Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Home Additions & ADU Across Kendall
Most homeowners in Kendall call us with a simple question: can we add square footage to this house without fighting the county for a year? Yes, you can, and we do it regularly here. A permitted home addition in Kendall typically runs $45,000 to $130,000, while a detached ADU starts around $90,000 and can reach $220,000 depending on size and site work. Barrett & Sons Construction has built additions and accessory dwelling units across the 33156 ZIP, and we know exactly what Miami-Dade County’s inspectors will look at before we pour a single footing. Call (877) 610-1318 if you want to walk your property with someone who does this work every week.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Kendall’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
Tom Barrett started this company in 1998, and his sons run crews in Kendall today. That matters because the same name answering your call is the name on the truck outside your house. We’ve built additions in West Kendall neighborhoods where 1970s ranch homes sit next to post-Andrew rebuilds, and we know the difference between them matters when a plan reviewer looks at your roof-to-wall connections. You won’t get a franchise dispatcher or a rotating cast of subcontractors. You get our own crew members, background-checked and uniformed, who carry the Barrett & Sons name because Tom holds them to it.
Every job in Kendall gets permits pulled and inspections signed. That’s not optional for us, and it shouldn’t be for you either. The permit inspector works for you, not for me, which is exactly why I like him. When your addition passes final inspection, you have a paper trail that protects the value of your home and satisfies your insurer. If a contractor tells you permits are optional in Miami-Dade, walk away. Ask anyone on your street, or look up the license number yourself. Tom Barrett publishes his name, his address, and his license number, because the last contractor most Kendall homeowners used told them permits were optional and handed them a surprise bill at the door.
Every price change on our Kendall projects arrives as a written change order before work happens. Scope in writing, allowances in writing, change orders in writing. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. And every completed Home Additions & ADU job carries our written 90-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t done right, Tom comes back and makes it right, one call.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Kendall
ADU Design & Permitting
Building a detached accessory dwelling unit in Kendall means navigating Miami-Dade’s HVHZ product approval system from the first drawing. Every window, door, and roof assembly specified in your ADU plans must carry a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance number. We handle that paperwork as part of our design and permitting service, so you’re not sitting at a county counter trying to explain why your architect’s generic window spec failed plan review. A complete ADU design and permit package in Kendall, including structural drawings and HVHZ compliance documentation, typically falls within the overall $90,000 to $220,000 project range once construction is included.
Garage Conversion ADU
Kendall’s 1970s and 1980s tract homes frequently have attached two-car garages that sit empty while families need space for aging parents or adult children. Converting that garage to an ADU in the 33156 ZIP means upgrading the slab, adding proper egress, and bringing the entire envelope up to current HVHZ opening protection standards. Garage conversions in Kendall run $30,000 to $80,000, and the work usually requires bringing the existing garage’s roof-to-wall connections current before the county will sign off. We also handle Kitchen Remodeling in Kendall when the conversion includes a kitchenette, which most do.
New Detached ADU
A new detached ADU on a Kendall lot starts with the ground itself. We sit on oolitic limestone bedrock with a seasonally high water table, so foundation and trenching work here doesn’t look like what a contractor from Orlando or Tampa would expect. Your ADU’s slab and utility runs have to be designed for limestone excavation and potential groundwater, which changes both cost and schedule. New detached ADUs in Kendall land at $90,000 to $220,000. That’s a wide range because a 600-square-foot one-bedroom unit and a 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom with a full kitchen are very different projects. You’ll get a fixed line-item price before we start, not a vague allowance that drifts.
Junior ADU & Interior Conversion
If your Kendall home has an unused bonus room, a large laundry room, or an enclosed patio that never got permitted, a junior ADU or interior conversion can add living space without touching the site’s setbacks. These projects stay inside the existing footprint, which usually speeds up plan review and keeps costs below the detached ADU range. The catch in Kendall is that pre-Andrew interior spaces often hide non-compliant framing or electrical work that the inspector will flag once walls are open. We scope for that on the front end. We also handle Bathroom Remodeling in Kendall when the conversion needs a new bath, which most junior ADUs do.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kendall
When your Kendall addition or ADU needs windows and doors that pass Miami-Dade plan review the first time, we install brands with deep NOA catalogs. Simonton, PGT, and CGI all carry extensive Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance listings, which means your plans don’t stall at the county because the specified unit isn’t approved for the HVHZ. A window brand approved under the standard Florida Product Approval is legally non-compliant in Miami-Dade’s HVHZ, and inspectors will fail the job on the spot. We pull the NOA numbers for every unit before we order, so your project doesn’t sit waiting on product that can’t be installed. We’re also the Home Additions & ADU team that stocks the local parts and hardware our Kendall jobs need, which keeps punch-outs from dragging.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Kendall Homes
- Pre-Andrew structures triggering mandatory upgrades. A single Kendall block can mix original 1990 or older construction with post-Andrew rebuilds. When you add onto a surviving pre-Andrew home, Miami-Dade requires the new work to meet current HVHZ roof-to-wall connection and opening protection standards, and often the existing portions of the house get pulled into that upgrade scope.
- Unpermitted enclosed patios and bonus rooms. Many 33156 homes have enclosed patios or converted garages that were never permitted. Trying to build an addition or ADU tied to that unpermitted space creates a code enforcement headache. We assess what’s legal before you spend money on plans.
- Limestone and water table surprises at excavation. Kendall sits on the Miami Rock Ridge, and trenching for ADU utilities or footing work frequently hits limestone that needs mechanical cutting. Seasonal groundwater adds de-watering steps that a contractor unfamiliar with South Florida will discover mid-job and bill as a change order. We price for it up front because we already know it’s there.
- Hurricane season scheduling pressure. Any addition or ADU with exterior framing or roofing work needs to be weatherproofed before June. The Atlantic season runs six months, and an exposed structure in Kendall during that window faces real storm exposure. We sequence our Kendall jobs so the envelope gets closed and the roof gets dried in before the season turns.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Kendall, FL
We Also Serve Cities Near Kendall
Barrett & Sons Construction serves Kendall as well as Pinecrest, Glenvar Heights, South Miami, and Cutler. If you live in any of those surrounding communities, the same crews, the same permitting discipline, and the same written pricing apply. Call (877) 610-1318 and tell us which street you’re on.
Serving Kendall, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kendall 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 Kendall
Once plans are approved and permits are issued, we typically mobilize within two to four weeks, but plan review times at Miami-Dade are the real schedule driver. An ADU or addition that requires structural review can sit in the county queue for weeks, and HVHZ product approvals must be resolved before permit issuance. Call (877) 610-1318 if you want a realistic schedule for your particular property, because every Kendall lot has different starting conditions.
Yes, we cover the 33156 ZIP and the surrounding Kendall neighborhoods, including areas along Kendall Drive and near the major east-west corridors. If you’re not sure whether your street is in our service area, call (877) 610-1318 and a live person will answer, not a voicemail box.
Yes. Kendall sits entirely within Miami-Dade County’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which is the most stringent residential building code jurisdiction in the United States. Every window, door, and roof assembly on your addition must carry a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance number, and a product that passes standard Florida approval is not automatically legal here. We pull NOA numbers for every specified unit before we order, so your plans don’t fail at the counter.
You’ll pay slightly more for a permitted ADU in Kendall than you would in a non-HVHZ market because the product approvals, structural requirements, and inspections add design and material cost. The county’s standards are the strictest in the country, and compliant windows, doors, and roof assemblies cost more than their standard Florida equivalents. That’s a cost of building in this ZIP, not a contractor markup. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote on your lot, because the two biggest variables are always your foundation conditions and how much existing structure the county pulls into scope.
Every completed Home Additions & ADU job comes with our written 90-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t done right, Tom Barrett comes back and makes it right, one call. That promise is written on the contract, not buried in fine print, and it sits on top of manufacturer warranties from the brands we install. Beyond the 90 days, we answer our phone, and Tom lives twenty minutes away. If something’s wrong, he wants to know about it.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Kendall and nearby South Florida communities since the company was founded in 1998.