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 Lakewood
A home addition or ADU in Lakewood typically runs $45,000 to $130,000, depending on whether you’re adding a single room, going up with a second story, or building a detached unit from scratch. That’s the range we quote most often for this city’s 950-to-1,100-square-foot tract homes, nearly all of them built between 1950 and 1954. The real question isn’t just the price. It’s whether the contractor knows what’s behind those 70-year-old stucco walls before the framing crew shows up. We do. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate, and we’ll walk your lot and your plans with you.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Lakewood’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
Tom Barrett started this company in 1998, and his sons run the crews today. That’s not a slogan. When you call Home Additions & ADU with Barrett & Sons, you’re talking to the family that signs the change orders and shows up on the job site. We serve Lakewood directly, and because this city’s housing stock is so uniform, we know what we’re going to find before we open the first wall. A 60-amp electrical panel. Galvanized supply lines that belong in a museum. Orangeburg sewer laterals that have been quietly collapsing since the Clinton administration.
That local knowledge matters more than most people realize. A national outfit sends out a project manager who’s never seen a 1952 Lakewood tract house. We’ve seen hundreds of them. Our crews work in the 90712, 90713, and 90714 ZIP codes weekly, and our design team knows which additions trigger which city inspections. Every scope, every allowance, every price change arrives as a written change order before work happens. No surprise invoices. No “the allowance ran out” conversations at the end of the job. And every project is backed by the 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract, not buried in fine print. If it’s not done right, Tom comes back and makes it right. One call.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Lakewood
Most Lakewood homeowners come to us with one of four needs. Here’s how we approach each one in this city’s specific housing stock.
ADU Site Prep & Utilities
Before we design anything, we scope the sewer lateral. That’s non-negotiable in Lakewood. The original Orangeburg pipe under most of these homes degrades into a collapsed, egg-shaped mess after 50 to 70 years, which means almost every lateral in this city is either failing or about to. On a garage conversion in the 90713 ZIP, our crew hit a collapsed Orangeburg lateral during site prep. Because we pre-scoped it as step one, we replaced it with PVC, upgraded the 60-amp panel to 200-amp, and the inspector signed off the same week. The conversion stayed on the original draw schedule. That’s what planning looks like.
Garage Conversion ADU
Garage conversions are the most popular ADU type in Lakewood for a simple reason: these homes already have attached garages, and the slab is typically in fair shape. But a 1953 garage slab isn’t a finished floor. We usually pour a new slab with sealed joints over the original, because salt-laden soil moisture will wick up through unsealed concrete and destroy whatever flooring you put down. A garage conversion ADU in Lakewood typically runs $30,000 to $80,000, including the new electrical subpanel, insulation, drywall, and the sewer lateral work that almost always comes up.
New Detached ADU
A new detached ADU gives you a clean slate, but the ground it sits on is the problem. Lakewood’s soil carries marine salts from the LA Basin, and new slab edges and post bases need hot-dip galvanized hardware or they’ll corrode within five to seven years. We specify stainless or hot-dip fasteners on every exterior connection and seal every paver joint if your ADU has a patio. A detached ADU in Lakewood runs $90,000 to $220,000, and that range reflects the difference between a basic one-bedroom and a two-bedroom with upgraded finishes. You’ll get a written line-item quote either way.
Junior ADU & Interior Conversion
Junior ADUs work well in Lakewood’s larger 3-bedroom floor plans, where an existing bedroom and bath can be walled off with a kitchenette and private entrance. The catch is the original electrical service. You can’t run a mini-split, an induction cooktop, and a washer-dryer stack on a 60-amp panel from the Eisenhower era. We factor a panel upgrade into the scope as standard on these jobs. Interior conversions also bring us face-to-face with asbestos-containing floor tiles and attic insulation, which most 1950s Lakewood homes still have. We handle it under permit, the way the inspector wants it handled.
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 Lakewood
We install windows from Simonton and Ply Gem on our Lakewood sunrooms and enclosed patios, and we like PGT’s impact-rated lines for homeowners who want storm protection without the heavy look of aluminum shutters. These aren’t mystery brands off the back of a van. You can look them up. When we order a Simonton double-hung for a 1954 tract house, we check the wall depth and the existing flashing first, because Lakewood’s stucco hides more surprises than most cities. Our suppliers keep these brands stocked for us, and we keep turnarounds tight for our neighbors in the 90711 and 90712 ZIP codes.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Lakewood Homes
- Original galvanized supply lines. These are corroding from the inside out in nearly every 1950s Lakewood home. You won’t know until we cut into a wall and the pipes look like a clogged artery. We plan for replacement in every addition scope.
- 60-amp electrical panels. A second story or ADU will overload the original panel. We spec a 200-amp upgrade as part of every major addition, and the city requires the inspection. It’s cheaper to do it during the addition than after.
- Unsealed paver joints and slab edges. Lakewood sits about 10 miles inland, close enough to the Pacific that salt-laden moisture moves through the soil. Unsealed paver patios heave and crack within three winters. We seal every joint and spec marine-grade finishes where it counts.
- Standard interior-grade window frames on sunrooms. Sunrooms and enclosed patio additions in Lakewood need marine-grade or impact-rated frames. Standard frames rot and warp from marine moisture, then leak air and grow mold. The coastal spec costs more up front. It’s cheaper than replacing the windows in six years.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Lakewood, CA
Here’s the straight answer on what this work costs in Lakewood, and why the coastal-spec version costs more than the inland number you’ll see on a generic bid from a contractor who doesn’t work here.
| Project Type | Typical Lakewood Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $45,000 - $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 - $220,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 - $80,000 |
| Countertop Installation (marine-grade sealant upcharge) | $2,000 - $6,500 |
The gap between a coastal-spec and an inland-spec addition is real, and it’s mostly hardware and sealing. Hot-dip galvanized post bases instead of standard steel. Stainless fasteners instead of bright nails. Sealed paver joints instead of open sand joints. Marine-grade window frames instead of standard interior frames. You’ll pay maybe 8 to 15 percent more up front for the coastal spec. The inland spec fails in five to seven years and you pay for it twice. If you ever get a bid that doesn’t mention this, ask the contractor how many Lakewood homes they’ve worked on. Then call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate from someone who has.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lakewood
Barrett & Sons Construction serves Lakewood and the surrounding communities, including Signal Hill, Bellflower, Long Beach, and Paramount. If you’re in any of those cities and want a contractor who knows this strip of the LA Basin’s 1950s tract housing, call us. We’ll bring the same written-scope, permit-pulled approach to your job that we bring to every Lakewood addition.
Serving Lakewood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lakewood 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 Lakewood
Lakewood’s housing stock is almost entirely 1950-1954 construction, which means every addition carries the same baseline discovery costs: sewer lateral replacement, galvanized pipe removal, panel upgrades, and asbestos remediation. Long Beach has mixed-era housing, so a contractor there can’t predict what’s behind a wall. We can, and we price for it honestly. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote on your specific home.
Yes, and we won’t design or pull permits without one. A significant share of Lakewood’s original sewer laterals were installed with Orangeburg pipe, which deteriorates after 50 to 70 years. Every home in this city is now past that window. Scoping the lateral first means the surprise happens during the estimate, not mid-renovation. We include it as step one in every addition or ADU scope.
Almost certainly not. These homes were built with 60-amp electrical services, which was fine when the biggest load in the house was a black-and-white TV. A new ADU or second story will require a 200-amp panel upgrade, and the city will inspect it. We include the panel upgrade in our written scope, so it’s not a surprise change order later. Estimates are free. Call (877) 610-1318 to get yours.
We assume it’s there before we open the wall. Asbestos-containing floor tiles and attic insulation were standard in 1950s tract construction, as were galvanized steel supply lines. We scope for both, handle removal and replacement under permit, and put the plan in writing before work starts. You’ll never get a surprise invoice for age-related discovery on a Barrett & Sons job.
No. A detached ADU sits on its own foundation because it’s a separate structure, and in Lakewood it needs to meet current seismic code. That means engineered footings, anchor bolts, and, for the slab itself, sealed joints to keep salt-laden soil moisture from wicking up and cracking the concrete. We design and pour it all, pull the permits, and get the inspections signed. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate.
Get Your Free Estimate for a Home Addition or ADU in Lakewood
If you’re weighing an addition, a second story, or an ADU on your Lakewood lot, call Barrett & Sons Construction at (877) 610-1318. We’ll walk your property, scope the sewer lateral, check your panel and your pipes, and give you a written line-item estimate with no trip charge inside the county. Tom Barrett publishes his name, his address, and his license number. Look it up before you sign anything. Then call the number and talk to a live person, 24/7. That person will be us.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Lakewood and the surrounding LA Basin communities.