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

Fast, Reliable Home Additions & ADU Across Fort Myers

Adding square footage in Fort Myers is a different animal than it was before September 2022. Hurricane Ian rewrote the rulebook for anyone lifting a hammer in Lee County, and if you’re planning a room addition, a garage conversion, or a full detached ADU, you need a contractor who understands the new elevation codes, the flood map reclassifications, and the permit pipeline that’s still running slower than the Caloosahatchee on a summer afternoon. That’s exactly what we do. Tom Barrett founded Barrett & Sons Construction in 1998, serving Fort Myers, FL, and his sons run the crews every week. Call (877) 610-1318 and you’ll get a live person, not a voicemail box, and we’ll talk straight about what your addition will actually cost.

Call (877) 610-1318

Key Takeaways:

• Home additions in Fort Myers typically run $45,000-$130,000; detached ADUs land between $90,000-$220,000 depending on size, elevation requirements, and utilities.
• Post-Ian FEMA flood map changes mean many lots in south Fort Myers and Iona now require elevation certificates and raised foundations that weren’t needed before 2022.
• Every scope, allowance, and price change comes as a written change order before work starts. No surprise invoices at the end.
• We pull permits on every eligible job. The inspector works for you, not for us, which is exactly how we like it.
• All work is backed by the written 90-Day Done Right Promise.

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

We’re not a franchise dispatching strangers from three states away. Tom Barrett’s name, address, and license number are published and verifiable, and his sons are on-site in Fort Myers on most construction days. Ask anyone on your street, or look up the license number yourself. That’s the kind of accountability this market needs right now, because Fort Myers has been flooded with out-of-town crews since Ian, and a lot of homeowners have already been burned once.

The customers we work with in McGregor, Cypress Lake, and Gateway tell us the same thing: they’re tired of national outfits that quote one number on the phone and show up with another number on a clipboard. That’s why every allowance and every scope change on a Fort Myers addition project goes on paper before a single nail moves. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. We also carry premium brands like PGT, Simonton, and Ply Gem so you know exactly what’s going into your walls and windows before we order anything.

We’ve been owner-operated since 1998, and that matters more in Fort Myers than almost anywhere else in Florida. The post-Ian rebuild has stretched everyone thin, and a contractor who answers his own phone, returns calls, and stands behind a written 90-day promise is the exception, not the rule. Our crew members are background-checked and uniformed on every visit, and we treat your property in Cypress Lake or along McGregor Boulevard the same way we’d treat a job on our own street.

Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Fort Myers

Our Home Additions & ADU team handles the full scope of work, from first survey to final inspection. Here’s what Fort Myers homeowners ask us for most often.

ADU Design & Permitting

Detached ADUs in Fort Myers are in high demand, but the permitting path has gotten genuinely complicated since Ian. Lee County’s revised FEMA flood maps reclassified thousands of parcels from minimal-risk Zone X to Zone AE, which means your finished floor height may need to sit 2 to 4 feet higher than a pre-storm build. We handle the elevation certificate, the flood zone verification, and every drawing the county requires, so you don’t end up with a beautiful set of plans that the permit office bounces back six months later.

Garage Conversion ADU

Converting an existing garage typically costs $30,000-$80,000 in Fort Myers, and it’s usually the fastest path to a rentable unit or an in-law suite. The catch is that many 1960s-1990s CBS ranch homes in the older corridors of Fort Myers weren’t built with living-space insulation, vapor barriers, or proper egress windows, so the conversion often requires more structural retrofitting than homeowners expect. We’ll tell you that before you sign, not after we open the wall.

New Detached ADU

A new detached ADU in Fort Myers generally runs $90,000-$220,000 depending on square footage, finish level, and how high the foundation has to sit. In neighborhoods like Villas and Iona, where the post-Ian elevation requirements hit hardest, stem-wall and fill-raised slab foundations have become the norm. That’s added cost and added framing complexity compared to a build just three years ago, and it’s exactly the kind of local knowledge you want in your corner before you commit.

Junior ADU & Interior Conversion

For homeowners who don’t want to touch the flood elevation question at all, an interior conversion, sometimes called a junior ADU, is a smart workaround. These projects convert existing interior space, a large den, a split floor plan, or an oversized laundry room into a self-contained living area with a kitchenette and separate entrance. Because you’re not adding building footprint, the flood zone reclassification often doesn’t trigger the same elevation requirements, which keeps costs closer to the lower end of the addition range.

Trusted Brands We Service in Fort Myers

We install Windows & Doors - Fort Myers projects using impact-rated products from PGT, Simonton, and Ply Gem, which matters when you live at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee and every June kicks off another hurricane season. PGT’s WinGuard line is built in Florida for Florida wind loads, and we’ve used enough of it in Lee County to know exactly how it performs in a real storm. We also stock local parts for these brands, which keeps turnaround times shorter when a louver or a sash needs replacing mid-project. If you’re planning an addition and want windows and doors specified by someone who’s actually lived through a Category 4, call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk you through the options.

Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Fort Myers Homes

• Post-Ian flood zone reclassification. Thousands of parcels in south Fort Myers and Iona moved from Zone X to Zone AE after 2022, which means an addition that would have been a straightforward slab-on-grade build now requires an elevation certificate, base flood elevation plus freeboard, and often a raised stem-wall foundation. This is the single biggest cost driver on Fort Myers additions right now.
• Slab and subgrade moisture during the wet season. Fort Myers drains poorly in the June-October downpours, and subgrade moisture under existing slabs is a constant problem. Before we frame anything, we check the existing slab for moisture intrusion and cracking, because adding weight to a compromised slab in this climate is asking for trouble.
• Stucco cracking and fastener corrosion from constant humidity. At 75%+ relative humidity year-round, the fasteners and ties on 1960s-1990s CBS homes corrode faster than they would inland. On room additions that tie into existing block walls, we inspect those connection points and replace what’s degraded before the new framing goes up.
• Permit backlogs and inspection scheduling delays. The Lee County permit pipeline is still backed up years after Ian, and homeowners who go with a contractor that files incomplete paperwork can watch their project stall for months. We file complete packages with elevation data the first time, because we’ve learned exactly what this county’s plan reviewers flag and what they pass.

Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Fort Myers, FL

We Also Serve Cities Near Fort Myers

Beyond Fort Myers proper, we run crews into Villas, Cypress Lake, McGregor, and Iona on a regular basis. The elevation and flood zone challenges in Iona and south Fort Myers are some of the most complex in the county, and we’ve handled enough of them to know the county’s plan reviewers by name. If you’re in any of those communities and considering an addition or ADU, call (877) 610-1318 and ask for Tom. We also handle Kitchen Remodeling in Fort Myers and Bathroom Remodeling in Fort Myers if the addition is part of a larger refresh.

FAQs - Home Additions & ADU in Fort Myers