ADU Before & After in Los Angeles, CA
Walk any street in Los Angeles and you’ll see it: the single-car garage that became a studio, the side yard that grew a two-bedroom home. Photos show what a build actually costs and what it actually returns. We keep a running record of every transformation we complete, so families can see real lots, real constraints, and real finished ADUs before they ever pick up the phone.
Recent Transformations
Detached Garage Conversion in Highland Park
The garage had a crumbling slab, a roof that leaked onto the owner’s stored tools, and exactly one electrical outlet. We poured a new foundation perimeter, reframed the interior, and turned 420 square feet into a one-bedroom unit with a full kitchen and stacked laundry. The finished ADU now rents for market rate and the homeowner kept the original garage door opening, refitted with glass, as a nod to the structure’s past.
Backyard ADU Build in Reseda
This lot had 28 feet of usable rear yard and a slope that made a traditional build look impossible. We graded the pad, reinforced a retaining wall, and brought in a prefab unit from Abodu that the owner had researched for months before calling us. The two-bedroom ADU now sits level against the back fence, with a 6-foot setback that still leaves room for a small patio and a lemon tree the family refused to remove.
Two-Car Garage Conversion with ADU in Van Nuys
The garage held two cars, a workbench that hadn’t been used in a decade, and a water heater that needed replacement anyway. We relocated the water heater, ran new plumbing and a 100-amp subpanel, and built out a 750 square-foot junior suite with a separate entrance off the side yard. The owners kept on-street parking and gained a rental unit that covers a third of their mortgage every month.
Home Addition for Multigenerational Living in Northridge
An aging parent needed to move in, but the existing floor plan had no ground-floor bedroom and no room for a second bathroom. We designed a 500 square-foot attached addition with a zero-threshold shower, wide doorways, and a separate heating and cooling zone. The addition connects through a short hallway that keeps both households private while making daily care visits a 20-foot walk instead of a drive across the Valley.
Prefab ADU Placement in Eagle Rock
A hillside lot with a steep drop-off meant traditional framing would have required months of shoring and crane work that never fit the budget. We worked with the owner to spec a Dvele unit, handled the site prep and foundation work, and coordinated the placement with the manufacturer. The two-bedroom home was set in a single day, and interior finish work wrapped three weeks later.
Garage Conversion with Workshop Remnant in Burbank-adjacent Studio City
The owner built furniture for a living and couldn’t lose the workshop space, but the rear twothirds of the garage sat empty except for holiday decorations. We split the structure: a 300 square-foot workshop retained at the front with its own roll-up door, and a 380 square-foot studio ADU built behind it. The ADU has its own entrance and utility connections, and the owner still cuts plywood in the same spot he has for fifteen years.
Want Results Like These?
Every one of these projects started with a written price before any work began, and every one is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, we make it right. Ben Ortega walks every lot personally before a single number is quoted. Call (213) 449-7136 to schedule a free walkthrough of your property and get your written estimate.
Written by Ben Ortega, Owner at Seedling ADU Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles since day one.
