★★★★★
ADU build in Sherman Oaks. Permits pulled, inspections passed, project completed in 14 weeks. They were transparent about every step. We're renting the unit already — it's beautiful and fully up to code.
ADU Contractor · Santa Monica, CA
ADU Builder & Contractor in Santa Monica, CA
Garage conversions, detached ADUs and JADUs on Santa Monica lots — permits through the City of Santa Monica, design to Certificate of Occupancy, one fixed-price contract.
Professional, licensed & insured Fixed-price proposals Permits pulled & closed Our own crew, not subs
Get a Free Estimate
Tell us about the project. We call back to schedule the on-site estimate in Santa Monica.
Request Received
Thank you — a senior member of our team will reach out within 4 business hours. For anything urgent, call (818) 210-4544.
5.0★Google · 45 reviews
57+Permitted projects
12+Years experience · CSLB #1021284
FreeOn-site estimate · fixed written price
ADU Builder in Santa Monica, CA: Right Image Builders (CSLB #1021284) designs, permits and builds ADUs for 1920s–50s bungalows and Spanish houses, with larger lots north of Montana across North of Montana, Wilshire Montana and Mid-City, with its own crew and permits through the City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division. Plan on 5–8 months for a garage conversion or JADU and 9–14 months for a detached unit, from the first visit to the Certificate of Occupancy. One fixed written price after a free on-site estimate.
Licensed general contractor, CSLB #1021284, licensed since 2016, 5.0★ Google (45 reviews), 4.9★ Angi (103 reviews). Office in Valley Glen, about 35–45 minutes from Santa Monica. Planning ranges by tier and neighborhood are in the ADU cost guide.
Right Image Builders is a licensed ADU contractor building across Santa Monica — North of Montana, Wilshire Montana, Mid-City, Sunset Park and Ocean Park. We handle garage conversions, detached ADUs and Junior ADUs from design through the City of Santa Monica permits to final inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy, on one fixed-price contract; our crew is based in Valley Glen about 35–45 minutes away. CSLB #1021284. Free feasibility visit: (818) 210-4544.
The Right Image ApproachSanta Monica Lots
Request Free ADU Feasibility Visit
Santa Monica Lots
and the Second Unit They Can Hold
Santa Monica lots north of Montana run about 50 or 60 by 150 feet, with a rear garage that converts into an ADU or room for a detached unit within the setbacks; in Sunset Park and Ocean Park the lots are smaller and a garage conversion or a JADU inside the house is often the right size. The city reviews ADUs under its own standards in the municipal code and runs a preapproved ADU program for standard plans.
The typical site is a 50- or 60-by-150-foot lot north of Montana with a rear garage, or a smaller lot in Sunset Park or Ocean Park where a garage conversion or a JADU is the right size. What decides between a garage conversion, a JADU and a detached unit is that lot, the sewer route and the main panel: older 100-amp services in many prewar houses; a full kitchen, an ADU or EV charging usually means a 200-amp Southern California Edison service upgrade. Every unit gets a full kitchen and bath, its own sub-panel and, for a detached unit, its own address.
One contract covers the whole job: a licensed architect draws the plans, a structural engineer stamps them, we file with the City of Santa Monica and answer the corrections, and our own crew builds through final inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy. Our office is in Valley Glen, about 35–45 minutes away, and the project lead who does the feasibility visit runs the build.
What We BuildThree Paths
Three Paths
to a Second Unit
01
Detached ADUs
A ground-up standalone home in the backyard — up to 1,200 sq ft, one or two bedrooms, its own entrance and address. On typical Santa Monica lots we most often build in the 600–1,000 sq ft range, sized to the yard and your budget.
02
Garage Conversions
The most cost-effective Santa Monica path. We convert your existing detached or attached garage into a legal ADU — foundation and slab upgrades, framing, insulation, windows, a full kitchen and bath, and code electrical and plumbing, all permitted.
03
Junior ADUs (JADUs)
A JADU (up to 500 sq ft) carved out of the existing house — often a converted bedroom or garage-adjacent space with an efficiency kitchen. The lowest-cost way to add a legal, rentable unit without building new square footage.
04
Pre-Approved ADU Plans
Santa Monica runs a pre-approved ADU plan program. Where one of those plans fits your lot we use it to cut design time and plan-check corrections; where it doesn't, we draw a custom set to the city's own ADU standards and carry it through review.
05
Utilities & Site Work
Water, sewer, and electrical connections; addressing; grading and drainage; and the exterior work that ties the ADU into the property. The unglamorous coordination that quietly makes or breaks an ADU timeline — handled in-house.
06
Design, Permits & Build
One contract from concept to keys: a licensed architect draws the plans, a structural engineer stamps them, we file with the City of Santa Monica, and our own crew builds through final inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy.
How we work with you
Transparent from the first visit to the closed permit.
Professional, licensed and insured, and we put that in writing at every step, because a remodel is a trust decision before it is a construction decision.
Licensed and insured, verifiable
California general contractor license CSLB #1021284 (General Building B), active since 2016, with general liability and workers' compensation insurance. Check the license yourself at cslb.ca.gov before you sign anything, with us or anyone else.
A written scope before a dollar changes hands
The proposal lists what is demolished, what is built, which finishes are included and which permit covers it. If it is not written down, it is not in the job.
Photos of what we find, before we continue
When walls, floors or roofs open up we photograph what is behind them and send you the pictures. Anything beyond the scope is priced in writing before the crew continues. You never find out from the invoice.
The deposit rule, in your favor
California law caps a home-improvement deposit at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract, whichever is less. We follow it. Progress payments follow the work, and the final payment comes after your walkthrough.
Permits pulled and closed in your name
We submit the plans, meet the inspector and close the permit. You get the closed-permit record, which is what a buyer, an insurer or an appraiser will ask for.
One licensed crew, one phone number
The people who estimate the job are the people who build it. No subcontractor hand-offs, no call center; your project lead answers the phone during the job and after it.
Building in Santa MonicaWhy Santa Monica
Why Santa Monica
Works for ADUs
Santa Monica is its own city on the coast between Pacific Palisades and Venice, from the large lots north of Montana Avenue through Wilshire Montana and Mid-City to Sunset Park and Ocean Park. Every permit goes through the City of Santa Monica's Building and Safety Division, which runs a paperless electronic plan review with its counter at the Permit Services Center at City Hall, 1685 Main Street, and our Valley Glen office is about 35–45 minutes away over the 405.
Plans go in through the city's Electronic Plan Review System, water and sewer connect to the City of Santa Monica's utility and power to Southern California Edison, and lots within half a mile of public transit, including the blocks near the Metro E Line stations, can skip parking for a new detached unit. Parcels in the coastal zone can carry an extra review step, which we check at the feasibility visit along with the zone, the setbacks and the utilities.
An ADU in Santa Monica is permitted through the City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division under ministerial review, which approves a code-compliant unit without a public hearing, and the utility connections go through City of Santa Monica water and Southern California Edison power. Units under 750 sq ft pay no impact fees, a garage conversion needs no replacement parking, and the unit can be rented on leases of 30 days or more once the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
How We PriceNo Surprise Invoices
No Surprise Invoices
in Santa Monica
An ADU in Santa Monica starts with a free on-site visit and ends with one fixed, written price that covers the whole scope, the permit from the City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division and the inspections, before any work begins.
The three things that change the price are the scope, what the house hides and the finishes you choose, and each is settled in writing before the crew moves on; final payment comes after your walkthrough.
If you want numbers before the visit, the ADU cost guide publishes the current planning ranges.
How It WorksThree Steps.
Three Steps.
Zero Surprises.
01
Free Feasibility Visit
We visit your Santa Monica property, confirm what your lot allows, check transit-parking rules, and tell you honestly which path — detached, garage conversion, or JADU — fits your goals and budget.
02
Design, Plans & Permits
We design the unit, use the city's pre-approved ADU plans where they fit, and carry the submittal and corrections through plan check — with a fixed-price proposal set before construction.
03
Build & Deliver
One crew builds the ADU to final inspection sign-off, utilities connected and address issued. You get a rentable, legal second home — final payment only after your walkthrough approval.
Free Feasibility VisitStart Your Santa Monica
Start Your Santa Monica
ADU
Tell us about your lot and your goals and we'll get back to you within 4 business hours. We'll confirm what your property allows before you spend anything on plans.
Prefer to talk it through?
ReviewsWhat Clients Say About
What Clients Say About
Our ADU Construction Work
★★★★★
We had a complex ADU project that other contractors kept turning down or quoting absurd prices. Right Image Builders handled permits, design, and construction seamlessly. This is the most professional contractor I've ever worked with in 15 years of owning property in LA.
★★★★★
We had tried two other contractors who couldn't navigate the LADBS permit process for our ADU. Right Image Builders had the permit in hand within six weeks of starting design and delivered a beautiful unit on the exact date promised. It's now generating $2,800 a month in rental income. Best investment we've made in this property.
Guides & answers
Read before you hire anyone.
Plain answers on costs, permits, materials and hiring, written for Los Angeles houses and kept current.
Decision guide
Garage Conversion, Detached ADU or JADU: Which ADU Should You Build in Los Angeles?
2026 Los Angeles comparison: size, cost, timeline, parking, fees, rentals.
Read the guide →Decision guidePrefab or Site-Built ADU in Los Angeles: Which Should You Choose?
Prefab (modular) or site-built ADU in Los Angeles? Real totals once site work is counted, timelines, permits, lot…
Read the guide →Decision guideTile, Shingle or Metal Roof: Which Is Right for a Los Angeles House?
Tile, asphalt shingle or standing-seam metal for a Los Angeles roof? Lifespan, weight, Class A fire rating, 2025…
Read the guide →AnswersADU rules and questions
Direct answers from the Los Angeles remodeling FAQ, kept current.
Read the answers →Santa Monica ADU FAQQuestions We
Questions We
Hear in Santa Monica
In most cases, yes. California ADU law lets nearly every single-family lot add an ADU and a Junior ADU, and the 50- and 60-foot-wide lots north of Montana leave room for a detached unit or a garage conversion; on smaller Sunset Park and Ocean Park lots a garage conversion or a JADU is often the fit. Santa Monica reviews ADUs under its own municipal code and runs a preapproved ADU program. We confirm exactly what your lot allows at the free site visit.
Under current California rules, a detached ADU can generally be built up to 1,200 sq ft, and a Junior ADU (JADU) is capped at 500 sq ft and must be within the existing home. On typical Santa Monica lots, most detached units we build land in the 600–1,000 sq ft range — a comfortable one or two-bedroom. We size the ADU to your lot, your budget, and whether you're housing family or renting.
Yes — Santa Monica is its own city, so your ADU is permitted through Santa Monica Building and Safety, with submissions filed at the City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division, Permit Services Center at City Hall, 1685 Main Street. We manage the whole process, and where it fits we use the city's pre-approved ADU plan program to speed plan check. You don't deal with the counter or the corrections — we do.
Yes, and it's one of the most cost-effective paths in Santa Monica. These homes have detached or attached garages that convert well into a legal ADU — we upgrade the foundation and slab as needed, frame new walls, add insulation, windows, a full kitchen and bath, and bring electrical and plumbing to code, all on permit. A garage conversion typically costs less than a ground-up detached unit.
A garage conversion never needs replacement parking under state ADU law. A new detached unit needs no parking space when the lot is within half a mile walking distance of public transit, which covers much of Santa Monica near the Metro E Line stations at 26th Street/Bergamot, 17th Street/SMC and Downtown Santa Monica. Where a space is required, one tandem space on the existing driveway satisfies it.
Plan on 2–4 months for design, engineering and plan check, then 4–8 months of construction depending on the unit type; a garage conversion is the fastest path. Yes, you can rent it: a standard ADU can be rented long-term (30 days or more) with no owner-occupancy requirement; only a JADU requires the owner to live on the property.
Right Image Builders, a licensed general contractor (CSLB #1021284) based in Valley Glen about 35–45 minutes from Santa Monica, designs, permits and builds ADUs across North of Montana, Wilshire Montana, Mid-City under one fixed-price contract: design, permits through the City of Santa Monica, and construction by one crew, with final payment only after your walkthrough. 5.0★ on Google (45 reviews) and 4.9★ on Angi (103 reviews).
Three things: the scope you choose, the condition of the house once we open it up, and the finish level. Each is settled in writing, first in the fixed price after the free on-site visit, then in a written change order if a Santa Monica house hides something, so the number never moves without your signature; the City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division requirements are built in. Planning ranges by tier are in the ADU cost guide.
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Ready When You AreLet's Build Your
Let's Build Your
Santa Monica ADU
Free feasibility visit. Fixed-price proposal. One local team from design and Santa Monica Building and Safety permits through to a finished, rentable unit.
(818) 210-4544Request Received
Thank you — a senior member of our team will reach out within 4 business hours. For anything urgent, call (818) 210-4544.