Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Home Additions & ADU Across Fort Lauderdale
Home additions and ADU construction in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 depending on scope, with detached ADUs landing between $90,000 and $220,000 and garage conversions from $30,000 to $80,000. The big variable here isn’t square footage, it’s what’s inside your walls. Most homes in Fort Lauderdale’s core neighborhoods were built between the late 1940s and mid-1970s, which means a permitted addition nearly always triggers wind-mitigation upgrades the original builders never had to think about. If you want a ballpark number before we walk the property, call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll talk it through. You’ll get Tom Barrett or one of his sons, not a call center.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Fort Lauderdale’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
Barrett & Sons Construction was founded in 1998, and Tom Barrett’s name, address, and license number are published so you can verify us before signing anything. Our Home Additions & ADU team works in Victoria Park, Tarpon River, Coral Ridge, and the finger islands off the Intracoastal, so we know what Broward County inspectors will flag and what they’ll let slide. That matters, because the permit inspector works for you, not for us, and we like it that way.
Every job starts with an inspection, not an estimate. On a 1950s concrete block home in Victoria Park, our crew opened a wall for a permitted room addition and found corroded steel lintels and zero hurricane strapping. We wrote the whole-structure retrofit into a change order before touching the rough-in, then brought the framing, impact windows, and roof-to-wall connectors up to current HVHZ code so the final inspection sign-off closed clean. That’s how the 90-Day Done Right Promise works: if it’s not done right, one call brings Tom back.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Fort Lauderdale
Room Additions
Adding a bedroom or a den to a Victoria Park or Tarpon River home almost always involves opening load-bearing concrete block walls, which is where hidden problems live. Salt-laden onshore air corrodes structural fasteners and rebar over decades, so a room addition that doesn’t inspect and replace corroded load-bearing steel can pass framing inspection but fail structurally within a few hurricane seasons. We inspect first, then price the work in writing. In Fort Lauderdale, a typical room addition runs $45,000 to $130,000.
ADU Design & Permitting
Fort Lauderdale sits fully inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, the strictest wind-load classification in Florida. Any permitted ADU triggers mandatory whole-structure wind-mitigation upgrades on the existing home, unlike nearby Pompano Beach or Hollywood, which sit outside this tier for most lots. Our Home Additions & ADU in Fort Lauderdale permitting team pulls every permit and signs every inspection before we call the job complete. That’s not a selling point, it’s just how we’ve done it since 1998.
Second Story Additions
A second story on a 1960s Coral Ridge or finger-island home means the existing block walls have to carry more weight than they were ever designed for. We check the lintels, the connectors, and the foundation before we quote, because the alternative is discovering the problem after demolition. Expect $45,000 to $130,000 depending on what the inspection turns up. Every scope change arrives as a written change order before work proceeds, never as a surprise invoice at the end.
Garage Conversion ADU
Garage conversions in Fort Lauderdale usually run $30,000 to $80,000, and they’re often the fastest path to a legal rental unit or in-law suite. The catch is that garages on older Coral Ridge and Tarpon River homes were seldom built with insulated walls, proper drainage, or hurricane-rated openings. We handle the full conversion, from slab inspection to impact-rated doors and windows, so the finished unit passes Broward County inspection the first time.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fort Lauderdale
We carry Techo-Bloc and Cambridge Pavers for any hardscape tied into your addition, and we stock the fasteners, anchors, and strapping needed for Fort Lauderdale’s HVHZ code requirements rather than running back and forth to a supply house across town. When you’re adding a patio, walkway, or retaining wall to a new ADU, named brands mean you can look up exactly what you’re getting. That’s the point.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Fort Lauderdale Homes
- Corroded steel lintels and rebar in aging concrete block walls. Salt-laden onshore air and year-round humidity accelerate corrosion in homes built from the 1940s through the 1970s, and every addition requires inspecting the load path before framing begins.
- Missing hurricane strapping and impact-rated openings. The Florida Building Code now requires roof-to-wall connectors and impact windows on most permitted additions, but original construction seldom included them. Unprepared contractors price these as surprises instead of writing allowances into the contract.
- Rotated or deflected canal-front seawalls. On Coral Ridge and finger-island lots, tidal soil saturation causes aging concrete seawalls to rotate inward beneath existing patios and pool decks. Broward County won’t final an addition permit until the seawall is reconstructed, which means adding it to scope and price before demolition starts.
- Undersized framing on second-story additions. Many 1950s and 1960s Fort Lauderdale homes were framed for one story only. Adding a second floor without reinforcing the existing walls and footing is a structural failure waiting to happen, so we inspect first and write the upgrade into the change order.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Here’s what you should expect to pay in Fort Lauderdale right now:
| Service | Fort Lauderdale Price Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $45,000 - $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 - $220,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 - $80,000 |
What moves the number isn’t square footage, it’s what the inspection turns up inside walls that have been standing since Eisenhower was president. Corroded lintels, missing strapping, a seawall that’s shifted six inches since 1975. Those aren’t surprises to us, they’re line items we write into the contract before we start. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk the property, pull the permit history, and give you a written estimate that won’t move unless you approve a change order in writing first. Estimates are free, and there’s no trip charge inside Broward County.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fort Lauderdale
Our crews serve Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Plantation, and Broadview Park alongside Fort Lauderdale proper. The same owner-operated crews, the same written change orders, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply whether your home is on a canal in Coral Ridge or a quiet street off Sunrise Boulevard.
Serving Fort Lauderdale, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fort Lauderdale area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Home Additions & ADU in Fort Lauderdale
Yes, in most cases. Fort Lauderdale sits fully inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so once a wall is opened on a permitted addition, the inspector will require whole-structure wind-mitigation upgrades like hurricane strapping, impact-rated openings, and roof-to-wall connectors before sign-off. That’s why we write these allowances into the contract upfront instead of springing them on you mid-project. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll tell you exactly what your home will trigger before you commit.
Usually not. On canal-front lots in Coral Ridge and along the finger islands, Broward County inspectors won’t final an addition or ADU permit if the existing concrete seawall has rotated or deflected inward, which tidal soil saturation causes over decades. The seawall has to be rebuilt before the addition permit can close, so we inspect it during the estimate phase and price it in writing. That’s the difference between a quote that holds and one that moves.
Most Tarpon River homes from that era lack hurricane strapping, have corroded steel lintels from decades of salt air, and were framed for a single story. A second-story addition means reinforcing the existing walls and footing, replacing corroded load-bearing steel, and bringing the whole structure up to current HVHZ code. We inspect before we quote, then write every required upgrade into a change order. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact number on your home.
We pull every permit ourselves, submit plans that anticipate what Broward County will flag, and schedule inspections as soon as the rough-in is ready. The fastest way to lose months in Fort Lauderdale is submitting plans without the wind-mitigation scope included, because the reviewer will reject it and send the whole package back. Our Home Additions & ADU team has been through enough Fort Lauderdale permit cycles to know what triggers a second look.
A detached ADU in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $90,000 to $220,000, while a garage conversion runs $30,000 to $80,000. The gap comes down to foundation work, new utility connections, and HVHZ wind-load requirements on a free-standing structure, plus seawall triggers on canal-front lots. A garage conversion reuses an existing slab and roofline, which cuts the structural scope dramatically. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll give you a written estimate for your specific lot.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Fort Lauderdale and South Florida since 1998.