high-performance shell pairs well with Los Angeles garage conversions where the homeowner wants a low-energy unit, and we manage the mechanical rough-in and the finish detailing that the factory doesn’t provide. Whether you’re considering one of these systems, a James Hardie-clad stick build, or any other approach, the decision gets made during design, not after you’ve signed a contract with someone else. One contract means the prefab coordination, the site work, and the finishes are all ours to deliver.
Signs You Need Garage Conversion ADU Right Now
- Your garage is dead square footage. If the garage has become a storage locker for things you haven’t touched in three years, you’re paying property tax on space that generates nothing. A conversion turns that square footage into rental income or a home for aging parents, and in Los Angeles, a legal ADU adds to your resale value in a way a finished garage never will.
- You’re house-rich but cash-tight. Los Angeles homeowners who bought between 2015 and 2025 often carry a large mortgage and want a second income stream without selling. A garage conversion ADU typically rents for enough in most LA neighborhoods to meaningfully offset the mortgage, and the cost per square foot is usually lower than building new.
- Your property already has the right bones. A garage with a solid slab, a straight roofline, and an electrical panel with spare capacity is a conversion candidate, not a teardown. We’ll tell you in the first site visit whether your garage meets those conditions, and the written quote will reflect what we found, not what we hope to find.
- You’ve been quoted a vague price elsewhere. If another firm told you “call for a quote” or gave you a range with no documentation behind it, that’s a signal to get a second opinion. Our written price comes with a line-item scope and a permit set that shows exactly what the city will review.
- You need the unit before a family milestone. A parent moving in, a first child on the way, a in-law suite needed by a specific season. Garage conversions in Los Angeles take 5 to 8 months from permit submittal to occupancy, so starting now means the unit is ready when you need it, not a year after.
Our Garage Conversion ADU Process - Step by Step
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Written site assessment and free second opinion. We visit the property, measure the existing garage, document the slab, the roofline, the panel, and the sewer lateral, and give you a written assessment of what a conversion will require. If you have another estimate in hand, we’ll review it against what we find and tell you where it holds up and where it doesn’t. This is free, and it comes with a written summary you keep.
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Permit set development. Our in-house team produces the full architectural drawings, structural calculations, Title 24 energy documents, and site plan that LADBS requires. This is the core product. Every sheet is reviewed by Nadia Ellery before it leaves the studio, and the set is specific to your lot, your garage, and your zoning, not a template with your address pasted on.
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Written price and scope lock. Once the permit set is done, you get a written price for the entire project, drawings through final inspection, under Haven Standard Clause 1. The scope locks at signing under Clause 5. There is no door-side upsell, no “we discovered something in the wall” change order. The documents you sign are the documents we build to.
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Permitting and plan check. We submit the permit set to LADBS, respond to every plan check comment in writing, and track the permit through approval. Los Angeles plan check can take 6 to 12 weeks depending on the district and the project type, and we handle the resubmittals without billing you by the hour. You get copies of every city comment and every response we file.
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Construction and documented photo record. Our background-checked, uniformed crews build to the permitted drawings, and every visit includes a photo record of what was found and what was done. You receive that documentation, not a summary. At final inspection, if the finished ADU isn’t built to the permitted drawings, the 365-Day Done Right Promise obligates us to make it right, in writing, before the project ever starts.
How Much Does Garage Conversion ADU Cost in Los Angeles?
A typical attached garage conversion ADU in Los Angeles runs $140,000 to $190,000 all-in, while a detached garage conversion usually lands between $160,000 and $220,000 depending on the utility trench distance and foundation work. A carport conversion tends to sit at the top of that range because the footings usually need full replacement. A garage JADU, being smaller and fee-waived by the city in many cases, often comes in between $90,000 and $130,000. These are all-in figures: drawings, permits, construction, and final inspection.
What moves the price is structural: the slab thickness, whether the garage roof needs reframing, the distance from the garage to the sewer line, and whether your electrical panel has spare capacity for a new dwelling unit. We document all of that in the site assessment, and the written quote reflects what we found. To avoid overpaying, get a line-item quote from any firm you’re considering and compare it against ours. We’ll show you ours, and we’ll review theirs for free. Every estimate includes the written price guarantee, the scope lock, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (971) 497-2402 to schedule your free site assessment.
Garage Conversion ADU Near Los Angeles - Our Service Area
Ellery ADU Studio serves the entire Los Angeles basin, from the San Fernando Valley down through the Westside, the central city, and the South Bay. We work in Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Inglewood, Torrance, Long Beach, and the unincorporated county pockets where ADU rules shift. If you’re in Los Angeles and weighing a garage conversion ADU, we’ll schedule a site visit directly. We also maintain pages for Garage Conversion ADU in Houston and Garage Conversion ADU in San Antonio, but the Los Angeles studio handles all local work. Our home page has the full service list and the Haven Standard in writing.
Serving Los Angeles, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Angeles area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Garage Conversion ADU in Los Angeles
A garage conversion ADU is a legal accessory dwelling unit built inside or attached to an existing residential garage, with its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area. In Los Angeles, it must meet LADBS building codes and city zoning rules, including setbacks and parking requirements, and it requires a permit set approved by the city before construction starts. Ellery ADU Studio handles the entire conversion, from drawings through final inspection, under one contract.
Most garage conversion ADUs in Los Angeles take 5 to 8 months from the start of permit drawings to certificate of occupancy. Plan check alone typically runs 6 to 12 weeks depending on the LADBS district, and construction usually spans 3 to 5 months. We’ll give you a written schedule with your quote, and the schedule is part of the scope we lock at signing.
A garage conversion ADU in Los Angeles typically costs $140,000 to $220,000 all-in, with attached conversions at the lower end and detached or carport conversions at the higher end. A garage JADU often runs $90,000 to $130,000. These figures include drawings, permits, construction, and final inspection, and your written quote will match the specific conditions of your property. Call (971) 497-2402 for an exact quote, the estimate is free.
Yes. Ellery ADU Studio specifies and coordinates prefab systems from Abodu, Cover, and Dvele within the same single contract we use for stick-built conversions. We handle the foundation interface, utility stubs, and finish detailing that those manufacturers leave to the local builder, and our crews are trained on their installation sequences. If you’re considering a prefab ADU for your garage conversion, ask for our written price that includes the factory system and the site work together.
Garage conversion ADUs are permitted construction projects, not emergency repairs, so they cannot be completed same-day or on an emergency basis. What we can do is respond quickly to a site assessment request, typically scheduling within a week, and we keep a live person on the phone 24/7 to answer questions and book visits. If your garage has an urgent structural issue like a failing roof or a cracked slab, we’ll document it during the assessment and advise you on the safest next step. Call (971) 497-2402 to get on the schedule.
Every Ellery ADU Studio garage conversion carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if the finished ADU is not built to the permitted drawings, we make it right, at no additional cost to you. This warranty is named in your contract before the project starts, under the Haven Standard. You also receive a documented photo record of every site visit, so the warranty is tied to evidence, not to our memory of the job.
Clear a path to the garage interior so we can measure the slab, the walls, and the roofline, and have your electrical panel accessible so we can check for spare capacity. If you have an existing survey or any past permits for the garage, have those ready. You don’t need to empty the garage completely, but we’ll need to see the full floor area and the ceiling structure. The assessment takes about an hour, and you’ll get a written summary of what we found before we leave.
Schedule Your Garage Conversion ADU Service in Los Angeles Today
If you’re ready to see a written price for your Los Angeles garage conversion, call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll schedule a free site assessment. You’ll get a written scope, a line-item quote, and a permit set that LADBS will actually approve, all under one contract. A live person answers 24/7, and there’s no obligation attached to the estimate. Call (971) 497-2402 today.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio, serving Los Angeles since 2015.