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 Villas
A home addition or ADU in Villas runs $45,000-$130,000 for a room addition and $90,000-$220,000 for a new detached ADU. The number moves based on what we find when walls come open, which in this part of unincorporated Lee County usually means pre-2001 framing details that have to be brought up to current wind-load code before we build anything new. Barrett & Sons Construction has worked through enough Villas rebuilds to know exactly how that conversation goes. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate and we’ll walk your property, check what’s there, and put every scope item and allowance in writing before you sign anything.
Tom Barrett founded this company in 1998 and his sons run the crews. We’re the Home Additions & ADU team that shows up with our own name on the truck, pulls every permit, and writes every change order before it touches your job. The permit inspector works for you, not for me, which is why we schedule inspections like they’re part of the job and not an afterthought.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Villas’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
Villas sits inside unincorporated Lee County, which means every permit for your addition runs through the Lee County Building Department, not Fort Myers city hall. That’s a different workflow, a different portal, and a different inspection queue. We know the county’s post-Ian backlog and we sequence jobs around it instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. When you add a second story or build an ADU here, the inspection bottleneck is as real as the concrete slab under your feet.
Our Villas customers call with the same story: a national company quoted one number on the phone, then changed it after the drywall came down. We handle it differently. We write the allowance for structural surprises into the contract before work starts. If we find something different inside your 1970s walls, you get a written change order with a price before we spend a dollar of your money. That’s not a slogan, that’s how Tom has run this company since 1998.
Calls are answered by a live person, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you’re ready to talk about adding square footage in Villas, you’ll speak to someone who knows this area, not an out-of-state call center. Barrett & Sons carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every addition and ADU: if it’s not done right, Tom comes back and makes it right, one call.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Villas
Second Story Additions
Adding a second story to a Villas CBS rancher almost always triggers structural code upgrades. Homes built between the late 1960s and 1980s went up before Florida’s post-Andrew 2001 building code, which means roof-to-wall strapping, tie-downs, and load paths routinely fall short of the 130+ mph design wind zone Lee County sits in. We plan for that from day one. The structural upgrade goes into the written scope before we pull the permit, and the inspection sign-off gets scheduled before framing begins. Expect $45,000-$130,000 depending on how much of the existing structure has to be brought current.
New Detached ADU
A detached ADU in Villas runs $90,000-$220,000. If your parcel sits near one of the drainage canals that crisscross the area, FEMA flood elevation requirements can dictate finished floor height, foundation type, and even whether the structure can be sited where you want it. We pull that determination before concrete is poured, not after. Then we design the ADU around the county’s permitting requirements from the start so you’re not resubmitting plans and losing weeks to the post-Ian backlog.
ADU Design & Permitting
Every ADU in Villas starts with Lee County permit paperwork. That means site plans, flood zone checks, wind-load calculations, and structural drawings that meet current Florida Building Code. We handle the design and the permitting as one package. You get a written timeline that accounts for the county’s inspection delays honestly. No contractor can eliminate the backlog, but an experienced one plans around it and keeps your project moving while paperwork processes.
Garage Conversion ADU
Converting a garage in Villas typically runs $30,000-$80,000. The big questions are floor elevation, existing slab condition, and whether the garage’s roof structure can carry the new load after we cut in windows and doors. On older CBS homes, termite-compromised framing and years of poor drainage can surface fast. We inspect first, write any repairs into a change order with a real price, and get your approval before we spend it. You’ll know the full number before the first framing member moves.
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 Villas
We install materials you can look up, not mystery brands off a van. For additions and ADUs in Villas, that means Schluter for waterproofing around any new bath or wet area, Grohe for fixtures when you want something built to last in Florida humidity, and GAF for roofing that has to hold through Gulf Coast wind and rain. When we’re doing structural work, we spec the fasteners, strapping, and sheathing to the current code, with the brand and model written into your contract. That way you can verify what we’re installing before it goes on your house, and we can stand behind it for years.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Villas Homes
- Pre-Andrew roof-to-wall connections: Open a 1970s Villas attic and you’ll often find hurricane clips that predate Hurricane Andrew. The load path has to be rebuilt to current 130+ mph standards, not patched. A contractor who prices a like-for-like tie-down upgrade hasn’t looked in your attic yet.
- FEMA flood elevation surprises: A new ADU near a drainage canal can get sited below base flood elevation and fail Lee County permit review before any concrete pours. We run the flood zone determination early and design the finished floor height around it from the first drawing.
- Rotten subfloor and termite damage: Older Villas CBS homes hold moisture. When we open walls for an addition, we routinely find subfloor rot and termite-compromised framing that wasn’t visible from outside. That’s exactly why we write a structural allowance into your contract before demolition begins.
- Change order creep from water intrusion: Failed waterproofing behind stucco or around old window openings shows up once framing is exposed. If the allowance isn’t on paper, it’s a surprise waiting for a date. We price it, hand you the written change order, and wait for your signature before we touch it.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Villas, FL
Here’s what you can expect in Villas right now, based on what we’ve been quoting on the ground:
| Project Type | Typical Villas Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $45,000-$130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000-$220,000 |
| Second Story Addition | $45,000-$130,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000-$80,000 |
What moves the number in Villas more than anything is the condition of what’s behind the walls. A mid-century CBS home with original framing and outdated tie-downs costs more to build on than a newer structure, because the structural code upgrades go into the project whether you see them at the end or not. We’d rather tell you that before you sign. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate. We’ll give you written line-item pricing, and the price we quote is the price you’ll see on the contract.
We Also Serve Cities Near Villas
Barrett & Sons Construction works throughout Lee County, including Fort Myers, Cypress Lake, McGregor, and Iona. If you’re just outside Villas and wondering whether we cover your street, call us. Our crews serve Villas and the surrounding communities daily, and dispatch is coordinated locally for this side of the county.
Serving Villas, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Villas 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 Villas
Lee County’s Building Department has carried one of the highest post-Ian permit backlogs in the state, and inspection delays of multiple weeks are still common. Your ADU permit review and inspection scheduling will take longer than it would in a smaller municipal jurisdiction. The practical fix is to sequence the job so that demolition, material ordering, and utility work happen while the permit moves through the county portal, and to plan your start date around realistic inspection windows rather than hoping for the best. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk you through a timeline that accounts for the county’s actual pace.
Adding a second story to a pre-2001 Villas home triggers structural code upgrades on the existing first floor: roof-to-wall strapping, new hurricane ties, rebuilt load paths in bearing walls, and often a full re-sheathing at the roof line. Florida Building Code requires the entire structure, not just the new addition, to meet current wind-load standards in a 130+ mph design wind zone. We write those upgrades into the initial scope so they’re not a surprise when the walls open. For an exact number on your house, call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate.
Yes, garage conversions are allowed in unincorporated Lee County, but the garage must meet current building code for living space: ceiling height, insulation, egress windows, and flood elevation if the slab sits near a drainage canal. Many pre-1990 Villas garages also need structural upgrades to the roof-to-wall connections before the county will sign off. The project typically runs $30,000-$80,000. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll check your garage before you spend money on plans.
We stop work, document what we found, and write you a change order with a specific price for the repair. You approve it in writing before we proceed. This is exactly why we build an allowance for structural surprises into every Villas contract. Rotten subfloor and termite damage are common in older CBS homes here, and they’re not your fault. They’re also not an excuse to send you a bigger bill at the end without your say-so. Your written approval comes first. Always.
Parcels near Villas drainage canals often fall in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, which means the Lee County permit review includes a flood elevation determination before any concrete is poured. We pull that determination early, set the finished floor height to meet the requirement, and coordinate the inspection scheduling so you’re not waiting on a county inspector with walls open through two rain events. We’ve done enough of these to know how the county’s inspection office works. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate and we’ll check your parcel’s flood status before you commit.
One More Thing Villas Homeowners Should Know
Villas is unincorporated Lee County, so every Home Additions & ADU permit runs through the Lee County Building Department. Post-Ian, multi-week inspection delays are the norm, and sequencing around that bottleneck is the defining difference between contracting here and contracting inside Fort Myers city limits. An experienced local contractor knows to file permits before ordering materials, to time the framing inspection with the county’s actual available slots, and to carry contingency float specifically for the inspection queue. This is not a detail you want to learn about in week six with your roof open.
Here’s an example from our own work. On a 1970s CBS rancher in the Villas canal district, we opened walls for a second-story addition and found undersized roof-to-wall strapping and a load-bearing wall that was little more than doubled 2x4s. We wrote the structural upgrade and wind-load tie-downs into a change order, pulled repairs through the Lee County portal, and got inspection sign-off before any new framing went up. Floor line to ridge was raised to current 130+ mph code. That’s how it should work in Villas. Identify the real condition, put the fix in writing, and get county sign-off before you build on top.
Tom Barrett publishes his name, his address, and his license number. Look it up before you sign anything. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate on your Villas addition or ADU. A live person answers.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Villas since 1998.