The Process
Most ADU companies make you assemble your own team: architect, engineer, contractor, permit consultant, lender. We don't. One contract, one family, one finished home. Here's exactly what happens between your first call and the day you turn the key.
100+
hours of permit work we handle
0
subcontractors you manage
1
contract you sign
1 day
factory to foundation
The Sequence at a Glance
STEP · 01
What We Do
We pull up your property on Google Earth, county records, and the California HCD database. We confirm setbacks, lot coverage, height limits, and any easements that would block an ADU.
What You Do
Hop on a 30-minute call with one of our Account Managers. Have your address handy.
Outcome
A clear yes or no on whether your property can host an ADU, and which model footprints will fit.
STEP · 02
What We Do
We walk you through completed homes in our Salinas factory. Touch the framing, open the cabinets, see the 2x6 exterior walls and the foundation system. Tours are by appointment only, typically weekends with occasional weekday evenings depending on factory activity; it's a working factory, not a showroom, so we can't take walk-ins.
What You Do
Drive to Salinas. Bring your spouse, your parents, anyone who needs to feel the home before signing.
Outcome
You'll know whether Framework First is the right builder for you.
STEP · 03
What We Do
A member of our team visits your property in person. We measure crane and trailer access, mark the proposed ADU location, identify utility hookup points, and photograph existing conditions.
What You Do
Be home. Walk the property with us.
Outcome
A confirmed crane-access and utility plan, plus a proposed footprint.
STEP · 04
What We Do
We run a desktop soils review, pull historical permits, calculate impact fees, draft a preliminary site plan, identify any HOA or city-specific blockers, and estimate utility upgrade costs.
What You Do
Pay the study fee ($497 standard, 7 business days; $997 for an empty lot, 14 business days) and send your most recent property tax bill and any HOA documents.
Outcome
A detailed report covering everything you need before signing a build contract. If we find your property cannot host an ADU, you get a full refund. Otherwise the fee credits toward your build contract if you sign within 90 days.
STEP · 05
What We Do
We walk you through the study page by page, answer every question, and recommend the optimal model based on what we found.
What You Do
Read the study beforehand. Bring your questions and your decision-makers.
Outcome
A clear go / no-go decision. If go: a confirmed model, style, and estimated final price.
STEP · 06
What We Do
We open the ADU Designer for your project. Lock in floor plan, exterior style, cabinet finish, flooring, paint colors, and fixture packages.
What You Do
Play with options in the ADU Designer, unlocked for you once your feasibility study is underway. A member of our team reviews your selections.
Outcome
A finalized configuration and price, ready to move into a signed build contract.
STEP · 07
What We Do
Construction costs move constantly, so we lock in your model, configuration, and price the moment you sign and place your $1,000 signup deposit, and hold it for 90 days. That deposit does not start permitting or material orders. Those cost real money, and we don’t front that before your financing is in place, so nothing gets submitted or ordered at this stage. What it does do is reserve your spot, get your project organized on our end, and protect your price while you finalize financing.
What You Do
Sign your build contract and place the refundable $1,000 signup deposit to lock your price and hold your place in line. Once you secure financing and make your construction deposit, that’s the moment that actually starts your build: we submit permits, pour the foundation on your property, and build 97% of your home in the factory in parallel.
Outcome
A finished, inspected, move-in-ready home in your yard, roughly 4 to 9 months from the day your construction deposit lands, not from the day you sign. We crane-deliver in one day, hook up utilities, and pass final inspection. Timelines are estimates and can shift with city permitting. The $1,000 signup deposit is refundable if financing falls through.
Why Off-Site Beats Waiting
Building most of your home in our factory while your foundation cures isn't just faster on paper. It's the difference between paying rent, a mortgage, and construction-loan interest for a year and a half, or for a few months.
A 2025 Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report on off-site construction documented a real project: a 193-unit affordable housing building that cut its timeline from 24 months to 14 months by moving construction off-site.
One documented project, not a promise about yours, and a multifamily case rather than an ADU. It illustrates the mechanism, factory and site work running in parallel, not a guarantee of these exact numbers on your build. Source: Aaron Smithson, "Prefab the Gap," Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2025.
Ready for Step 01?
Tell us a bit about your property below, and one of our Account Managers will follow up to book your free 30-minute call. No pressure, no obligation.
Once you submit, a real person on our team reviews your property and follows up within 1 to 2 business days to book your free 30-minute call. No call center, no drip campaign, just a conversation.
After we review your property, we'll invite you out to the factory, or send a member of our team to you, whichever fits your schedule better.
Building more than one? If you're a real estate developer or investor planning multiple units, let us know in the form. We offer better pricing at volume.
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