Your Orange County garage has more room to give.

A full garage-to-ADU conversion typically runs $85K–$170K+ turnkey. Going to a Junior ADU instead runs $135K–$220K+, and lighter scopes like a primary suite or home office are priced per plan. You can price your own garage with the free Garage Conversion Cost Calculator, which returns a range calibrated to 2026 Orange County bids. Avorino quotes a fixed-price design-build contract that includes permits, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, finishes, plus the tiered warranty (1-year fit & finish, 4-year systems, 10-year structural).

Total contract-to-handover window is typically 4–6+ months, with construction itself running 8–12+ weeks once permits are issued. Permitting timing varies by city. Design and engineering take weeks, not months: measured drawings, a structural review of the existing slab and framing, and finish selections run in parallel, so the permit package goes in once, complete. City plan check is a ministerial review under state ADU law, with no public hearing. Construction runs from demo to final inspection on the existing footprint, with no new foundation.

Usually, yes. A garage conversion runs $85K–$170K+ because the slab, walls, and roof already exist, while a detached ADU runs $245K–$440K+ and starts from bare ground. The trade-off is size and parking: you inherit the garage's footprint, and you lose the garage. Avorino prices both paths side by side before you commit, so the comparison is on real numbers for your lot rather than averages.

Yes. Any conversion that adds livable square footage requires a building permit, plan-check, and final inspection. State ADU law also requires kitchen, bath, and fire-egress compliance. Avorino pulls every required permit under General-B License #1107538.

Yes. California state law allows attached garage conversions to qualify as either an ADU (full kitchen + bath) or a Junior ADU (efficiency kitchen, may share a bath with the house). A Junior ADU must have its own entrance separate from the main entrance, and where it shares the house bathroom it also needs an interior entry to the main living area — Gov. Code §66333(e). We help you pick whichever classification fits the space you want to build.