The build · Five months · One PM

From signed contract
to first month's rent
in five months.

Most DADU builds run nine to twelve months. Ours run five. Here's exactly how — every step, every dollar, every signature, before any of it happens to you.

WEEK 1
Site walk · Quote
WEEK 2
Design Phase
MONTHS 1–4
Permit + Foundation
MONTHS 1–4
Factory Build
MONTH 5
Set + Stitch
MONTH 5
Occupy

Permitting and factory build run concurrently — the calendar collapses from 9–12 months to 5.

1

Site walk and quote

We come to your lot. We measure. We tell you the truth.

One of our project managers tape-and-laser the buildable rear, walks the utility runs from the street to where the unit will sit, photographs the trees, and pulls a parcel report on the way back to the truck. By the end of week one, you have:

  • Hard, fixed quote — soft costs included, no "starting at"
  • Permit timeline by jurisdiction with named planner contact
  • Fixed all-in price + rough payback math based on local rent comps
  • Honest go / no-go on whether your lot pencils — including the lots that don't
Week 1·Free·No deposit
2

Design phase

You pick the colors. We lock the spec book.

Pre-engineered doesn't mean cookie-cutter. You sit down with our designer — in the showroom or over Zoom — and pick from the curated spec book. Each plan has three or four looks dialed in, so most clients decide in an afternoon. The swap-ins are real choices, not pre-fab compromises.

  • Cabinet color and door style — shaker or slab, six finish options
  • Countertop — quartz, butcher block, or solid surface
  • Flooring — luxury vinyl plank, engineered hardwood, or polished concrete
  • Bathroom tile pattern, accent color, and grout
  • Interior paint scheme — three curated palettes plus custom
  • Exterior siding color, trim accent, and roof color
  • Optional upgrades — gas range, soaking tub, deck extension, smart locks
Week 2·3–5 working days·Locked before permits go in
3

Plans, permits, foundation

Three things start the same week. None of them wait for the others.

With finishes locked, the site fit takes about three days — orientation, foundation type, utility tie-in points, exact lot placement. The same week we submit to the jurisdiction, your factory slot opens and your foundation crew gets put on the schedule.

PERMIT TRACK

~3 mo · Pierce

Plan review, building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical. We respond to comments same-week — that's why our permits land faster than spec.

SITE TRACK

2–6 wks

Foundation, utility trenching from the street, electrical sub-panel, sewer connection. Pours when the planner says yes.

FACTORY TRACK

~12 wks

Framing through finish, indoors. Weekly photo updates. By the time the foundation cures, the unit is ready to ship.

Months 1–4·50% draw at start·Weekly updates
4

Set day

A crane, a flatbed, six hours, and a building.

The unit ships overnight on a low-boy. Crane arrives at 7 a.m. We've already pulled the right-of-way permit if your driveway needs it. By 1 p.m., the building is on the foundation. By 5 p.m., the seam is weather-sealed and the porch is on. Neighbors take photos. You take a deep breath.

1 day·You don't need to be home
5

Stitch, finish & landscape

Plumbing, power, gas, paint — then we make the lot look like a finished home.

Stitch week ties the unit to the utility services we ran during foundation. Mechanical inspection, plumbing inspection, electrical inspection, building final — usually all in the same week. Touch-up paint. Final cleaning. Then we hand the lot to our landscape crew so what your tenant sees on move-in day looks like a finished home, not a construction site.

Landscaping & beautification — included

  • Final grading and topsoil dressing around the foundation, sloped 5% away for drainage
  • Sod or native PNW seed mix on the buildable yard (sword fern, salal, kinnikinnick on shaded edges)
  • Concrete walkway from primary residence to DADU entry (4×30 ft standard) plus a small front pad
  • Two screening shrubs at the front entry and a hardscape gravel bed at the dryer-vent corner
  • Down-cast exterior LED lighting at the entry, dusk-to-dawn sensor, no light spill to neighbors
  • House-number plate and a single piece of fence/screen between main house and DADU if line-of-sight requires it
  • Construction debris hauled, mulch laid, irrigation stub left at the meter for future drip if you add planters later

Mature trees and decorative beds beyond this baseline are quoted separately — most clients add $4–8K worth of plantings, but it's optional and we'll never bundle it into the contract without your sign-off.

1–2 weeks·Walk-through with you before sign-off·Landscape baseline included
6

Certificate of occupancy

The unit is legally rentable.

We hand you the C of O, the warranty packet, the as-built drawings, the permit close-outs, and the appliance manuals in one binder. Keys to you. Most clients have a tenant signed within two weeks.

End of month 5·10-yr structural warranty starts

Fixed price.
What's actually in it.

"Starting at" is a sales tool. We don't use it. The number on your contract is the number on your final invoice — assuming you don't change finishes mid-build.

Included in the contract

  • Pre-engineered architectural and structural drawings
  • All jurisdictional permits and plan-review fees
  • Foundation: footing, stem, slab, perimeter drain
  • Utility connections: sewer, water, electric, gas (where used)
  • Trenching from main service to the unit
  • Factory-built unit, fully finished interior
  • Crane, set, weather-seal, stitch
  • Heat pump mini-split, ERV, smart thermostat
  • Final cleaning and certificate of occupancy
  • 10-year structural warranty + 1-year workmanship warranty

Quoted separately at the site walk

  • Long driveway runs (over 60 ft from the street)
  • Retaining walls, regrading, rockery, complex drainage
  • Tree removal requiring an arborist or city permit
  • New service drops (if existing 200A panel is full)
  • Septic systems (we strongly recommend sewered lots)
  • Custom finishes outside the standard spec sheet
  • Furnishings, window treatments, landscaping
  • HOA application fees (if applicable)

How draws work.

Construction lenders disburse on milestones. So do we. Cash builds and rehab loans (HomeStyle, VA Reno) follow the same pattern.

DRAW 1 · 25%

Contract signed

Mobilization. Plans finalized, factory slot reserved, permits filed.

DRAW 2 · 35%

Foundation poured

Permits issued. Foundation cured. Utility trenching complete.

DRAW 3 · 30%

Set day

Unit lands on foundation. Stitched to utilities. Weather-sealed.

DRAW 4 · 10%

C of O

Final inspection. Walk-through. Keys handed over. Warranty starts.

Look up your lot.
Then the site walk.

A 30-second lot check tells you whether to even pick up the phone. The site walk turns the maybe into a yes — or a no, with reasons.