Materials and selections
Finishes chosen together and specified before the first wall comes down.
Services
Permitting & Approvals
We handle plan review, corrections and inspections — the part of an ADU that takes the longest and stalls the most.
The slow part, managed
Permitting is usually the longest phase of an ADU and almost never the one homeowners plan for. Every jurisdiction in the region reads the code slightly differently, and a correction cycle you did not anticipate can add months.
We submit, track and respond to corrections ourselves, and we tell you where the application actually stands rather than waiting to be asked.
What the timeline really looks like
Plan an ADU permit in months, not weeks. The first review typically comes back with corrections; how fast those are answered decides most of the difference between a quick approval and a slow one.
Submitting a set that anticipates the common corrections is the single biggest thing that shortens the wait.
Inspections through to final
Approval is not the finish line. Foundation, framing, rough-in, insulation and final inspections all have to be scheduled and passed in order, and a missed sequence can idle a crew for a week.
We coordinate the calendar so trades arrive when the inspection before theirs has cleared.
Why Nova ADUs
One team from the first sketch to the final walkthrough.
Most ADU projects fail on the handoffs — a designer who does not price, a permit expediter who does not build, a contractor who inherits drawings nobody can construct. We do all four, so there is nothing to hand off.
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Design, permits and build in-house
Four disciplines, one contract, one point of contact. Nothing is handed between firms, so nothing is lost between them.
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Feasibility before floor plans
We tell you what your lot allows before anyone draws anything — including when the answer is that it does not work.
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A scope you can actually price
Selections decided and written down before construction, so the number you agreed to is the number you pay.
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Built for the Sacramento Valley
Slope, trees, rain and nine different jurisdictions reading the same code differently. We build here, and only here.
How we work
Four phases, in order, with the same team throughout.
Nothing is subcontracted to another firm and nothing is handed off. The people who checked your lot are the people who hand you the keys.
See the four phases
On-site execution
One team on site from demolition to punch list, carrying the drawings through.
Custom finishes
Tile, stone and millwork detailed so the joints still line up years later.
Questions
Permitting & Approvals, answered.
Can you handle permitting if someone else did the design?
Placeholder copy. Yes, and it is a common way people come to us. We review the drawings first, because submitting a set that will not survive review helps nobody and starts the clock over.
How long does plan review take?
Placeholder figure for the demo. Longer than anyone wants, and it varies by jurisdiction far more than by project. We give you the realistic range for your city up front rather than the optimistic one.
What happens when corrections come back?
Placeholder copy. We answer them. Corrections are normal and not a sign anything has gone wrong — the difference between a fast project and a slow one is usually how quickly and completely they get addressed.
Do you manage inspections as well?
Placeholder copy. Yes, through to final sign-off. The same team that submitted the drawings meets the inspector, which avoids the gap where nobody quite owns the answer.
What causes the most delays?
Placeholder copy. Incomplete submissions, and changes made after submission. Both are avoidable, which is why the scope and selections are settled before anything goes to the counter.
Will you tell me if it is not going to be approved?
Placeholder copy. Immediately, and in writing. A project that will not pass is worth knowing about on day one — it is the cheapest thing we will ever tell you.
Testimonials
Hear from homeowners.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sample testimonial text. We came in expecting to project-manage the whole thing ourselves and did almost none of it. The feasibility review told us what our lot could take before we had spent anything, the permit came back faster than neighbours warned us it would, and the unit was finished within a fortnight of the date we were given at contract.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sample testimonial text. What we valued most was being told no. Our first idea did not fit the setbacks and they said so on the first visit instead of drawing it and letting us find out at review. The version we ended up building is better than the one we asked for.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sample testimonial text. The garage had been storage for eleven years. It is now a proper one-bedroom with a tenant in it. Everything we chose was decided before the work started, which meant no rushed decisions and no change orders we had not agreed to.
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Already have drawings?
We take on permitting for plans we did not draw. Send the set and the jurisdiction and we will review it first.