alpha dream
construction.
We build ADUs, remodels, and additions across California’s most demanding housing markets — from Los Angeles backyards to Bay Area hillside lots. California ADU & remodel specialists serving Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
12 yrs
On California job sites
180+
Homes finished
47
ADUs permitted
2
California regions served
Credentials and recognitions
on the record · 12 years of clean inspections
- CSLBLic. #1094832bonded · insured
- DiamondCertifiedverified contractor
- BBBA+accredited business
- NARIMemberLA chapter
- HouzzProbest of design
Where should we
open the project file?
Choose your region and we’ll show you the right permitting notes, service area, project examples, and scheduling options.
California studio
Los Angeles
Greater LA · Orange · Ventura · Inland Empire
Backyard ADUs, garage conversions, whole-home remodels, kitchens, baths, and seismic upgrades across Greater Los Angeles.
- — Los Angeles
- — Santa Monica
- — Pasadena
- — Long Beach
- — Burbank
- — Glendale
Open Los Angeles studio
California studio
Bay Area
San Francisco · East Bay · South Bay · Peninsula
ADUs, additions, garage conversions, kitchens, baths, and hillside / dense-lot remodels across the San Francisco Bay Area.
- — San Francisco
- — Oakland
- — Berkeley
- — Walnut Creek
- — Fremont
- — San Jose
Open Bay Area studio
What's on
the worktop.
Four things we do well. Everything else we politely refer to a friend.
Full capabilities →Custom ADU fabrication
Design / build for backyard suites, garage conversions, and JADUs. Permit-ready plans, structural steel, the works.
Whole-home remodels
Seismic upgrades, layout reworks, plumbing & electrical pulled to the studs. Spanish revival, mid-century, and Craftsman a specialty.
Kitchen re-imagining
Walls come down. Light comes in. Honest cabinetry, soft-close everything.
Bath sanctuaries
Skylights, steam, stone. Built for the next twenty years of mornings.
What might it cost?
Three quick choices. LA pricing, real numbers from real jobs. Walk-throughs replace guesses — but this gets you in the ballpark.
ballpark
$156k — $275k
Includes design, permits & GC overhead. Excludes land, FF&E, and site-specific surprises (we'll find them on the walk-through).
Pin it to a real estimate →From the front of the binder.
April '24 · reclaimed white oak island
640 sqft · permitted in 4 weeks
Heath tile · brushed brass
Before. After.
Same room.
Linda's kitchen in Pasadena — '80s honey-oak and fluorescent tube, redrawn around a reclaimed white-oak island, soapstone counters, and a north-facing skylight.
April '24 · 9 weeks on site
Linda's kitchen before remodel — dated 1980s honey-oak cabinets, beige tile counters, fluorescent overhead light, vinyl flooringBeforeAfter
Two California studios.
We keep jobs within roughly an hour of each shop — one in Greater Los Angeles, one in the San Francisco Bay Area — so the same crew that walks the site is the crew that finishes the punch list.
Studio · Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles
- — Los Angeles
- — Santa Monica
- — Pasadena
- — Long Beach
- — Burbank
- — Glendale
- — Culver City
- — Beverly Hills
- — Anaheim
- — Irvine
Studio · Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
- — San Francisco
- — Oakland
- — San Jose
- — Fremont
- — Walnut Creek
- — Palo Alto
- — Berkeley
- — Richmond
- — Livermore
- — Antioch
From the journal.
Long-form notes on permits, costs, and the parts of a California ADU or remodel project nobody warns you about.
cost · 9 min read
How much does an ADU really cost in Los Angeles in 2026?
An honest 2026 breakdown of LA ADU costs — hard costs per square foot, soft costs, utility upgrades, and the fees most homeowners forget to budget.
permits · 10 min read
The Los Angeles ADU permit process, explained step-by-step
Every step of the LADBS ADU permit pipeline — pre-application, plan check, corrections, fees, and the inspections that decide your schedule.
financing · 8 min read
ADU financing in California: HELOC vs RenoFi vs construction loan
Five real ways California homeowners pay for ADUs in 2026 — HELOCs, cash-out refis, construction loans, RenoFi, and the CalHFA grant program — with the math behind each.
Got a sketch on a napkin?
Tell us where the project lives and roughly what you have in mind. We’ll come back with the soonest site-walk slot.