SERVICES HOMES, ADDITIONS AND ADUS
Custom Homes, Additions & ADUs
Ground-up custom homes, room additions, detached ADUs, and garage conversions across El Dorado County and the Highway 50 corridor, built by a Placerville-based general contractor licensed since 2004.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Custom homes, additions and ADUs
Tell us what you want to build and what you already have: a site, drawings, or an existing home you want to extend.
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A custom home
A new home built from the ground up. Tell us about the property, the home you have in mind, and any plans already in progress.
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An addition
More room in the home you already have. Share what you’d like to add and how the new space should connect with the existing house.
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ADUs and garage conversions
A separate living space on the property: a detached unit, an attached ADU or junior ADU, or a garage converted inside its own footprint.
ADU ESTIMATE
What affects an ADU estimate
Slope, access, utilities and applicable approvals need review before the scope is defined. A foothill lot is priced differently than Sacramento flatland.
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Site work on slope
Engineered foundations, grading, retaining. The hillside line item.
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Utilities & septic
Service runs, panel capacity, and county septic scope.
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Finish level
Interior selections affect the finish cost.
THE PERMIT PATH
The El Dorado County permit path
The reviews an El Dorado County ADU application can go through. Design, engineering and permit responsibilities are agreed for each project.
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Design & engineering
Site plan, floor plan, structural calcs.
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Building Services plan check
County review of the full permit set.
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Environmental Management
Septic/OWTS capacity review where applicable.
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Fire district / WUI review
Fire-severity and access review where applicable.
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Permit issuance
Fees paid, permit in hand, work begins.
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Inspections to final
County inspections through final sign-off.
Prefer to talk it through? Call Jon at (530) 905-5416
How much does it cost to build an ADU in El Dorado County?
The honest answer is a range, and your site sets it more than your floor plan. CCI quotes from real El Dorado County estimates, and three drivers move the number most: site work on slope, utility and septic scope, and finish level. Foothill lots price differently than Sacramento flatland.
How long does an ADU take from design to move-in?
Plan in three phases: design and engineering, permitting, and construction. How long each takes depends on the site, the design and the reviews the application needs. We’ll discuss timing once the scope is defined.
Can El Dorado County deny my ADU?
The county reviews an ADU application against its requirements, including setbacks, septic capacity and fire standards. State law sets how ADU applications are reviewed; whether a particular application is approved depends on the project. We review the site and those requirements with you before the scope is defined.
How big can my ADU be?
State law protects an ADU of at least 800 square feet with 4-foot side and rear setbacks (Gov. Code §§66321, 66314). ADUs of 750 square feet or less are also exempt from local impact fees (Gov. Code §66311.5); larger units pay proportionately.
Can I build an ADU on a septic system?
Yes, with a county septic capacity evaluation through Environmental Management. El Dorado County runs its own state-approved Local Agency Management Program (LAMP) for onsite wastewater, and reviews whether your existing system can carry the added bedrooms; if it can’t, the fix gets scoped and priced before construction, not discovered during it.
Can I build an ADU on a sloped lot?
Often, but slope needs review before the scope is defined. A sloped site can need engineered foundations and sometimes grading or retaining walls, and those affect cost. Structural work like beams, foundations, and load paths is CCI’s in-house core. See our structural beam replacement work.
Do ADUs in fire zones need special construction?
Yes. In WUI and fire-severity zones, ignition-resistant construction standards apply under the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7). Sprinklers follow the state ADU rule (Gov. Code §66314): not required in the ADU unless they’re required for the main house, and fire-district coordination is part of the permit path here.
Do I have to live on the property to rent out my ADU?
State law bars owner-occupancy requirements on standard ADUs (Gov. Code §66315), so you can rent it long-term without living on site, or house family with a separate front door on the same land. Junior ADUs are the exception (Gov. Code §66333). Vacation rental is off the table, though: El Dorado County’s ordinance (County Code ch. 5.56) does not permit short-term rentals in ADUs.
Will an ADU raise my property taxes on my whole house?
No. Only the ADU’s added value is assessed. Per the State Board of Equalization, your existing home and land are not reassessed when an ADU is completed; the new construction is assessed at market value and added on top of your current bill.
Why choose CCI to build your ADU?
Because foothill ADUs are structural jobs, and structural work like beams, foundations, and load paths is CCI’s in-house core, not a subbed-out mystery. Licensed since 2004 (CSLB #835432), bonded, fully insured, EPA Lead-Safe, and OSHA compliant, with owner Jon Saunders or a highly qualified member of his team as your one point of contact, and the same crew behind our structural beam replacement work.
