Portland Portland ADU Builder

ADU Builder in Portland & Vancouver

A well-planned ADU adds usable square footage, real flexibility, and lasting value to a property you already own. A poorly planned one runs headlong into a setback line, an undersized electrical service, or a sewer connection nobody priced. The design is the fun part. The feasibility is the part that decides whether the project is worth doing at all — and it has to come first.

JDI is a design-build remodeler, which means the people drawing your ADU are the same people who will confirm what your lot allows, pull the permits, and swing the hammers. There is no handoff between an architect who never sees the site and a builder who inherits a design that doesn't fit. We keep design, permitting, and construction under one roof so the plan you approve is the plan that gets built.

Types of ADUs we build

Most homeowners assume "ADU" means a backyard cottage. It's one of four common paths, and the right one depends on your lot, your budget, and what you're trying to accomplish.

The rules are the project

With an ADU, the code isn't a formality you clear at the end — it shapes the whole design from the first sketch. The rules differ meaningfully between Portland, Oregon and Clark County / Vancouver, Washington, and they get revised over time, so the only number that matters is the one that applies to your specific lot on the day you build. Here's the shape of what governs the design:

Utilities and the site work nobody budgets for

An ADU is a full second home, and a second home needs its own connections to water, sewer, and power. This is the part of the project that lives underground and behind walls, and it's where budgets slip when someone prices the building but not the site. Here's what we scope up front:

What an ADU can do for you

The reason to work through all of that is what the finished unit makes possible. An ADU is one of the few home investments that can pay you back in cash, in flexibility, or in the ability to keep family close — and often in more than one of those at once. It adds a genuinely independent living space to property you already own, which is a durable form of value that grows with your neighborhood.

We keep the investment conversation honest. Rather than promise a return figure, we help you weigh the real trade-offs for your lot and goals — construction cost against likely use, and what the added, independent square footage means for your property over the long run.

Designing small so it lives big

A great ADU doesn't feel like a compromise. The square footage is modest by design, so every decision has to earn its place — and that constraint is exactly what makes small-footprint design satisfying to get right. The difference between a cramped unit and one that feels like a real home is almost entirely in the planning.

Ceiling height does more for a sense of space than floor area, so we push it where the design and the height limits allow. Storage gets designed in from the start — built-ins, under-stair space, and tall cabinetry — instead of stealing from rooms later. Natural light is the other multiplier: well-placed windows and glazed doors make a compact space feel open and connected to the yard, and they cut how often the lights need to be on.

When the unit is meant for aging parents or long-term flexibility, we plan for single-level accessibility from the outset — a no-step entry, wider passages, and a bathroom that works with a walker or wheelchair. Designed in early, these choices are nearly invisible and add real longevity to the home. Retrofitted later, they're expensive and rarely as clean.

Common questions about building an ADU

Family-owned and design-build since 2007 • Oregon CCB #176101 / Washington #JDICOCN932KZ • 5-year workmanship warranty • in-house design & in-house trades. Built by family. Trusted by neighbors.