A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateADU Company in East Foothills, CA
East Foothills is one of the more interesting places in Santa Clara County to build an accessory dwelling unit, mostly because the land itself shapes every decision. The area’s oversized lots and hillside terrain make detached ADUs the default choice for most homeowners, but the steep slopes and expansive clay soils mean nearly every project starts with a soils report and ends with custom foundation work. That’s a different conversation than what you’ll hear from a flat-land builder. If you’re weighing an ADU, garage conversion, or addition in East Foothills, call us at (669) 266-4319 for a written price before anything else happens.
We’re Lodgewick ADU San Jose, the ADU company of the Kingswell family, and Russ Delmar leads our East Foothills projects. Every job runs under The Kingswell Guarantee: a written price first, a real arrival window, a clean job site, and a written guarantee on the work. That’s how we’ve operated since 2010.
Why East Foothills Homes Are Different
East Foothills housing stock runs from the 1960s into the 1980s, mostly single-family ranchers on lots that would be considered oversized almost anywhere else in the Bay Area. A lot of those homes have daylight basements or split-level layouts, which sounds charming until you start planning a second unit. The original slab foundations in this part of East Foothills have a reputation for cracking and settling, meaning an attached addition or a garage conversion often requires more structural work than the homeowner expected.
The bigger issue is slope. San Jose’s hillside ordinance treats any grade over 10% as a geologic hazard zone, and East Foothills has plenty of that. Almost every detached ADU we scope here needs a soils report and, more often than not, a retaining wall before the foundation can be poured. The clay soil expands and contracts with the seasons, so shallow footings that work fine down in the valley don’t survive up here. Deep piers or engineered slabs are the norm, not the exception.
Climate adds another layer. East Foothills runs hotter and drier than the valley floor, and winter downpours can chew through unlandscaped slopes in a single season. ADU placement has to account for drainage patterns and fire setback rules, and the summer heat means passive cooling and decent insulation aren’t optional upgrades. They’re baseline requirements if the unit is going to be livable in August.
Our Main East Foothills Services
Three services account for nearly every call we take from East Foothills homeowners, and each one has its own dedicated page with pricing, timelines, and local specifics.
Home Addition Contractor in East Foothills
A home addition in East Foothills usually means tying new square footage to a 1960s or 1970s rancher whose original slab has moved over the decades. The connection point between old and new foundation is where things get delicate, especially on sloping lots where one side of the addition may sit several feet above the other. Many homeowners want a primary suite or a family room extension, and the daylight-basement layout common in East Foothills often lets us add square footage at grade on the downhill side. That reduces the amount of fill and retaining work compared to building uphill. Home Addition Contractor in East Foothills is the page with full pricing and process details for this service.
Garage Conversion Contractor in East Foothills
Garage conversions are trickier in East Foothills than most homeowners expect. A flat garage slab that has cracked and settled over 40 or 50 years isn’t automatically a good foundation for living space, and many garages on hillside lots sit at the downhill edge of the property with drainage running toward them. We’ve also seen garages built into the slope, where one wall is essentially retaining dirt, and those need waterproofing and structural review before any framing starts. When a garage conversion does pencil out, it’s usually the fastest path to a rentable unit. Garage Conversion Contractor in East Foothills covers what we check before quoting and what tends to drive cost on these jobs.
ADU Builders in East Foothills
Detached ADUs are the workhorse project in East Foothills because the lots are big enough and San Jose’s ADU rules are permissive. The catch is that a prefab or panelized unit still needs a foundation, and in this terrain that foundation is a custom engineering job. We match homeowners to established ADU systems, including Abodu, Cover, and Boxabl, then handle the site work, utilities, and the paperwork that the factory can’t. ADU Builders in East Foothills breaks down full costs, timelines, and what the hillside ordinance means for your property.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service in East Foothills
We work with the ADU brands and materials that fit East Foothills lots and budgets: our brands page covers Abodu, Cover, Boxabl, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie. Parts and finish materials for these systems are stocked at Bay Area supply houses, so we aren’t waiting on cross-country freight when a change order hits mid-project.
Pricing for ADU Company in East Foothills, CA
| Service | Typical range in East Foothills |
|---|---|
| ADU site consultation & feasibility review | $350 – $700 |
| Soils report for hillside ADU | $2,500 – $5,000 |
| Retaining wall (per linear foot, up to 4 ft) | $350 – $600 |
| Detached ADU foundation (engineered slab with piers) | $28,000 – $55,000 |
| Detached ADU (500 – 750 sq ft, site-built) | $220,000 – $340,000 |
| Detached ADU (prefab, including site work) | $180,000 – $290,000 |
| Garage conversion (full build-out, 400 sq ft) | $110,000 – $170,000 |
| Garage conversion with structural repair | Add $15,000 – $40,000 |
| Home addition (300 – 500 sq ft) | $160,000 – $260,000 |
| Home addition (500 – 800 sq ft) | $250,000 – $400,000 |
| Deck & hardscape prep for ADU site | $12,000 – $30,000 |
Two things push East Foothills prices above valley benchmarks: slope-related engineering and the drainage corrections that come with it. A 10% grade can add three to five weeks of permitting and $15,000 or more in retaining and pier work before we pour anything.
Every figure we quote in East Foothills is a written price delivered before work starts. No change-at-the-door games, no surprise line items halfway through. That’s The Kingswell Guarantee, and it applies to every project we take.
Neighborhoods We Serve in East Foothills
East Foothills covers a wide band of hillside neighborhoods, and each one has its own grade, soil, and setback quirks. We run jobs throughout the area, and our crews are typically on-site within a few days of the start date we commit to in writing.
- Alum Rock
- Country Club Vista
- Hidden Glen
- Mt. Hamilton Road corridor
- Sierra Vista
Service Area – Cities Near East Foothills
Most of our East Foothills work stays on the hillside, but we regularly schedule projects in nearby cities when the lot conditions line up. That includes San Jose, CA, Fremont, CA, Palo Alto, CA, and Milpitas, CA. Dispatch is coordinated from our Bay Area office, and crews serving East Foothills are local to the area.
Serving East Foothills, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the East Foothills area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About ADU Company in East Foothills
After we quote, the first step is usually the soils report, which takes two to four weeks to schedule and deliver. Once that’s back, engineering runs another two to three weeks, then the permit package goes to San Jose. In East Foothills, the hillside ordinance review adds time. Call (669) 266-4319 and we’ll give you a realistic calendar for your specific lot.
Not always, but frequently. Any slope over 10% triggers the geologic hazard zone review, and if the grade exceeds that on any part of the build site, a retaining wall or engineered slope stabilization is likely. We assess it during the site consultation so the written price reflects the real scope. Call (669) 266-4319 for a free estimate on your property.
Yes. We work with Abodu, Cover, and Boxabl, and we evaluate your lot against each system’s structural and setback requirements before recommending one. Prefab doesn’t skip the foundation work, which in East Foothills is often the largest variable. Call (669) 266-4319 and we’ll walk through which unit fits your grade, budget, and timeline.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local adu pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What East Foothills Customers Say
"Converted our garage into a rental studio. The crew was respectful of the neighbors and kept the site clean. It's bringing in rent now and paid for itself faster than I expected."
- Grace Yoon"Built a backyard unit for my mother in law. They handled the permits, gave me a real timeline, and stuck to it within a few days. The written price is what we paid, which anyone who's done construction knows is rare."
- Dennis Fairchild"Added a suite for my dad. They walked us through every cost before a hammer swung and stuck to it. The written price is what we paid, no change orders."
- Ingrid Salazar
