A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateADU Company in Arlington, TX
Adding an ADU in Arlington, TX usually costs between $180,000 and $320,000 for a detached unit before site work, and most projects take four to seven months from design to final inspection. The bigger variable here isn’t the structure itself, it’s the lot: Arlington’s dominant housing stock is 1960s-to-1980s ranch homes on quarter- to half-acre lots with expansive clay soil, pier-and-beam foundations, and mature tree canopies that complicate placement. We’re Sutton ADU Builders, and we’ve built our Arlington process around those realities, not around a generic template. Call (682) 255-2399 to talk through what your specific lot can support.
Why Arlington Homes Are Different
Arlington’s older subdivisions, especially north of I-30 and around Dalworthington Gardens, were platted when land was cheap and lots were wide. That’s good news for ADUs: you likely have the side or rear yard space a detached unit needs. The less obvious part is what’s under the grass. Expansive clay soil shrinks in summer drought and swells after rain, so a foundation that isn’t engineered for differential movement will crack within a few seasons. Many of these original homes also sit on pier-and-beam, which means the ADU’s foundation system has to be matched to the main house, not just poured as a floating slab and forgotten.
Then there’s the tree question. Mature post oaks and pecans are protected by city tree preservation rules in several established Arlington neighborhoods. A critical root zone can push your ADU footprint six or eight feet from where you first sketched it, and a variance request often hinges on showing the city that the structure respects the existing streetscape. We work through those placements before you commit to a design, because the last thing you want is a permitted plan that doesn’t match the arborist’s report.
Electrical service is another common hurdle. Homes built in the 1960s and 1970s often have 100-amp panels that can’t carry a second dwelling’s load without an upgrade, and adding a subpanel or new service drop changes both timeline and budget. We flag these items in the written price before any work starts, not as a surprise change order later.
Our Main Arlington Services
Most Arlington homeowners reach us for one of three projects: a ground-up home addition, a detached or attached ADU, or a smaller room addition. Each has its own Arlington page with pricing and local specifics, linked below.
Home Addition Contractor in Arlington
A home addition in Arlington means tying new framing, foundation, and roofline into a house that’s often 40 to 60 years old. The engineering has to account for the original structure’s settlement, the clay soil underneath, and Arlington’s requirement that the addition not overwhelm the existing dwelling’s scale. We handle the full scope: architectural plans, permits, foundation, framing, HVAC, electrical, and finish work, with a written price before we start. If you’re weighing a primary-suite addition or a family-room bump-out, our Home Addition Contractor in Arlington page walks through Arlington-specific costs and timelines.
ADU Builders in Arlington
Detached ADUs in Arlington run from compact 400-square-foot studios up to two-bedroom units around 1,000 square feet, and the permitting path varies by neighborhood. Some areas require a variance because there’s no single citywide ADU ordinance; others are straightforward if the unit sits within setback rules and respects the tree canopy. We work with prefab manufacturers like Dvele and Boxabl where the lot allows, and we also build stick-framed ADUs where a custom footprint is required. See ADU Builders in Arlington for sample floor plans, real price ranges, and what Arlington’s zoning means for your street.
Room Addition Contractor in Arlington
A room addition is the smallest scope of the three, and in Arlington it often comes down to three questions: can the foundation handle the added load, does the existing HVAC have enough capacity for the new square footage, and will the roofline tie in cleanly without creating a drainage problem on the clay soil. We answer all three in the written proposal. For a single-room addition, budget anywhere from $85,000 to $180,000 depending on whether it’s a simple bump-out or a full primary suite with a bath. Details are on our Room Addition Contractor in Arlington page.
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 Arlington
We work with prefab ADU lines including Dvele, Mighty Buildings, and Plant Prefab, and we maintain current spec knowledge on their Arlington-compatible models. Turnaround on prefab panels depends on the manufacturer’s production queue, but we coordinate delivery and crane placement so you’re not managing logistics. See our brands for what each system does well.
Pricing for ADU Company in Arlington, TX
| Service | Typical Range in Arlington |
|---|---|
| Detached ADU, 400 – 600 sq ft | $180,000 – $240,000 before site work |
| Detached ADU, 600 – 1,000 sq ft | $240,000 – $320,000 before site work |
| Attached ADU (junior unit) | $120,000 – $200,000 |
| Garage conversion to ADU | $110,000 – $190,000 |
| Prefab ADU (Dvele, Boxabl, etc.) | $150,000 – $280,000 installed |
| Home addition, 300 – 500 sq ft | $90,000 – $160,000 |
| Home addition, 500 – 800 sq ft | $160,000 – $260,000 |
| Primary suite addition | $120,000 – $220,000 |
| Room addition, single | $85,000 – $180,000 |
| Foundation work (pier repair, slab) | $15,000 – $55,000 |
| Electrical service upgrade (100A to 200A) | $4,000 – $10,000 |
What pushes Arlington prices up: tree-protection setbacks that shrink the buildable footprint, clay-soil foundation requirements, and older electrical panels that need an upgrade to serve a second dwelling. Every one of those shows up in your written price before we lift a tool, and the number doesn’t move unless you change the scope.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Arlington
We take ADU and addition projects across Arlington, with most of our work concentrated in the established single-family subdivisions where lot sizes make detached units viable and the zoning conversations are the most involved.
- Dalworthington Gardens
- North Arlington (I-30 corridor)
- Pantego
- Southeast Arlington (newer subdivisions)
- West Arlington (near Lake Arlington)
Most Arlington projects are within a 20-to-30-minute drive of our scheduling desk, which keeps site visits and inspections moving without long gaps between trades.
Service Area – Cities Near Arlington
Beyond Arlington, we run crews into the surrounding Tarrant County market on a regular schedule. If your property is in Mansfield, TX, Fort Worth, TX, Hurst, TX, or North Richland Hills, TX, the same written-price and Threshold Verified crew standards apply.
Serving Arlington, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Arlington 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 Arlington
Not uniformly: Arlington doesn’t have a single citywide ADU ordinance, so some neighborhoods process ADU permits as standard accessory structures while others require a variance through zoning review. The variance path typically hinges on setback compliance, tree preservation, and compatibility with the surrounding ranch-style streetscape. We’ll tell you which path your property faces during the first site visit.
Most Arlington ADUs take four to seven months from design to final inspection. Prefab units from Dvele or Boxabl can shorten the on-site phase to six to ten weeks once permits clear, but the permitting and foundation work front-loads the timeline regardless of construction method. Your written proposal includes a dated schedule, not just a price.
It won’t, unless you change the scope. We write the price before any work begins, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers workmanship for a full calendar year from completion. If an element of the build fails within that year, a second visit is free, no haggling. Call (682) 255-2399 for a free estimate and a line-item number you can plan around.
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 Arlington Customers Say
"Detached unit with a small kitchen and bath. Windows and finishes were nicer than I expected for the budget."
- Philip S."They handled the drawings and the permit paperwork for us. All I had to do was pick the finishes."
- Rosa M."Good quality build. One delay on cabinets, but they gave a realistic new date and kept to it."
- Gordon B.
