A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
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If you’re weighing a detached ADU in Hollywood, the number that matters most is the real one: most builds on these lots run between $180,000 and $320,000 before site work, depending on whether you convert the existing garage or start fresh. We’re Sutton ADU Builders, and we’ve been building accessory dwellings since 2006. Our crews know the pre-1930 lots, the alley-line garages, and the plan-check quirks that decide whether your project gets priced cleanly or drags into a six-month permitting loop. Call (472) 248-8213 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts. No vague ranges, no surprise invoices.
Why Sutton ADU Builders Is Hollywood’s Preferred ADU Builders Company
Hollywood homeowners don’t need another contractor who promises a lot and shows up with an unfamiliar crew. They need to know exactly who’s coming to the property before they open the door. That’s the Threshold Standard we run every project on. Each technician is background-checked, identity-verified, and photo-badged. Their name and photo are sent to you before arrival. They show up in a clean, marked uniform and present ID at the door. Every time.
Our ADU Builders team has handled detached units, garage conversions, and JADUs across Hollywood, from the flat lots around Melrose to the tighter parcels near Beachwood Canyon. Homeowners in Spaulding Square and Little Armenia call us because the crew shows up on time, the price is locked in writing, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers workmanship for a full calendar year. If something isn’t right, we come back and make it right. No haggling, no fee for the second visit.
Miles Hartwell leads our team, and he insists on the same thing every Hollywood client deserves: a straight answer before the estimate, a written price before the first tool is lifted, and a name and face attached to every person on site.
Detached ADU in Hollywood
A Detached ADU in Hollywood is a separate, self-contained dwelling on your lot, with its own kitchen, bath, and entrance. On these older R1 parcels, it’s rarely a broad side-yard build. Most detached ADUs here happen as garage conversions or tight-rear-yard structures squeezed between the house and the alley line. A typical detached ADU in Hollywood runs $220,000 to $320,000 when you’re building new structure, and less if the garage’s bones are sound enough to convert.
Garage Conversion Detached ADU
Most Hollywood garages date from the 1920s and 1930s. The slab is often too thin, the walls unbolted, and the roof framing past its useful life. That means the conversion price can shift once demo starts. We scope accordingly from the first visit: we check the slab, the framing, the drainage, and whether the structure’s existing position is legal or nonconforming. Then we write the price.
New-Build Detached ADU
When the garage can’t be saved, we build new. On a 25-foot rear yard, that usually means a compact footprint, careful setback work, and a concrete pump or crane depending on alley access. We plan the delivery route before we quote, because if the truck can’t reach the rear lot line, the build method changes and so does the price. That conversation happens during the estimate, not mid-project.
JADU in Hollywood
A JADU in Hollywood is a junior accessory dwelling unit built within the existing walls of your house, usually by converting a bedroom, den, or attached garage into a small efficiency unit. It’s capped at 500 square feet, has its own entrance, and often shares utilities with the main house. Because JADUs live inside the existing footprint, they’re generally less expensive than a detached ADU, with most Hollywood JADU conversions running $80,000 to $150,000 depending on plumbing, electrical, and kitchenette scope.
JADU Within the Main House
On Hollywood’s older bungalows, the natural JADU spot is a rear bedroom or a former sunporch with its own exterior door. The work involves adding a kitchenette, separating the entrance, and sometimes running a dedicated electrical circuit. We handle the permit set separately from any detached ADU on the same lot, because the city treats these as distinct scopes with their own plan check and inspection sequence.
JADU with a Detached ADU
Some Hollywood homeowners want both: a detached ADU in the rear yard and a JADU inside the main house. It’s legal, but it’s two permits, two plan checks, and two inspection schedules. We price them as separate scopes from day one, so there’s no pricing gap when the second permit comes through. That’s the honest way to quote it in Hollywood, and it’s the only way we do it.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hollywood
We work with the prefab and modular ADU brands Hollywood homeowners actually ask about: Abodu, Cover, and Dvele. Each has a different delivery model, a different foundation requirement, and a different fit for tight rear lots. We also install James Hardie exterior systems on conventional builds, which matters in Hollywood where bungalow-style continuity with the neighborhood matters to plan check and to resale. Because our crews serve Hollywood locally, we can walk a lot, tell you honestly whether a prefab unit will clear the alley, and what the real delivery timeline looks like.
Common ADU Builders Problems We See in Hollywood Homes
- Reusing a pre-1930 garage slab that won’t pass. The slab is usually too thin, cracked, or unbolted. Once demo starts, the conversion price moves. We inspect before we quote, so the written price reflects what’s actually there.
- Alley access and crane reach on narrow rear lots. If a concrete pump or delivery truck can’t reach the rear lot line, the build method changes. We check this during the first site visit, not after the foundation is poured.
- Bundling the JADU and detached ADU into one permit package. Hollywood treats these as separate scopes with separate plan checks. Quoting them together creates a pricing gap when the second permit hits. We split them from the start.
- Nonconforming garage positions. Many Hollywood garages sit in positions that grandfathered in decades ago. A new ADU has to respect current setback rules or go through an adjustment process. We map this before the estimate so the plan-check timeline is real.
Pricing for ADU Builders in Hollywood, CA
Here are honest ranges for Hollywood’s market. A garage-conversion detached ADU runs $180,000 to $260,000 depending on what’s salvageable. A new-build detached ADU runs $240,000 to $320,000 before site work. A JADU inside the existing house runs $80,000 to $150,000. A prefab ADU from a brand like Abodu or Cover usually lands between $200,000 and $300,000 installed, depending on foundation scope and utility runs. The things that genuinely move these numbers in Hollywood: whether the garage slab can be reused, whether the alley takes a delivery truck, whether the existing position is conforming, and how far new plumbing and electrical have to run from the main panel. We put all of that in writing before work begins. Call (472) 248-8213 for a free estimate and a line-item quote that holds.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollywood
Sutton ADU Builders serves Hollywood and the surrounding communities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim, and Riverside. If you’re just outside Hollywood and wondering whether we cover your street, call us. If your property sits in one of those neighboring cities, we’ll tell you straight what the local permit picture looks like and whether we’re the right crew for your lot.
Serving Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hollywood 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 About ADU Builders in Hollywood
Yes, you can convert your existing garage into a detached ADU in Hollywood, provided the structure’s position and condition meet current code, and that’s often the most cost-effective path on these older lots. The catch is that most pre-1930 Hollywood garages have slabs that are too thin, walls that are unbolted, and framing that’s past its useful life. We inspect before we quote, and the written price reflects what’s actually there, not what we hope is there. Call (472) 248-8213 for a free site assessment.
Hollywood’s older R1 lots usually carry nonconforming garage positions and pre-1930 subdivision patterns, so the plan-check process often involves reviewing the existing structure’s legal status before new work is approved. Newer suburbs start with conforming lots, which makes the permit set cleaner. In Hollywood, we build the plan check into your timeline and price from the beginning. That’s why our written estimates include the permit scope as a line item, not an afterthought.
We walk the lot, check the garage slab, measure the rear yard, confirm alley access for delivery and concrete pumping, and map the utility runs. Then we write a fixed price that covers the scope we’ve seen, with no change orders handed to you silently mid-project. If demo reveals something we couldn’t see, we talk about it before the invoice moves. The written price is the promise. Call (472) 248-8213 to schedule the walkthrough.
The three Hollywood-specific price movers are a failed garage slab, a nonconforming structure position that adds plan-check time, and alley access that can’t take a delivery truck or pump. We look for all three during the estimate, so they’re not surprises. When demo starts and something’s different from what we saw, we stop and talk before the cost moves. That’s the Sutton way of doing it, and it’s written into the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Yes, you can build both a JADU and a detached ADU on the same Hollywood lot, but they are separate permits with separate plan checks and inspection schedules. We price them as two scopes from the first quote, because bundling them creates a pricing gap when the second permit comes through. That transparency is part of the written price we give you before any work starts. Call (472) 248-8213 to discuss your lot’s specific configuration.
How a Real Hollywood ADU Comes Together
Because most Hollywood lots were platted before 1930, they carry the city’s older R1 subdivision pattern: narrow 25-foot-wide rear yards and legacy garages at the alley line. Detached ADUs here are usually built as garage conversions or tight-rear-yard builds, not broad side-yard footprints. That makes two questions decide most Hollywood ADU scopes: where does the structure legally sit, and how does the delivery truck reach it. We answer both before we write the price.
In the Spaulding Square area, our crew converted a 1930s detached garage into a detached ADU for a homeowner. We demoed the failing roof and slab, poured a new foundation to current code, framed with James Hardie siding to match the bungalow, and ran new electrical and plumbing back to the main panel. The permit set had to reflect the existing nonconforming garage position, which added plan-check time but let the family keep the structure in place. Final inspection passed, with the JADU side of their plan still ahead.
That’s the work we do in Hollywood. When you’re ready to talk about your lot, call (472) 248-8213. Miles Hartwell and the team will give you a straight answer, a written price, and the name and photo of every person who’ll walk onto your property before they arrive.
Written by Miles Hartwell, Owner at Sutton ADU Builders, serving Hollywood since 2006.
