ADU Before & After in Long Beach, CA
Photographs don’t lie the way adjectives can. When you’re weighing a $180,000 – $350,000 ADU build, you should see exactly what a converted Long Beach garage or a bare backyard looked like before our crews arrived, and what it looked like the day we handed over the keys. The projects below are representative of the work Benson ADU Long Beach completes across the city. Different lots, different floor plans, same standard: a written price before any work starts, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on what we build.
Recent Transformations
Detached Garage-to-ADU Conversion with Alley Access
The structure was a 1930s single-car garage with a failing slab and overhead door facing the alley. We kept the original footprint to stay within the rear-yard setback, which is the minimum distance a structure must sit from the property line, reused the existing roofline, and rebuilt the interior as a 480-square-foot one-bedroom with a kitchenette and full bath. James Hardie siding on the exterior gave it a finished look that matches the main house, and the alley access meant no loss of backyard space. The owner now rents it as a fully permitted unit.
Backyard Two-Bedroom Prefab ADU on a Standard Long Beach Lot
Before this build, the rear 40 feet of the property was dead lawn and a shed that had to come down. The homeowners chose a Dvele two-bedroom panel system, which arrives as factory-built wall and roof sections that get craned onto the foundation, cutting on-site framing time significantly. We handled the site work, the slab, all utility trenching from the street, and the city inspections. Total time from demolition to final walkthrough was just under nine months, and the written price we gave before demolition never moved.
Attached JADU Carved From an Oversized Laundry Room
A JADU, or junior accessory dwelling unit, is a smaller attached unit (typically under 500 square feet) that can share utilities with the main house, and this one started as a laundry room and storage area that nobody used. We added an exterior entrance, a compact kitchenette with a two-burner cooktop, and a three-quarter bath. Since the walls were already inside the main structure, the cost came in under $130,000, which is the lower end of what any permitted living space costs in Long Beach today. The owner uses it for an aging parent who wanted to be close but not under the same roof.
Site-Built One-Bedroom ADU Over a Sloped Rear Yard
Sloped lots are common in neighborhoods like Signal Hill and the eastern edges of Long Beach, and this one dropped nearly four feet from the house to the rear fence. We poured a raised stem-wall foundation, which is a concrete perimeter wall that lifts the floor above the grade, and framed a site-built one-bedroom unit on top using conventional lumber rather than prefab panels. The owner chose Abodu for the exterior cladding package and we trimmed out the rest. The result is a 550-square-foot rental with a level entry from the main house, no steps, and drainage that actually works.
Prefab Studio ADU with a Tuff Shed Shell and Full Interior Build-Out
Some Long Beach homeowners want a lower-cost path to a legal rental unit, and a Tuff Shed shell with a full permitted interior build-out is one way to get there. The before shot is just a framed box with subfloor and bare studs. We ran electrical from the panel, roughed in plumbing for a kitchenette and full bath, insulated to meet Title 24 energy requirements, and drywalled the entire interior. Final cost landed around $95,000, with brand-name fixtures the owner can actually look up. It rents as a furnished studio near CSULB.
Room Addition That Became a Primary Suite
Not every project is an ADU. This one was a 450-square-foot room addition off the side of a 1940s stucco house, turning a two-bedroom into a three-bedroom with a true primary suite. Before construction, the side yard was a narrow strip of dirt and an old concrete walkway leading nowhere. We matched the existing stucco texture, tied the new roofline into the old one, and added a walk-in closet plus a full bath. The same written-price rule applied: the number we quoted before the first shovel of dirt is the number on the final invoice.
Want Results Like These?
Every project above started the same way: a phone call, a site visit, and a written price before any work began. If you’re planning an ADU, JADU, or room addition in Long Beach, let’s talk numbers you can hold us to. Call (562) 362-3885 and ask for Troy. Estimates are free, and the price you get in writing is the price you pay, full stop.
Written by Troy Eastman, Owner at Benson ADU Long Beach, building ADUs and additions in Long Beach since 2006.
