A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateADU Company in Albany, CA
Albany, CA is one of the trickier Bay Area cities to add an ADU in, and that’s not a complaint. The small lots, the pre-1940 bungalows, and the design-review culture here mean every project has to be more deliberate than the same job would be two exits down the freeway. We’re a full-service ADU company serving Albany with written pricing before any work starts, a 365-Day Done Right Promise, and crews who know how to keep a 900-square-foot lot functional while we build on it. For a free estimate, call (424) 328-5746.
Why Albany Homes Are Different
Albany’s housing stock is dominated by early-20th-century Craftsman bungalows and Mediterranean-style homes. Many of them still have the original wood-framed garage at the back of the lot, and that’s often where an ADU wants to go. The challenge is that most Albany lots are compact, so the old garage is usually sitting tight against a fence or side property line. When we convert one, we’re often working with existing foundations that need seismic retrofitting before any new framing starts. That’s standard for the city, not a surprise upcharge.
The climate matters too. Albany gets cool, foggy summers and mild, wet winters. Slab-on-grade additions here need a proper vapor barrier underneath, or the first winter will show you exactly where the damp is coming through. North-facing ADUs on tight lots rarely get much passive solar help, which pushes insulation choices harder than in sunnier parts of the East Bay. None of this is glamorous, but it’s what makes an Albany ADU actually comfortable year-round.
On the numbered streets east of San Pablo Avenue, rear-yard ADUs often replace those old detached garages. The 4-foot side-yard setback rule and the city’s green space requirement mean many owners end up with a two-story ADU that has a small footprint and, sometimes, a cantilevered upper floor to squeeze usable square footage without breaking the setback line. It’s a specific solution to a very Albany problem.
Our Main Albany Services
Albany homeowners call us most often for two things: building an ADU from scratch, and expanding the main house. Here’s what each one looks like in Albany specifically.
ADU Builders in Albany
Albany’s ADU-friendly zoning helps on paper, but the design-review culture means your plans will get looked at closely. We handle that. The typical Albany ADU project involves either converting a detached garage or building new in a rear yard with minimal setback flexibility. We pair site-built framing with prefab options from brands like Boxabl and Plant Prefab when the lot or timeline makes that smarter. Written pricing comes before any permit application. See our ADU Builders in Albany page for full detail.
Home Addition Contractor in Albany
Home additions in Albany usually mean sticking close to the original structure. The bungalows here don’t always have a natural wing to build from, so we spend real planning time on roofline integration and foundation matching. Seismic retrofit of the existing portion is common. We build with James Hardie cladding when the addition needs to match a newer look, or we match existing wood detailing when the design review asks for it. See Home Addition Contractor in Albany for the full scope.
Room Addition Contractor in Albany
A room addition in Albany is often a smarter first step than a full second story, especially when the lot makes a rear expansion easier than a vertical one. Older Albany homes frequently have basements or underused ground-floor space that can be converted, but the foundation work and moisture management have to be done right. We give every Albany room addition a written scope and price before any work starts. See Room Addition Contractor in Albany.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service in Albany
We build with and service prefab and materials brands Albany homeowners know and can research independently: Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie cladding. Parts and panels are ordered to the project schedule, not warehoused. For full detail on the brand lineup, see our brands.
Pricing for ADU Company in Albany, CA
| Service | Typical range in Albany |
|---|---|
| Detached garage ADU conversion | $180,000 – $320,000 |
| New rear-yard ADU (site-built) | $250,000 – $450,000 |
| Two-story ADU with cantilevered upper floor | $300,000 – $500,000 |
| Prefab ADU (Boxabl or Plant Prefab) with site work | $190,000 – $380,000 |
| JADU (junior ADU inside existing home) | $90,000 – $160,000 |
| Home addition (ground-floor, up to 400 sq ft) | $180,000 – $350,000 |
| Room addition (single room, foundation to finish) | $90,000 – $180,000 |
| Basement conversion (when feasible on Albany lots) | $150,000 – $280,000 |
| Seismic retrofit (add-on to any of the above) | $15,000 – $45,000 |
What pushes Albany pricing up is usually the lot itself: tight access, the 4-foot side-yard setback, and design-review iterations. What we don’t do is change the number after work starts. Every Albany project gets a written price before anything is signed, and that price holds.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Albany
We work across all of Albany, from the numbered streets east of San Pablo Avenue up through the hills, and over to the flats near the BART corridor. Every neighborhood has its own setback and access quirks, but the one thing you can count on is that we schedule Albany jobs with enough crew time to respect the city’s narrow streets and tight driveways.
- St. Mary’s / Eastshore
- Albany Terrace
- Fairmont
- Cerrito Creek area
- San Pablo Avenue corridor
Service Area – Cities Near Albany
Our crews serve Albany and the surrounding East Bay cities. If you’re a few minutes away in Berkeley, CA or Piedmont, CA, or up near Pinole, CA and Hercules, CA, the same written pricing and 365-Day Done Right Promise applies. Dispatch is coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, with local crews serving Albany directly.
Serving Albany, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Albany 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 Company in Albany
It can. Albany has a stronger design-review culture than some neighboring cities, so we plan for it in the schedule from day one. That means drawings go in with the setback, green space, and roofline concerns already addressed, which typically keeps things moving without re-submittals.
Yes. Our written price includes the permit package and the submittal work. We don’t hand you a drawing and wish you luck. The paperwork goes through the city with our team doing the follow-up, and you get a copy of everything we file.
That’s most of them. We regularly design two-story ADUs with small footprints and cantilevered upper floors specifically to work within Albany’s 4-foot side-yard setback and green space requirements. Call (424) 328-5746 and we’ll tell you honestly what your lot can support.
If you’re considering an ADU in Albany, the next step is a conversation, not a commitment. Call (424) 328-5746 for a free estimate, and we’ll put the price in writing before any work starts.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local adu pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Albany Customers Say
"Great build. Inspection delay, the county's fault, pushed things a week, but updates were clear."
- Soo-jin P."Garage conversion into a guest suite. I could see the permit status in the app, which made it painless."
- Rick F."Solid job. Cabinets arrived late but they adjusted the schedule."
- Eli K.
