ADUs and garage conversions · Carmel Valley, since 2005
Carmel Valley ADUs, designed and built by one team.
A casita for a parent. A rental in the backyard. A garage that becomes a home. An accessory dwelling unit is one of the smartest investments a San Diego homeowner can make, and it has its own rules: size, setbacks, parking, a kitchen and a bath of its own. Our designers draw it, our architectural team engineers and permits it, and our own crews build it, on one contract with the price in writing. Award-winning in San Diego since 2005.
Accredited, certified and held to accountCalifornia contractor #922807, since 2005
ADU builder in Carmel Valley · since 2005
A little house, with everything a house needs.
In Spanish, casita means little house. An accessory dwelling unit is exactly that: a guest house of about 600 to 1,200 square feet with its own entrance, its own bathroom and its own kitchen or kitchenette, detached in the yard or attached to the main house. You may know it as a granny flat, an in-law suite or a backyard cottage.
Kaminskiy is a San Diego ADU contractor and builder: detached casitas, garage conversions and attached units, designed, permitted and built on one contract since 2005. Sometimes the home you have does not fit the family in it. Parents want their own private space, adult children come home, or you want to rent to someone without giving up your privacy. Recent changes to state and local law have made ADUs easier to build on San Diego properties, from Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch to Carmel Valley, La Jolla, Encinitas and Rancho Santa Fe. Our designers, architectural drafters and project managers take an ADU from the first sketch to the final walkthrough on one contract, with one fixed price before the first footing is poured. Founded in San Diego in 2005 by Sergei Kaminskiy, and still founder-led.
Carmel Valley was built mostly in the 1990s and 2000s, so its kitchens and primary baths are reaching the age where families want them redone properly, inside well-run HOAs. Permits for ADUs in Carmel Valley are issued by the City of San Diego. Our design and architectural team drafts the construction documents, a licensed structural engineer stamps them where the scope calls for it, and we submit them and manage the whole process for you.
Start with a complimentary consultationADUs in Carmel Valley
ADUs in Carmel Valley: a right by state law, shaped by the HOA.
Carmel Valley's lots are small and most of its homeowner associations were written before accessory dwelling units existed. California now guarantees the right to build one on a single-family lot and bars associations from prohibiting them, so the Carmel Valley ADU is usually a garage conversion or a compact detached unit, designed to the HOA's standards and the City's setbacks.
State law allows an ADU and a junior ADU on a single-family lot, and the City of San Diego issues the permit. On a Carmel Valley lot the practical options are a garage conversion, a unit over the garage where the structure allows, or a compact detached unit in a side or rear yard that meets the setbacks.
California bars homeowner associations from prohibiting ADUs, while allowing reasonable design standards. In Carmel Valley that means matching materials, roof and windows, and sometimes a review of where the entrance goes. We submit to the association and the City together.
A converted garage needs insulation, a real floor, a kitchen and bath with their own plumbing runs, and a door that looks like a front door rather than a garage with drywall over it. We design the elevation so the house still reads as a house from the street.
Families bringing a parent close, owners making room for an adult child, and homeowners planning rental income. The first meeting is at your home, where we walk the lot and the garage with the setbacks in hand.
Finishes are chosen at our Design Center in Rancho Bernardo, about 15 minutes along State Route 56; every project starts with a visit to your home, not to ours.
Our work in Carmel Valley and nearby
Carmel Valley remodels, and the neighbors next door.
Two projects in Carmel Valley, then recent projects in Del Mar. Every photo is a Kaminskiy home, designed and built by our own team.
Remodeling in Carmel Valley
Every service in Carmel Valley. One local team.
This page is about ADUs and garage conversions in Carmel Valley. Every other Kaminskiy service has its own Carmel Valley page too, and the neighborhoods around Carmel Valley have theirs: the same designers, project managers and crews, from one Design Center.
Nearby neighborhoods
We design and build ADUs and garage conversions in every neighborhood of San Diego County. See the San Diego ADUs and garage conversions page or schedule a consultation.
The Carmel Valley ADU guide
ADUs in Carmel Valley, in detail.
How an ADU goes in Carmel Valley.
Garage conversions are the fastest and cheapest; a unit over the garage keeps the parking and the yard if the structure can carry it; a detached unit needs the setbacks and usually a new sewer and electrical run. We price all three at the first meeting if the lot allows them.
Water, sewer, gas and electrical for a second dwelling. A Carmel Valley house usually has a 200-amp panel with room for a subpanel; the sewer connection depends on where the unit sits.
State law removes the replacement parking requirement in most cases when a garage is converted, but the HOA may have its own view of cars on the street. We raise it early.
A City of San Diego building permit plus the HOA's design review. Six to ten months from the first visit to completion. If what you need is more room for the household rather than a separate unit, a room addition may fit better.
Room additions in Carmel ValleyGood questions
Carmel Valley ADU FAQ: a few straight answers before you call.
Cost, size and setback rules, the 2025 law changes, square footage, permits with the City of San Diego and whether to build it yourself. More on the full FAQ page.
Read all FAQsNothing. The in-home design consultation is complimentary anywhere in Carmel Valley. A designer comes to your home, listens to what you want to change, takes measurements and photos, and tells you honestly whether we are the right fit for the project.
We do. Permits for ADUs in Carmel Valley are issued by the City of San Diego. Our design and architectural team drafts the construction documents, a licensed structural engineer stamps them where the scope calls for it, and we submit them and manage the whole process for you.
No. California law bars homeowner associations from prohibiting ADUs on single-family lots. They can apply reasonable design standards, and we design to them.
Usually a garage conversion, a unit over the garage where the structure allows, or a compact detached unit in a side or rear yard that meets the City's setbacks. We confirm the options at the first visit.
Six to ten months from the first visit to completion, with the HOA review and the City permit first.
It depends on the type and the size of the unit. The figures we published for 2023 are still a fair guide: constructing an ADU in San Diego cost around $130,000 on average, with most projects between $80,000 and $180,000. A 400 to 700 square foot unit with one bath and a small kitchen ran $600 to $650 per square foot, with the bath and kitchen finishes adding about $80,000; an 800 to 1,200 square foot unit with one or two baths and a medium kitchen ran $550 to $600 per square foot, with finishes adding about $100,000; a garage conversion typically ran $140,000 to $180,000 depending on the garage, the finishes and any structural work. Fees are part of the number: permits, utility connections and city-required upgrades, and permits expire and inspections are required every 180 days until completion. A separate architect, designer and builder is virtually guaranteed to cost more than one design-build team, with more room for mistakes between them. What we promise is a fixed price in writing before the first footing is poured, starting at the complimentary in-home consultation.
An ADU is a complete independent living unit on the same lot as a single-family home: a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen area, with its own entrance. It can be attached to the house or detached. Every ADU must be at least 220 square feet and no larger than 1,200 square feet; an attached ADU is also capped at 50 percent of the main home's floor area. A junior ADU, or JADU, is built inside the existing home, may not exceed 500 square feet, and needs a functional kitchen or a shared one with a cooking appliance, a prep counter and storage cabinets. One ADU is allowed on a residentially zoned lot with an existing or proposed single-family dwelling; a lot that already has guest quarters cannot add another, but those quarters can often be converted into a legal ADU with a permit.
A detached ADU is a separate building, usually in the backyard. Its size is not limited by the main house, it offers the most privacy, and it is the choice for a rental or for parents who want their own front door. An attached ADU shares a wall with the house but is internally separate, with its own entrance, bath and kitchen; it offers moderate privacy and easy access, and it is capped at half the main home's floor area. Converting an existing structure, a garage, an attic, a basement or a lower level, uses the foundation and roof you already have, which saves time and money and may let you reuse the plumbing and electrical that already run through the house. An ADU above a garage or carport keeps the parking and adds a view; a second-story ADU adds a whole independent level to a one-story home. Your designer walks the lot with you and tells you which one your property and the rules allow.
New ADUs must meet the required front yard setback and a minimum four-foot setback from the side and rear lot lines; an ADU built above a permitted detached accessory structure keeps the same four-foot rule. A detached ADU is limited to 25 feet in height. An ADU provides one parking space, which may sit within the setbacks and as tandem parking in the existing driveway, and no parking has to be replaced when a garage, carport or covered parking is demolished or converted to build the ADU. ADUs can be rented, but not for less than 30 days, and they cannot be sold separately from the primary residence. The fire department confirms fire setbacks, and the plot plan shows the floor area of both units. Our architects handle all of it; always confirm the details for your lot with the city or the county, which is what we do on every project.
Three state laws took effect on January 1, 2025. Senate Bill 1211 lets multifamily properties build up to eight detached ADUs, as long as the ADUs do not outnumber the existing units on the lot (it does not apply to single-family homes). Assembly Bill 2533 gives unpermitted ADUs built before January 1, 2020 a clear path to legalization: a permit cannot be denied for minor building code violations unless the unit is substandard, and no impact or utility connection fees apply unless safety requires them. Senate Bill 1077 requires the Coastal Commission to publish guidance by July 1, 2026 so that cities simplify ADU permitting in the coastal zone, which matters in La Jolla, Del Mar and Pacific Beach. Owner-occupancy requirements are gone, so an ADU can be rented freely. Our 2025 ADU guide below covers each one in detail.
Start here
Schedule your complimentary in-home design consultation for your ADU, anywhere in Carmel Valley.
- A designer comes to you, measures, listens and shares first ideas.
- No pressure and no obligation. We tell you if we are not the right fit.
- Our Client Care team calls back during the time slot you choose.