Know your design-and-permitting fee before you talk to anyone.
Most builders won't quote design and permitting until you're deep in a contract. Our design-and-permit package is one flat fee for a standard detached ADU — so we can hand you the itemized estimate right now, by email.
One email. The estimate, not a sales sequence. No calls unless you ask.
Not sure your lot works at all? Start with the free feasibility study →
Why we can quote the design-and-permitting fee without seeing your lot.
The design-and-permitting work for a code-compliant standard DADU is remarkably consistent: site plan, architectural, structural and MEP drawings, an energy-code report, submission and correction handling. That's why we price it as one flat fee.
What varies by lot — your city's permit fees, surveys, special studies — we list separately, so you see exactly which line items are fixed and which depend on your property. If your site needs more than the standard scope, we tell you that upfront, in writing.
After you sign, you work directly with our experienced architects and engineers; we manage the process end to end.
What's inside the estimate you'll get.
The flat fee itemized, everything it includes, and — named honestly — everything it doesn't.
Included in the flat fee
- Permit drawings — site plan, architectural, MEP
- Structural engineering & calculations
- WSEC energy-code report
- Zoning review & utility-availability coordination
- Full permit submission & correction handling within scope
Separate, and itemized honestly
- Your city's permit & review fees
- Land survey, if your city requires one
- Geotechnical or critical-areas studies, if triggered
- Utility upgrades (sewer, water, power)
- Construction itself
Get the itemized estimate by email.
One email with the flat-fee estimate for a standard detached ADU, everything included and everything separate — no calls unless you ask for one.
- Licensed WA general contractor · ELEVAPL755NL
- Bonded & insured
- Verify our license on L&I
Done — your estimate is on its way.
We'll email it within one business day. Want us to check your lot too? The feasibility study is free →
City fees are separate — here's the honest picture.
Permit and review fees are set by your city and scale with the project's valuation — they're not something any builder controls. For an ADU, impact fees are capped at 50% of what a main house pays under state law.
If your ADU adds a sewer connection in King County's wastewater service area, the county capacity charge may apply — billed monthly over 15 years (or as a lump sum), at a reduced rate for ADUs — on top of your city's connection fees.
We don't publish a made-up city-fee number because it would be wrong for most lots. Instead, the estimate we email you lists the fee structure and shows exactly which items are fixed and which depend on your property.
How long permits actually take.
Unincorporated King County is often around two months; a fully custom Seattle DADU is toward the top of the two-to-six-month range, and pre-approved DADU plans are reviewed faster.
Review times are set by your city and outside any builder's control — these are typical ranges, not promises. A complete first submission is what keeps you out of the correction-notice spiral, and it's exactly what our package is built to deliver.
The fine print on the flat fee, answered.
Still have questions?
Talk to an ADU builderNo pressure — clear answers about the fee, the scope and your city.
Email me the estimate → (425) 394-8849Is the flat fee really the same for everyone?
What if my city requires extra studies?
Do you handle permit corrections?
How long do ADU permits take?
Get the flat-fee estimate in your inbox.
One email, the numbers itemized — no sales sequence.