Why Glendale Homeowners Choose Ellery ADU Studio Glendale for ADU
Since 2015, Ellery ADU Studio has designed, permitted, and built more than 900 ADUs across California, every one with a written price before breaking ground and a documented record at completion. Our Glendale branch, led by Nadia Ellery, brings that same Haven Standard to homeowners from Burbank to Pasadena, from Los Feliz to Studio City. We’re the local team that answers the phone, walks the property, and signs the permit application.
6 Reasons We’re Glendale’s Top ADU Company
1. Eleven Years Navigating California’s ADU Permitting Maze
Ellery started in 2015, the same year California’s ADU law changed and the permitting queue became the actual product. We’ve been through every revision since: the 2017 height and setback adjustments, the 2019 statewide pre-approval push, the 2020 owner-occupancy repeal, and the 2024 SB 684 lot-split provisions. That means when your Glendale project hits a zoning variance at the Community Development Department, or a utility easement question at Glendale Water & Power, we’ve seen it before. We know which plans examiners flag roof drainage details, and which ones want the fire separation called out in the structural notes.
2. A Strong Local Reputation Built on Documentation
We don’t ask you to trust us because we say we’re trustworthy. Every Haven Standard job leaves evidence: dated photos of existing conditions, permit application receipts with tracking numbers, inspection sign-off sheets, and a final walkthrough checklist signed by you and the lead. Our Glendale clients in Adams Hill, in Rossmoyne, in the hillside neighborhoods above Brand Boulevard, they review us on the same platforms everyone else does. Read the three-star reviews too, the ones where someone wished the drywall crew had covered the floors better. We did. Then we changed our Haven Standard Clause 4 documentation to include pre-work floor protection photos.
3. Every Pro Is Required to Carry the License and Insurance California Requires
Under Haven Standard Clause 3, Verified crews, every contractor, designer, and inspector working under our name in Glendale must hold current California licensing and carry the insurance their trade requires. We don’t self-certify. We collect the certificates, verify the expiration dates, and keep license numbers on file for every person who steps onto your property. The license number for the work is on your contract, on the permit application, and on the final documentation packet. If you want to look it up on the CSLB website, you can.
4. Real Expertise with Factory-Built and Panelized ADU Systems
We’re not learning Abodu, Cover, or Dvele on your dime. We’ve worked with Abodu’s SiteBuilt system through their foundation-to-finish process, specified Cover’s aluminum-frame modules for hillside lots in Glendale where conventional framing fights the grade, and coordinated Dvele’s smart-home-integrated units for clients who want the electrical rough-in to match the fixture package. We also know when these systems don’t fit: a tight backyard in North Glendale with a heritage oak that no crane can reach, a slope in the Chevy Chase Canyon that exceeds the factory-set maximum pad tilt. We tell you in the first meeting, not after you’ve paid the deposit.
5. Your Price in Writing Before Anyone Starts
Haven Standard Clause 1: Have it in writing. When we quote your ADU in Glendale, you get a line-item breakdown, not a single number with a handshake. Site prep, foundation, framing, MEP rough-in, insulation, drywall, finishes, fixtures, final connections, permit fees, utility coordination. Each line has a price, a scope description, and a contingency threshold we both sign off on. If we find rotted joists in the existing garage we’re converting, we document it, we show you, and we quote the repair before cutting anything. No “while we’re in here” surprises. No door upsell.
6. A Warranty Backed by Documentation, Not Just a Promise
Our workmanship warranty is written, dated, and referenced to the photos and inspection records from your job. Clause 5 of the Haven Standard: No surprises. If a window leaks in the third rainy season, we pull the installation photos, check the flashing sequence against the manufacturer’s detail, and fix what’s ours. If it’s a maintenance issue, we show you the gap in the caulk line and explain what happened. Either way, you know where you stand. The warranty lives in the same folder as your permit final and your as-built drawings.
Our Promise to You
If you’re not satisfied with any phase of work, we stop, we document what happened with dated photos, and we fix it before the next phase begins. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1 in practice: the written scope is the agreement, and the agreement is enforceable because it’s specific.
We answer calls Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM. A live coordinator takes your information and connects you with Nadia Ellery or the local project manager assigned to your area. You’ll get a real appointment window, a named technician or designer, and a text when they’re en route. No “sometime Tuesday” and no ghosting.
Our pricing transparency commitment is simple: every ADU job is quoted in writing before it starts. The price doesn’t change unless you change the scope, and scope changes require a written amendment signed by both of us. No verbal approvals, no handshake deals, no invoice that doesn’t match the quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re a design-build studio, not a designer who hands off to a contractor, or a contractor who redraws your plans without telling you. Since 2015, Ellery has completed more than 900 ADUs under one contract with one price, because the projects that go wrong are almost always the ones where the designer and builder can each blame the other. Our Glendale branch is independently owned and operated, led by Nadia Ellery, and held to the Haven Standard that governs every Ellery studio statewide. Call (424) 325-4322 to schedule your free estimate and see the written scope for yourself.
We stop and fix it. Haven Standard Clause 1 requires a written scope before work begins, which means there’s an objective standard to measure against. If the work doesn’t match the written scope, we correct it at our cost. If your concern is about something outside the scope, we document what we found, explain your options, and quote any additional work in writing before proceeding. No surprises means no surprises. Call (424) 325-4322 to talk through any concern, current or past.
No. Our estimates are free, written, and itemized. We visit your property in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, or anywhere in our service area, measure the site, check the zoning and utility constraints, and deliver a line-item quote with a fixed price for the scope as described. The estimate costs you nothing, and you’re not obligated to move forward. Call (424) 325-4322 to schedule yours.
Yes. Every pro working under our name in Glendale is required to hold the California contractor license and insurance their trade requires, per Haven Standard Clause 3. The specific license number for your project appears on your contract and on the permit application we file with the City of Glendale or your local jurisdiction. We’re not a referral network passing your job to unvetted subcontractors. The local team is our team, and their credentials are verifiable. Call (424) 325-4322 and we’ll confirm the licensing for your specific project type.
We schedule estimates during our regular hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM. A live coordinator answers calls during those hours and books appointments based on current availability in the Glendale area. We don’t promise same-day visits for planned construction work, an ADU is a year-long relationship and a six-figure decision, and we won’t rush the first meeting that sets the terms for everything after. What we do promise is a real window, a named estimator, and a text when they’re on the way. Call (424) 325-4322 to book your slot.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Glendale, serving Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, and the greater Los Angeles area under the Haven Standard since 2015.