“We’ll handle the ADU from design through construction,” the builder says. Then you notice the proposal never says who revises the drawings if the reviewing agency requests a change. Before you sign, ask who takes that next step—and whether you must approve any change to the agreed scope, price, or schedule.
What should design-to-construction coordination mean in an ADU proposal?
It should mean that someone is responsible for each decision, document, and handoff from design through review and construction. For homeowners considering ADU builders, the test is not whether a proposal uses the phrase “design-build.” It is whether the written scope identifies who does the work, who coordinates others, and where your approval is required.
Why an unassigned handoff can become your job
A designer might expect the builder to receive permit comments. The builder might expect the designer to handle them directly. Both might assume you will relay a revised drawing to the other. None of those expectations tells you what the proposal actually includes.
This matters while you can still clarify the agreement, not after a response is due or construction is ready to start. For a South Bay or Peninsula property, confirm the reviewing jurisdiction for the specific address rather than assuming the process used in San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, or San Mateo applies everywhere. That includes an address in Emerald Hills.
Follow one permit comment all the way to the field
Consider an illustrative case: the reviewing agency asks for a drawing revision that affects an ADU wall detail. The first handoff is the notice itself. Who receives the comment, sends it to the person preparing the revision, and confirms what must be resubmitted? The designer may update the drawing, but someone also needs to check whether the revised detail can be built as shown and whether consultants need to update related documents.
Next, the builder assesses whether the proposed revision affects the agreed work or schedule. If it would change the agreed terms, you need to see the proposed change and authorize it in writing before the affected work changes—not learn about it from a crew working from a new plan. Once the response is submitted and the applicable plans are approved, someone must identify the current document set, pass it to the field team, and flag any decisions still open. A revised drawing sitting in an email inbox is not a completed construction handoff.
This is a way to test responsibilities, not a prediction that a particular agency will issue this comment or approve the response. The point is to find out who carries the task across each boundary.
Four questions to put to an ADU builder
Take these questions into the proposal conversation and ask where the answers appear in writing:
- Who makes and pays for design revisions, and what triggers an additional charge?
- Who receives permit comments, prepares revised documents, and resubmits them?
- How will you document a proposed change in scope, price, or schedule, and obtain my written approval before work changes?
- Who is my point of contact at each handoff, and who confirms the next team has the current plans?
Check the answers against the written agreement
“We handle permits” sounds reassuring, but it does not say who prepares submissions, responds to comments, coordinates a consultant, or pays applicable fees. Look for those duties in the proposal or agreement alongside any excluded work. If a consultant’s involvement is conditional, ask who engages that person and how additional work would be authorized. A named point of contact is useful only if you also know who is responsible for completing each task.
Read the change-approval terms with the same care. The agreement should make it clear how proposed revisions affecting scope, price, or schedule reach you for written approval and who distributes the resulting documents. California’s Contractors State License Board guidance on home improvement contracts is a useful reference when reviewing written scope and changes; your project’s signed terms still need to identify its actual responsibilities. Neither a verbal assurance nor coordinated design-build can guarantee permit approval.
Before you sign, ask us to name the handoffs
At IBuilders, we use a coordinated design-build approach to keep design and construction conversations connected. That approach is most useful to you when the proposal identifies the people responsible for revisions, permit responses, approvals, and delivery of current plans—not when you have to infer duties from a label. Ask us to walk through your ADU proposal, name the responsible parties and points of contact, and put the applicable scope, exclusions, fees, and change-approval terms in writing before you sign.