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 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
A home addition or ADU in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea typically runs $45,000 to $130,000, with detached ADUs landing between $90,000 and $220,000 depending on size and coastal material specs. That’s a serious check to write, so we’ll be straight with you about what drives the number, what the town will make you prove, and where salt air eats the cheap stuff first. If you’re planning a room addition, second story, or garage conversion in the 33303 ZIP, call Tom Barrett at (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk the site with you before anyone draws a line.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s Preferred Home Additions & ADU Company
Tom Barrett founded this company in 1998, and his sons still run the crews. That’s not a marketing line. When we frame a second-story addition on El Mar Drive or pull permits for a detached ADU near Commercial Boulevard, the name on the truck is the same name on the contract and the same face you’ll see at the hardware store. We answer our own phone, 24 hours a day, and we don’t hand your project to strangers.
Working in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea means working inside a 35-foot height cap, on concrete block homes that have been breathing Atlantic salt for 50 to 70 years. We’ve framed additions on Pelican Lane where the original rebar had lost more than 1/8 inch of cover to spalling, and we’ve spent enough hours in front of the town’s building department to know which details get flagged before they become change orders. That local knowledge is exactly what keeps your permit moving and your budget honest. Dispatch and scheduling run from our Miami (South FL) office, but the crews live and work right here in Broward County.
Our Home Additions & ADU Services in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
ADU Design & Permitting
Every ADU in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea starts with the 35-foot height limit. A detached unit behind a beach cottage can’t just be a story and a half if the math doesn’t work. We run the zoning review early, check setbacks against the town’s one-square-mile footprint, and get the permit strategy straight before you pay for drawings. Tom’s rule: the variance conversation happens on day one, not after you’ve fallen in love with a roofline that’ll never get approved.
Garage Conversion ADU
A garage conversion in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea often makes more sense than new construction, because you’re working within walls that already exist. But those 1950s-to-1970s CBS garages weren’t built to today’s Florida Building Code, so expect upgrades to electrical, insulation, and impact-rated openings before the space becomes legal living area. A typical garage conversion here runs $30,000 to $80,000, and the variance risk drops substantially when you’re not adding height.
New Detached ADU
Building a new detached ADU on a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea lot means designing around three things at once: the height cap, the high-velocity hurricane zone product approvals, and salt-air corrosion on every fastener you can’t see. We spec hot-dipped galvanized or stainless hardware throughout, because the hidden hurricane straps are exactly what the salt fog eats first. Budget $90,000 to $220,000 for a properly permitted, coastal-spec unit.
Junior ADU & Interior Conversion
When there’s no room to go up and no yard to build into, converting an interior space, a den, a sunporch, a portion of the existing footprint, is the smartest path. These projects rarely touch the height ordinance, which keeps permitting simpler. We’ve done junior ADUs in duplexes and small condos across Lauderdale-by-the-Sea where the owner wanted rental income without a zoning fight.
What happens when you call
- 1
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 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
We stock and install materials you can look up, because your addition is only as good as what’s behind the stucco. On Lauderdale-by-the-Sea projects we regularly specify GAF roofing assemblies built to Miami-Dade and Broward product approval standards, Schluter waterproofing systems in wet areas, and Grohe or Sterling fixtures in ADU kitchens and baths. When a customer needs a warranty part or a replacement before final inspection, we pull from local supply houses and our own stock, not a catalog that ships in two weeks. You’ll know the brand name before it goes in, and it’ll be on the written scope, not discovered after the fact.
Common Home Additions & ADU Problems We See in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Homes
- Salt-air corrosion on hidden hardware. The hurricane straps and connectors buried behind stucco corrode from repeated salt fog exposure. We’ve opened walls on beachside additions and found straps that crumble when you tap them. We spec hot-dipped galvanized or stainless on every connection, visible or not.
- Spalling concrete and corroded lintels on original CBS block. Decades of Atlantic salt spray at near-zero setback eats the concrete cover off rebar. On Pelican Lane we replaced corroded lintels with hot-dipped galvanized steel before any new framing went up, and the inspector signed off on the HVHZ load-bearing connections before we closed the wall.
- Height cap surprises mid-design. Owners sometimes plan a rooftop deck or a raised roofline, then discover during design that the 35-foot ordinance kills it. We price the zoning-compliance legwork into every estimate up front, so you don’t pay for drawings that’ll get rejected.
- Paver joints that calcify and heave within three seasons. Chloride intrusion from salt air and sea spray breaks down unsealed paver joints fast on a beachside driveway or ADU yard enclosure. We seal the joints properly and use base materials rated for coastal drainage, which is a different spec than what works five miles inland.
Pricing for Home Additions & ADU in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL
Here’s what we actually quote for Lauderdale-by-the-Sea work. These are line-item ranges, not vague promises:
| Project | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $45,000 - $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 - $220,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 - $80,000 |
| Impact Window Installation | $8,000 - $25,000 |
Three things push a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea project higher than the same job inland. First, coastal-spec hardware: stainless and hot-dipped galvanized fasteners cost more than big-box galvanized, but the cheap stuff rusts through at the concrete collar within five years. Second, HVHZ product approvals on windows, doors, and roof assemblies, which are mandatory in Broward County and non-negotiable if you want the permit signed. Third, the 35-foot height cap forces structural work into the existing footprint, which can mean dropping a ground-floor ceiling by a couple feet or re-engineering the load path. We put every allowance in writing, every change order on paper before it touches the job, and every scope detail in the contract. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate with real numbers, not a phone-quote guess.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Our Home Additions & ADU in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea crews work throughout north Broward, and we handle the same coastal-spec standards in North Andrews Gardens, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, and Sunrise. If you’re a few blocks or a few miles outside the 33303 ZIP, the same team, the same written change orders, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. We know this stretch of the coast well enough to price it honestly the first time.
Serving Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea 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 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
The town-wide 35-foot height cap means a second-story addition can consume your entire vertical allowance, which often forces the ground-floor ceiling height down by 2 to 3 feet or triggers a variance hearing before permits are even drawn. We run the zoning math on day one, because the variance fight is exactly what a less experienced contractor will discover mid-design and then bill you for. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll check your lot’s envelope before you spend a dollar on drawings.
Yes. Broward County is a high-velocity hurricane zone, so every impact-rated window and door in a new ADU or addition must carry Miami-Dade or Broward product approval. We spec Andersen and Marvin impact units that meet the standard, and we won’t install anything that would fail the inspector’s first look. If a contractor tells you approvals are optional, walk away.
Because salt air doesn’t show up on a rough estimate. When we open a 1970s CBS wall and find corroded lintels or spalled rebar, that’s a change order, and it needs to be in writing before any new work happens. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. We write every price change, every material swap, and every pressure from the town into a signed document, then we proceed. You’ll never get a bill at the end that wasn’t on paper first.
Coastal-spec hardware, stainless and hot-dipped galvanized fasteners, marine-grade flashing, sealed paver joints, typically runs 15 to 25 percent more than the inland big-box spec on the materials line alone. That’s the honest math. But the inland-spec version rusts through at the concrete collar within five years and destabilizes your ADU yard enclosure, which turns into a redo that costs more than the upcharge ever did. On a $130,000 second-story addition, the coastal hardware premium is the difference between a standing connection and a failed one behind the stucco.
In most cases, yes. A garage conversion works within the existing building envelope, so it doesn’t add height and rarely triggers the variance process the way a second story does. The trade-off is that your 1950s or 1960s CBS garage will need electrical, insulation, and impact-rated openings brought up to current Florida Building Code, which typically lands between $30,000 and $80,000 in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. We’ll tell you on the first visit whether your garage is a candidate or a tear-down.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and the surrounding Broward County communities.
Ready to talk numbers? Call Tom at (877) 610-1318 for a free, written estimate on your Lauderdale-by-the-Sea home addition or ADU. We’ll walk the site, check the height envelope, and give you a real price, not a phone guess.