Meet the Burbank Team Behind Ellery ADU Studio Burbank
Every ADU we’ve designed, permitted, and built in Burbank since 2015 has been handled by people who live here, work here, and understand what the city expects at plan check. Our crew isn’t rotated in from out of state. We know the difference between a Burbank hillside zone and a flatland R-1 lot because we’ve worked both. What unites us is simple: we show up in uniform, we document everything, and we put the written price in your hand before any work starts.
Our People
Nadia Ellery, Owner
I started Ellery ADU Studio in 2015 after watching too many Burbank homeowners get stuck between a designer who’d never pulled a permit and a builder who wouldn’t read the drawings. Before that, I spent eight years in general contracting, mostly on infill projects in the San Fernando Valley where the city inspector knew your name and remembered your last job. I’m licensed, background-checked, and my license number appears on every page of this site because that’s what verification looks like. I still walk every job site at rough inspection because that’s when the gap between paper and reality shows up, usually around plumbing venting or the exact location of a property line pin. My dry observation: Burbank plan check in spring moves faster than Burbank plan check in fall. Nobody at the city will confirm this, but our permit timeline data does.
Marcus T., Lead Technician
Marcus has been with us since 2019 and runs our site-prep and utility coordination crews. He’s the person who determines whether your existing garage slab can handle a conversion or whether we’re looking at a 6-inch pour with rebar and a vapor barrier. He’s certified in trenching and underground utility work, which matters in Burbank because our older neighborhoods still have clay sewer lines that don’t tolerate guesswork. Marcus carries a printed copy of the permitted drawings on every job, marked up with the city inspector’s comments from the last three inspections. Off the clock, he restores vintage motorcycles in a shop in Magnolia Park and has strong opinions about which year Honda made the best CB750.
Dana R., Senior Installer
Dana handles our prefab and modular coordination, which means she’s fluent in the framing systems, connection details, and finish schedules for Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie. She joined us in 2021 after five years as a finish carpenter on custom residential projects in Glendale and La Cañada. Her specialty is the moment a factory-built module meets site-built conditions, which is never as clean as the brochure suggests. Dana keeps a photo log of every module connection she’s made, 200-plus at this point, and can tell you which manufacturer responds to field issues by Tuesday and which one makes you wait for a callback. She lives in the Rancho area and walks her dog past former job sites to check how the landscaping filled in.
Jesse K., Service Coordinator
Jesse is the live person who answers when you call (747) 322-4648. He’s been with Ellery ADU Studio since 2017 and has scheduled over 4,000 site visits, permit submissions, and inspection appointments. He knows which Burbank plan check examiner handles ADUs fastest, which days the city doesn’t schedule inspections, and how to read a correction notice to determine whether it’s a 20-minute fix or a two-week delay. Jesse coordinates our documented photo record system, so he’s the one who makes sure every technician uploads site photos before they leave. He’s also the person who calls you the day before inspection to confirm access and the day after to report pass or fail. He grew up in Burbank, attended John Burroughs High, and can explain the difference between the city’s standard plan program and a custom submittal without making you feel like you should already know.
Tomás V., Apprentice
Tomás joined us in 2023 through a state-registered apprenticeship program and splits his time between field installation and permit research. He’s currently logging his hours toward a general contractor’s license and has already passed his law and business exam. On site, he works under Dana and Marcus, learning how to square a foundation, read a grade stake, and identify when a field condition needs a change order versus when it needs a quick call to the city. Tomás grew up in a household where his grandfather built an unpermitted room addition that caused problems at sale, so he understands from family experience why we pull permits on everything and document every step. He lives in the Media District and takes the Metrolink to sites when he can.
One Standard, Every Job
Ellery ADU Studio Burbank is independently owned and operated, and every project we take follows The Haven Standard. That means Clause 1 applies to your job the same way it applied to the 900-plus ADUs we’ve completed since 2015: a written price before any work starts, no exceptions. Clause 5 means the scope is locked at signing, no door-side upsells. Every visit produces a documented photo record you receive, not a summary of how it felt. And the 365-Day Done Right Promise is in writing before the project starts, not mentioned verbally after it’s done. Whether we’re handling ADU Design & Permitting, a Garage Conversion ADU, a New Detached ADU, a Junior ADU & Interior Conversion, or ADU Site Prep & Utilities, the same five people you’ll meet on this page are accountable for the result. The designer and builder can’t point at each other because they’re the same contract, the same crew, and the same standard.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Burbank, serving Burbank since 2015.