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 Sunset
A home addition or ADU in Sunset typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 for the addition itself, with a detached ADU ranging $90,000 to $220,000 and a garage conversion landing between $30,000 and $80,000. Permits route through Miami-Dade County’s building department, where inspectors enforce the HVHZ product approval list without exception. You want a contractor who already knows that before the first wall comes open, not someone who learns it mid-job at your expense. Call Tom Barrett and his sons at (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate on your Sunset project.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Sunset’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
We’ve been opening up Sunset homes since 1998, and the 33173 zip code keeps us honest. The ranch houses here were mostly built between 1965 and 1988, which means the framing, wiring, and waterproofing we find inside rarely match what the original plans claimed. Tom Barrett’s name is on every contract, his sons run the crews, and his address and license number are published for anyone to look up. Ask anyone on your street, or look us up yourself.
Sunset homeowners call us because we answer the phone with a live person, 24/7, and because our quotes don’t quietly climb after demo day. Every price change arrives as a written change order before work proceeds. The 90-Day Done Right Promise is printed on every contract we write in Sunset. If it’s not done right, one call brings Tom back.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Sunset
ADU Design & Permitting
Designing an ADU in Sunset means working backward from Miami-Dade’s NOA list. We spec every window, door, roof assembly, and structural connector so it carries a current Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance number before we submit plans. That’s the difference between a permit that clears on the first pass and one that sits on a county desk for six weeks. We pull every permit and stand with you at every inspection in Sunset. See the full scope of our Home Additions & ADU work.
Garage Conversion ADU
Sunset’s 1970s CBS ranches often have attached single-car garages that were never insulated, never strapped, and never wired for living space. Converting one into an ADU is usually the most cost-effective way to add a rental unit or an in-law suite, but the county inspector will hold you to current HVHZ standards on the entire assembly. We budget for strapping, impact-rated openings, and panel upgrades up front so your written quote matches the finished job.
New Detached ADU
Building a detached ADU in Sunset means digging footings into oolitic limestone that can sit just inches below the grass. We’ve set forms on enough Sunset lots off SW 72nd Street and the surrounding blocks to know when a hand-dig turns into a jackhammer day, and we write the site prep allowance accordingly. Our ADU Site Prep & Utilities work includes engineered drainage so your finished slab doesn’t collect standing water every June through October.
Junior ADU & Interior Conversion
A junior ADU inside the existing footprint is the quiet workhorse of Sunset additions. We convert bonus rooms, enclosed patios, and underused interior space into rentable units with their own entry, bath, and kitchenette. The county still requires the same NOA-compliant materials and the same inspections, but the price tag is often below a full detached build. We pull permits and get every rough-in signed before drywall goes up anywhere in Sunset.
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 Sunset
When a Sunset addition calls for new windows, we install brands with active Miami-Dade NOAs: Simonton impact windows are a common choice on the ranch houses here, along with PGT and CGI for larger opening protection. We don’t put mystery brands off the back of a van into your walls. If a product can’t show a current NOA number to the county inspector, it doesn’t go on our truck to your Sunset job site. That’s how we keep inspections moving and projects on schedule.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Sunset Homes
- Toenailed roof-to-wall connections. On a 1970s CBS ranch off SW 72nd Street, our crew opened a load-bearing wall to tie in a bedroom addition and found the original truss connection was just toenailed, no hurricane straps. We stopped, documented it, and wrote a change order for NOA-approved Simpson Strong-Tie connectors before proceeding. The inspector signed the rough-in the same day because the packaging showed the Miami-Dade NOA number, just as he required.
- Original aluminum wiring that won’t pass HVHZ inspection. Open a Sunset wall built before the mid-1980s and you may find single-strand aluminum branch wiring. The county inspector won’t let it stay concealed, which means a rewire change order mid-framing. We write an allowance for exactly this before we start, so the number on your estimate already accounts for what we’ll likely find.
- Shallow oolitic limestone under footing forms. Hand digging for footings or utility lines in this part of Miami-Dade frequently turns into jackhammering within the first few inches. It delays inspection sign-off if it hasn’t been planned for. Our site prep allowances in Sunset assume limestone from the start.
- Standing water on finished slabs. The near-zero elevation grade across Sunset means any addition without engineered drainage shows pooling water from June through October. We grade and drain every slab we pour here, understanding this is unincorporated Miami-Dade, where tropical downpours don’t surface-drain the way they do on higher ground.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Sunset, FL
Here’s what our Sunset customers actually pay, in writing, before work starts. A room addition in Sunset runs $45,000 to $130,000 depending on scope, structural retrofits, and finishes. A detached ADU runs $90,000 to $220,000. A garage conversion lands between $30,000 and $80,000. The line items below are what we put on the contract table.
| Service | Typical Sunset Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $45,000 - $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 - $220,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 - $80,000 |
What moves the number in Sunset is what’s behind the drywall and what the county makes us fix before we can close it up. Aluminum wiring, missing straps, failed waterproofing, undersized lintels. That’s why every Barrett & Sons estimate in Sunset includes allowances in writing for the known unknowns, and any price change arrives as a written change order before we touch it. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate on your addition or ADU.
We Also Serve Cities Near Sunset
Our crews work throughout the 33173 corridor and into Sunset neighborhoods from SW 72nd Street down toward Kendale Lakes and across to Olympia Heights, Westwood Lake, and Richmond Heights. Wherever you are in this pocket of unincorporated Miami-Dade, the same crew, the same written change orders, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply.
Serving Sunset, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Sunset 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 Sunset
Yes. Sunset falls inside Miami-Dade County’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone, and the county inspector enforces the NOA product approval list on every structural, roofing, glazing, and protection product in your addition. A window or roof assembly that passed 15 miles north in Broward County will fail here on the spot if it lacks a current, matching NOA number on the packaging. We spec every product to the NOA list before plans go in, so you don’t lose weeks waiting on a permit revision. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote; estimates are free.
We stop, document it, and write a change order before any structural work proceeds. That’s the same sequence we followed on a Sunset ranch off SW 72nd Street when we found the original truss connection was toenailed, no hurricane straps. The change order spelled out the NOA-approved Simpson Strong-Tie connectors, their cost, and the revised schedule. You’ll never get a surprise invoice at the end. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date, and that’s not how we work in Sunset. Call (877) 610-1318 to talk through your specific project.
In much of Sunset, oolitic limestone sits just inches below the soil surface. That turns a routine hand-dig footing inspection into a jackhammer day, which changes the labor and schedule for your ADU foundation or utility trench. Our site prep allowances are priced for Sunset’s limestone from the first line item. We also engineer drainage for the near-zero elevation grade so your slab doesn’t hold water from June through October. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free, written estimate.
Yes, and that’s a good thing, not a hassle. When we tie a new addition into an existing Sunset roof structure, the county inspector will look at the roof-to-wall connections on the existing structure to confirm they meet current HVHZ requirements. If the original connections are toenailed or lack straps, they’ll need to be retrofitted to code before the inspector signs the rough-in. The permit inspector works for you, not for me, which is exactly why we budget for those retrofits in our Sunset estimates. Call (877) 610-1318 for a written line-item quote.
We grade and drain every addition we pour in Sunset for the near-zero elevation and tropical stormwater volume this area gets each summer. That means the finished slab sits high enough and slopes correctly so water moves away from the structure rather than pooling against the walls. We’ve handled enough Sunset yards to know the soil and grade patterns, and we build the drainage into the site prep line item from the start. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free estimate.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Sunset since 1998.