Before & After Gallery - Ellery ADU Studio Burbank

ADU Before & After in Burbank, CA

We’ve completed 900+ ADUs since 2015, and every one started with a problem: a dusty garage, an unused side yard, a family needing space without the cost of moving. These aren’t renderings. They’re documented photo records, clause by clause, under the Haven Standard. Here’s what actually changed on real Burbank properties.

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Recent Transformations

Garage Conversion ADU: Magnolia Park, 400 Sq. Ft. Studio

Detached two-car garage with sagging door and cracked concrete driveway, Magnolia Park, Burbank — Before: 1950s garage with unpermitted electrical, no insulation, slab cracked from Burbank’s clay-heavy soil expansion.

Converted studio ADU with stucco finish, new window, and separate entrance, Magnolia Park, Burbank — After: Permitted studio with 9-foot ceilings, mini-split HVAC, and kitchenette - rented at market rate within 30 days of final inspection.

The owner had received three estimates, all with different scopes and no fixed price. Under Haven Standard Clause 1, we wrote $127,000 before work started - drawings through final inspection, including the 4-inch slab assessment (it held, saving $8,000 in foundation work). The photo record shows the original 60-amp subpanel, the asbestos-containing ductwork we flagged and abated, and the new 200-amp service with individual meter. Burbank’s plan check took 14 weeks; we used the time to pre-order the Milgard window to avoid the 8-week backlog that stalled two neighboring projects on the same block.

New Detached ADU: Rancho Adjacent, 520 Sq. Ft. One-Bedroom

Narrow side yard with dying lawn, chain-link fence, and utility boxes, Rancho Adjacent area, Burbank — Before: 18-foot-wide side yard, utility easement, and a 6-foot setback that required a variance - the kind of site most builders won’t quote without a “call for pricing” escape hatch.

Modern detached ADU with horizontal siding, covered entry, and landscaped path, Rancho Adjacent, Burbank — After: One-bedroom with covered porch, built to the adjusted setback with full variance documentation - no surprises at final.

The lot was 5,200 square feet, which put the maximum ADU size at 1,000 square feet under state law, but the 6-foot side setback in Burbank’s R-1 zone chopped that nearly in half. We filed the setback variance - the extra distance the city requires between your new ADU and the property line - with the initial submittal rather than as a mid-process correction, which is where most delays happen. Written price: $198,000. The photo record includes the geotechnical report showing no expansive soils, the trench for the new sewer lateral to the main line, and the Tuff Shed modular frame set in six hours. Final inspection passed on the first call. The owner now has a tenant paying $2,850 - documented in the closing packet with the lease template we include on every rental ADU.

Junior ADU & Interior Conversion: Media District, 320 Sq. Ft. Attached Unit

Laundry room and storage area with exposed pipes, no separate entrance, Media District, Burbank — Before: Interior space behind the main house, used as laundry and storage, with no separate entrance and a single-pane door to the backyard.

Junior ADU with separate entrance, compact kitchen, and stacked washer-dryer, Media District, Burbank — After: Junior ADU with exterior door, efficiency kitchen, and code-compliant egress window - the owner’s mother moved in two weeks after certificate of occupancy.

Junior ADUs - attached units under 500 square feet with a shared wall to the main house - don’t trigger school fees in Burbank, which saved this owner $3.80 per square foot. The catch: the existing bathroom needed to be accessible from the JADU without passing through the main house, which meant cutting a new door through a load-bearing wall. We brought in a structural engineer, permit in hand, for a 2-hour site review. The photo record shows the original 2×4 wall framing, the engineered header installation, and the fire-rated door assembly. Written price: $67,000, including the separate electric meter the owner hadn’t realized was required until we flagged it in the first site visit. No change order. The mother-in-law moved in. The photo record went in the owner’s Dropbox the evening of final inspection.

ADU Site Prep & Utilities: Burbank Hills, Sloped Lot with Septic

Steep hillside with overgrown brush, retaining wall failure, and exposed septic cleanout, Burbank Hills — Before: 15% grade, failed timber retaining wall, and a septic system the owner didn’t know was within 5 feet of the proposed ADU footprint.

Graded building pad with new concrete retaining wall, utility trenching, and ADU foundation stem walls, Burbank Hills — After: Engineered cut-and-fill pad, 6-foot concrete retaining wall, and relocated sewer lateral - the detached ADU foundation now sits on undisturbed soil.

This is the project other contractors walked away from. Three “free estimates” came back with ranges - $40,000 to $80,000 for site work alone - and no commitment to handle the septic relocation. We spent $1,200 on a soils report and survey before writing a price, because Haven Standard Clause 1 says we write the number, not a guess. The final: $54,000 for site prep, retaining wall, and utility rough-in, with a separate line item for the septic pump and new leach field that the health department required once we exposed the original system. The photo record shows the failed timber wall, the exposed septic tank with date stamp, the engineered retaining wall rebar cage, and the compaction test results. The ADU itself - a 480-square-foot Cover modular unit - went on the pad four months later. One contract. One written price for each phase. No finger-pointing between designer and builder because we’re the same entity.

Garage Conversion ADU: Chandler Park Area, 2-Car to 2-Bedroom

Double garage with low ceiling, oil-stained floor, and garage door opener track, Chandler Park, Burbank — Before: Standard 20×20 garage with 8-foot ceiling, uninsulated block walls, and a slab pitched toward the door for drainage - all wrong for habitable space.

Two-bedroom ADU with raised ceiling, new windows, and separate HVAC unit, Chandler Park, Burbank — After: Two-bedroom, one-bath with 9.5-foot ceiling, new egress windows, and dedicated mini-split - the owner’s son lives there while attending Woodbury University.

The slab pitch was 1.5 inches across 20 feet, which meets garage code but fails residential. We could have poured a new slab - $14,000 - or used a self-leveling overlay with radiant barrier, which the photo record shows at 3/4 inch thickness. We chose the overlay, wrote $89,000 for the full conversion, and documented the moisture barrier installation because Burbank’s winter rains and summer heat cycles will test any slab. The ceiling height came from scissor trusses - we removed the flat ceiling, exposed the existing trusses, and added collar ties rather than sistering new rafters, which saved three weeks and $6,000. The photo record includes the truss modification drawing, the insulation R-value tag (R-38, required for Burbank’s Climate Zone 9), and the final blower door test at 3.2 ACH50. Written price. Documented result. No surprises.

Prefab Modular Coordination: Downtown Burbank, Abodu One

Concrete patio and storage shed on small lot near Burbank Town Center, Downtown Burbank — Before: 30-foot-wide lot, zero side yard, and a storage shed the owner assumed would need demolition.

Abodu One modular ADU installed on minimal foundation, modern siding, Downtown Burbank — After: 340-square-foot Abodu One, craned in and set in one day, with the storage shed repurposed as the required equipment enclosure.

Not every ADU needs stick framing. We specify and coordinate prefab and modular systems from Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie - this one was Abodu, with their standard foundation system modified for Burbank’s liquefaction zone. The storage shed stayed because it was 6 feet from the property line, and the ADU needed a 4-foot equipment setback for the mini-split condenser. We combined them: the shed became the equipment enclosure, saving demolition and rebuilding. Written price: $156,000, including the Abodu unit, crane rental (single day, 6 a.m. street closure permit), and all utility connections. The photo record shows the crane lift, the unit set on the foundation bolts, and the final siding match to the main house - Abodu’s standard cladding, not a custom upcharge. One contract. One written price. The owner teaches at the high school three blocks away; he walks over for lunch.

Want Results Like These?

Professional designer drawing custom ADU floor plans on grid paper — Want Results Like These?

Every project here started with a free estimate and a written price before any work began. No “call for pricing.” No scope creep. If you have a written estimate already, we’ll give you a free second opinion - clause by clause, line by line. Call (747) 322-4648 to schedule your free estimate. A live person answers, 24/7. Nadia Ellery or a senior designer will walk your property, flag what others miss, and write the number that sticks.

Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Burbank, serving Burbank since 2015.