A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateFast, Reliable ADU Builders Across Manhattan Beach
Building an ADU in Manhattan Beach means working within some of the tightest coastal zoning rules in Los Angeles County. Small lots, zero side-yard setbacks, and strict height limits push most accessory dwelling units up over garages or into second stories. We know that terrain well. Our crews build detached ADUs, garage conversions, and over-garage additions throughout Manhattan Beach, from the Tree Section to the Sand Section to the Hill Section. If you want a straight answer on cost and feasibility for your lot, call (213) 698-7116. We’ll give you a written price before any work begins.
Why Lodgewick ADU Los Angeles Is Manhattan Beach’s Preferred ADU Builders Company
Manhattan Beach homeowners tend to ask harder questions than most. They’ve seen neighbors get burned by coastal permit surprises and contractor change orders. That’s why our process here starts the same way every time: a written price, a defined arrival window, a clean job site, and a written guarantee on the project. Russ Delmar leads our team, and he’s built his reputation in Manhattan Beach on showing up when he says he will and putting every commitment in writing before a single nail is driven.
We work with established ADU brands including ADU Builders partners like Abodu and Cover for prefab projects, and Dvele for high-performance panelized builds. Our familiarity with Manhattan Beach’s permit process and design review board means fewer surprises. When a homeowner calls with a question about their build or their guarantee, a live person answers. Always. That’s the way it’s been since 2010, when Lodgewick ADU Builders was founded as part of the Kingswell family of home-service companies.
Every project in Manhattan Beach operates under The Kingswell Guarantee. That means the price we quote is the price you pay. The arrival window we give is the window we keep. The job site gets cleaned every day. And if the work isn’t right, we come back and make it right, free, within the 365-day guarantee period. That commitment is written on every contract.
JADU in Manhattan Beach
A JADU (junior accessory dwelling unit) in Manhattan Beach is a compact living space, typically up to 500 square feet, converted from an existing bedroom, attached garage, or other interior space. It’s the fastest and least expensive path to a rentable or family unit because there’s no new foundation and minimal site work. For a Manhattan Beach homeowner with a 3,000 to 5,000 square foot lot, a JADU often makes more sense than a detached build: it uses square footage you already have, avoids the setback issues that plague detached ADUs here, and can often be permitted faster.
A typical JADU conversion in Manhattan Beach runs $95,000 to $165,000 depending on kitchenette scope, bathroom condition, and whether you upgrade the electrical panel. Most jobs take 10 to 16 weeks.
Interior Conversions
We convert attached garages and spare bedrooms into self-contained JADUs with their own entrance, kitchenette, and bath. In Manhattan Beach’s 1950s-era homes, this often means opening a wall for the private entrance and adding a mini-split HVAC system for climate control. Salt air from the beach means we specify corrosion-resistant hardware even on interior work, because garage doors and window hardware near the coast take abuse.
Detached Garage Conversions
Some Manhattan Beach lots have detached garages set back from the main house. Converting one into a JADU can be smart, but only if the existing garage slab and framing are sound. Many older garages here have raised wood floors that need structural work before any finish carpentry goes in. We’ll tell you honestly if your garage is a good conversion candidate or a money pit.
ADU Plans in Manhattan Beach
ADU Plans in Manhattan Beach are the architectural drawings and structural calculations required to get your accessory dwelling unit through the city’s plan check and permit process. Manhattan Beach has specific rules for height limits, daylight planes, side and rear setbacks, and neighbor privacy that make professionally prepared plans non-negotiable. A poorly drawn plan gets kicked back, and every round of revisions costs you months.
For a Manhattan Beach ADU, complete permit-ready plan sets typically run $8,500 to $18,000 depending on project complexity, structural requirements, and whether you need an architect-stamped set for a two-story build. That price includes site plans, floor plans, elevations, structural engineering, and Title 24 energy calculations.
Over-Garage Design
Manhattan Beach’s zero side-yard setback rules mean many homeowners can only go up. An over-garage ADU requires a structural evaluation of the existing garage, and often a steel moment frame to support the second story while keeping parking below. Our plans include the structural package needed for that, coordinated with the city’s plan reviewer from the first submission.
Permit-Ready Packages
If you’re working with a prefab manufacturer like Abodu or Cover, we prepare the site plans and foundation drawings that those companies require for their own engineering packages. That coordination saves real money, because you’re not paying two firms to draw the same site twice. In Manhattan Beach, where coastal development permits can add review time, getting the plan package right the first time is the difference between breaking ground in four months versus ten.
Trusted Brands We Service in Manhattan Beach
We install and finish ADUs from Abodu, Cover, and Dvele, and we stock the local parts Manhattan Beach projects need most: marine-grade stainless fasteners, corrosion-resistant flashing, and low-E glass packages sized for coastal wind loads. Because we maintain a local material inventory for Manhattan Beach jobs, we’re not waiting on a supplier in the Inland Empire when a detail needs correcting. We also work with James Hardie siding products, which hold up well against salt air and the fog that rolls through the Sand Section most mornings.
Common ADU Builders Problems We See in Manhattan Beach Homes
- Salt-air corrosion on over-garage ADUs. Non-marine-rated fasteners and flashing rust within two years in Manhattan Beach. We specify 316 stainless steel on every coastal project, and it’s written into the scope before we start.
- Neighbor privacy review denials. Manhattan Beach enforces a neighbor privacy review on second-story ADUs. A window placed wrong on your plans can get denied for overlooking an adjacent patio, costing you months. We map sight lines from day one.
- Custom lead-time surprises. Quoting a price on “standard” lead times, then hitting the homeowner with change orders when custom millwork and architectural glass arrive three to four months late. We order long-lead items only after you’ve approved a written, fixed price.
- Raised foundation issues on 1950s homes. Many Manhattan Beach houses built in the 1950s sit on raised wood foundations that settle unevenly. An ADU tied into that foundation without a structural upgrade will crack at the connection point within a few years.
Pricing for ADU Builders in Manhattan Beach, CA
Here’s what you should expect to pay in Manhattan Beach in 2026. A detached one-bedroom ADU runs $285,000 to $420,000. An over-garage two-story ADU runs $340,000 to $520,000. A garage conversion runs $160,000 to $260,000. A JADU runs $95,000 to $165,000. Prefab units from Abodu or Cover start around $180,000 to $280,000 installed, excluding site work like foundations, utilities, and landscaping. What moves the number on your lot: soil conditions on your specific street, whether the existing garage can carry a second story, and how much custom millwork, architectural glass, and specialty finishing you’re after. Our written price is fixed before we order anything with a lead time. Call (213) 698-7116 for a free estimate on your Manhattan Beach property.
We Also Serve Cities Near Manhattan Beach
Our crews work throughout the South Bay and Westside, including Lawndale, Culver City, Venice, and Santa Monica. If you’re in Manhattan Beach and want a local team that knows your specific permit path, call us. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Los Angeles office, and our crews serve Manhattan Beach locally.
Serving Manhattan Beach, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Manhattan Beach 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 Builders in Manhattan Beach
Yes, in most cases a garage-conversion ADU in Manhattan Beach triggers a coastal development permit review because the city sits within the coastal zone. The review adds roughly 2 to 4 months to your timeline and requires documentation that the conversion won’t reduce required parking or create privacy impacts on adjacent properties. We handle that paperwork for you, and our fixed price includes the permit coordination. Call (213) 698-7116 to talk through your specific garage.
Manhattan Beach height limits for ADUs are typically 16 feet for detached units and 18 to 22 feet for attached or over-garage builds depending on your specific lot and roof pitch. Yes, many Manhattan Beach homeowners build two-story ADUs above existing garages, but the existing garage structure usually requires a steel moment frame or significant reinforcing to carry the second story. We’ll evaluate your garage before you spend money on plans. Call (213) 698-7116 for a structural review of your property.
We use 316 marine-grade stainless steel fasteners, corrosion-resistant flashing, anodized aluminum window frames, and low-E glass packages rated for coastal wind loads. In Manhattan Beach’s marine climate, standard galvanized hardware starts showing rust streaks within two years, especially on over-garage ADUs that get direct morning fog exposure. Every material spec is written into your fixed-price scope before we order.
Custom millwork and architectural glass for a Manhattan Beach ADU should be ordered 12 to 16 weeks before installation. Our millwork shop in Los Angeles builds white oak cabinetry, rift-sawn vanities, and specialty door panels to spec, and architectural glass suppliers run 8 to 14 weeks. If you wait until framing is up to order these, your project sits empty for months. We lock the price in writing before placing those orders, so the fabricator’s lead time doesn’t become your change order. Call (213) 698-7116 to talk timeline on your project.
Because the price uncertainty in Manhattan Beach ADU work comes from change orders, not from lead times. Lead times are knowable: a custom window takes 14 weeks, a prefab module takes 16 weeks. The problem is contractors who quote a price based on “standard” assumptions, then surprise you with change orders when the actual lead time for your architectural glass or millwork package comes in long. We write your price after we know exactly what’s being ordered, in what quantity, and from whom. Then we don’t change it. If lead times shift, the schedule shifts. The price doesn’t. That’s The Kingswell Guarantee, and it’s in writing on every Manhattan Beach project.
Key Takeaways for Manhattan Beach Homeowners
- Most Manhattan Beach ADUs go up over garages because zero side-yard setbacks and 3,000 to 5,000 sq ft lots leave no room to build out.
- Salt air means marine-grade stainless fasteners and corrosion-resistant flashing are not optional, they’re spec’d on every coastal project.
- A written fixed price protects you from custom millwork and glass lead times turning into change orders.
- JADUs and garage conversions are the fastest, most economical path to an ADU on a Manhattan Beach lot.
- Russ Delmar and the Lodgewick team answer the phone live, 24/7, at (213) 698-7116.
Build It Right in Manhattan Beach
On a 4,200 sq ft lot in the Tree Section, we framed a 580 sq ft ADU over an existing garage using a steel moment frame to preserve the two-car parking below. Our millwork shop built white oak cabinetry and a rift-sawn vanity with a book-matched grain, and we coordinated the marine-grade stainless hardware and low-E glass with the homeowner’s architect before any long-lead orders went out. Because we locked the price in writing before ordering the custom windows and specialty door panels, the 14-week fabrication wait didn’t shift the final cost.
That’s what we do in Manhattan Beach: plan around the coastal rules, specify materials that hold up to salt air, and put every commitment in writing before the first order goes out. Russ Delmar and the Lodgewick ADU Los Angeles team would be glad to walk your lot and tell you straight what an ADU will cost and what it will take. The estimate is free. The price, once written, is fixed.
Call (213) 698-7116 to schedule your free estimate. A live person will answer, day or night.
Written by Russ Delmar, Owner at Lodgewick ADU Los Angeles, serving Manhattan Beach since 2010.
