Home Additions & ADU in Burbank - One Fixed Price, Permits Handled

Fast, Reliable Home Additions & ADU Across Burbank

Home additions and ADU construction in Burbank typically run $45,000-$130,000 for a full addition and $90,000-$220,000 for a detached ADU, with permits and plans included in a written line-item scope before a single nail moves. If you’ve been burned by a contractor who quoted one number on the phone and handed you a different bill at the door, you’re the reason we put every change order in writing. You can reach a live person at (877) 610-1318 any hour, any day, to talk through your project.

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Burbank is not a copy-paste construction market. Between FAA height ceilings along the Hollywood Burbank Airport flight corridor, post-WWII ranch housing that still carries original 100-amp panels, and Valley heat that pushes Title 24 compliance from paperwork into survival, this city punishes contractors who treat it like anywhere else. We’ve built additions and ADUs in Magnolia Park, the Rancho Equestrian district, and up against the Verdugo foothills. The lot shapes, the plan-check quirks, the studio-adjacent security protocols: we know them because we work them every week.

Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Burbank’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company

Tom Barrett started this company in 1998 and still answers his own phone. His sons run the crews that show up in Burbank, and Tom publishes his name, address, and license number for anyone to look up before signing a contract. That matters in a city where a lot of homeowners have already been stung once. A Burbank customer doesn’t need a sales pitch; they need a contractor whose face they’ll see again at Handy Market on Magnolia Boulevard.

We pull permits and get inspections signed on every eligible Burbank job. The permit inspector works for you, not for me. That’s why I like him. It’s also why we don’t flinch when Burbank’s plan-check flags a height-impact study on a second-story addition in the 91505 ZIP. Out-of-area contractors get surprised by that. We plan for it from the first site visit, because we’ve been through it enough times to know the drill.

Every scope, every allowance, every price change arrives as a written change order before work happens. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. And every completed Burbank job carries our written 90-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, Tom comes back and makes it right, one call. No franchise dispatch. No out-of-state call center. Just the Barrett name on the truck and the work.

Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Burbank

ADU Design & Permitting

Burbank’s ADU ordinance has changed repeatedly over the last decade, and the current rules around setbacks, parking replacement, and utility connections are not the same as Glendale’s or LA City’s. We handle the full design and permitting path: measured as-built drawings, structural and Title 24 energy calculations, submittal to Burbank’s Building & Safety division, and revisions until the permit is issued. For detached ADUs in the 91504 and 91505 corridors, we also carry the FAA height analysis when the parcel sits under the airport approach surface.

Garage Conversion ADU

Detached garage conversions make up a large share of Burbank ADU work, partly because so many post-war lots in the 91506 area have a detached two-car garage sitting at the rear property line. Converting one typically runs $30,000-$80,000 depending on whether the existing slab can carry the new floor assembly or needs structural upgrade. We handle the full conversion: foundation assessment, insulation and drywall, kitchenette and bath rough-in, new electrical subpanel, and the separate utility metering Burbank’s current ADU code expects.

New Detached ADU

A ground-up detached ADU in Burbank runs $90,000-$220,000, with the wide spread driven by site conditions: raised versus slab foundation, distance from the existing sewer lateral, whether a new service panel is required, and whether the lot sits in a Fire Hazard Severity Zone where ember-resistant vents and fire-rated exterior assemblies add cost. We build new detached ADUs to Burbank’s current energy code, which means high-R attic insulation and cool-roof materials as standard, not upsell.

Junior ADU & Interior Conversion

Burbank allows Junior ADUs of up to 500 square feet within an existing single-family home, and these are the fastest path to rental income on a 91501 or 91502 property. A typical JADU conversion, with a kitchenette, separate entrance, and upgraded electrical, lands in the $45,000-$90,000 range. Interior conversions of attached spaces, like a former laundry room or enclosed porch, work well on Burbank’s ranch-style stock where room counts are generous but the layout wastes square footage.

If the rest of your home needs attention while we’re scoping the addition, our Home Additions & ADU team often coordinates with the Kitchen Remodeling in Burbank crew and the Bathroom Remodeling in Burbank crew so the schedule flows without double-dipping on demolition or dumpster days. It’s all one company, one plan, one written scope.

Trusted Brands We Service in Burbank

For any addition or ADU that includes new windows or patio doors, we standardize on Simonton, Ply Gem, and PGT depending on the opening and the exposure. On a south-facing Burbank addition with full Valley sun, we lean toward PGT’s low-E and impact-rated lines because the heat load is real and the glass choice shows up directly in the cooling bill. We keep common sizes stocked so Burbank projects don’t stall waiting on a freight truck from the Inland Empire.

Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Burbank Homes

• Original 100-amp electrical panels. Homes built across Burbank in the 1950s and early 1960s frequently still run on a 100-amp service. Adding even a modest ADU or room addition almost always triggers a panel upgrade to 200 amps, and Burbank’s inspectors will flag it if the load calculation doesn’t pencil out.
• FAA height restrictions on second-story additions. Parcels along the southern flight corridor, especially in the 91505 ZIP, can face height caps as low as 35 to 40 feet. A standard two-story addition that sails through plan-check in North Hollywood can get stopped in Burbank and require a height-impact study before the permit moves.
• Raised-wood foundations pre-dating current seismic code. Many of Burbank’s post-war homes sit on raised foundations with unbolted mudsills and short cripple walls. Tying a new addition to that existing framing without a seismic retrofit creates a hinge point exactly where you don’t want one.
• Studio-adjacent security and acoustic requirements. If your home sits near the Warner Bros. or Disney campuses, construction access can require security clearances and controlled hours that neighboring cities don’t deal with. We’re set up for that: background-checked crew members, uniformed on every visit, and site protocols that satisfy studio-adjacent landowners.

Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Burbank, CA

We Also Serve Cities Near Burbank

Our crews work Burbank every week, and the same owner-operated crew covers the surrounding Valley and foothill communities. If you’re in Burbank proper or just across the line in Universal City, North Hollywood, Glendale, or Studio City, you get the same written scopes, the same permits-pulled standard, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise. One company, one standard, no subcontractor roulette.

FAQs - Home Additions & ADU in Burbank