FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
ADU design fees start at $6,500 to adapt one of our own previously completed or approved designs, or $8,490 for custom architectural design. Site suitability, scope and agency requirements determine the final fixed fee, confirmed in writing before work begins. Prior approval does not guarantee approval at a new site. Both packages include Title 24 energy compliance, two owner revision rounds, filing and portal account, and plan-check corrections until the permit issues. Engineering services and structural calculations, soils reports and agency charges are excluded and paid separately. Changes beyond the two included owner revision rounds are billed at $195 per hour. Payment is in two installments: two-thirds upfront and one-third at delivery. At $6,500: $4,333.33 upfront and $2,166.67 at delivery (rounded to cents). At $8,490: $5,660 upfront and $2,830 at delivery. Final scope and amounts are written into your quote. Additions, remodels and tenant improvements are quoted per project.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
1. You send the address, the scope, any correspondence from the building department, and whatever drawings or photographs already exist. 2. We review it remotely - parcel record, zoning, and the code sections that apply - and issue a fixed fee in writing. Nothing is drawn and no one is dispatched before that. 3. If you accept, the agreement is signed and the deposit is paid. 4. The first production step is a site visit and a 3D laser scan. We measure what is actually there before anything is drawn. Most plan check delays come from drawings that assumed a condition instead of verifying it. 5. Design development, then the architectural permit set and Title 24 energy documentation, according to the written scope. Engineering services and structural calculations are excluded and arranged separately where required. Issued as PDF, with native DWG on request. 6. Submittal and plan check. Corrections are answered sheet by sheet until the permit is ready to pull.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
ZG Ozman, Project Designer, Assoc. AIA, member no. 40831435. In 2026, 34 learning units and 23 health, safety and welfare hours of continuing education completed. The office works under California Business and Professions Code section 5537, which permits the preparation of plans for single-family wood-framed dwellings of not more than two stories, for multiple dwellings up to four units, and for garages and accessory structures. Section 5537(b) sets the boundary: where a design departs from conventional framing, the building official requires a licensed engineer or architect for that portion, and that consultant is engaged and identified on the drawings. Structural engineering is performed by Castillo Engineering, Margarito Castillo, S.E. Title 24 energy compliance is performed by retained energy consultants. Construction, where the client wants it, is delivered through Calvary Construction, CSLB 1147361.