A Virginia ADU builder that tells you the truth about your lot first.
We design and build accessory dwelling units across Virginia — detached backyard cottages, interior accessory living units, garage conversions and rural barndominiums. One licensed design-build team from the first site walk to the final inspection.
Four ways to add a home to your lot.
Detached backyard cottage
A stand-alone one- or two-bedroom home on your lot — the classic ADU. Full kitchen, full bath, its own entrance, its own utilities where required.
Interior accessory living unit
A basement, attic or over-garage conversion into a legal, separately-entered dwelling. Usually the fastest and least expensive path where zoning allows it.
Garage conversion
Turning an attached or detached garage into conditioned living space, with the structural, insulation and egress upgrades the code requires.
Barndominium
Post-frame or steel-frame residential construction for rural Virginia acreage, where the economics and the aesthetic both favor a different building type.
- Virginia Class A contractor — license #2705195817
- Design-build: one contract covers feasibility, design, engineering, permitting and construction
- Built by the team behind Hearthstone Design Build, with a commercial and high-end residential track record
- We run a paid Readiness Assessment before design and will tell you in writing if your lot won't work
- Written cost bands before you commit — not a brochure number that moves later
From first call to keys in hand.
Quick-Fit Check
A free 60-second read on whether an ADU is plausible on your lot.
Readiness Assessment
Paid on-site feasibility: setbacks, utilities, septic, county rules, written cost band.
Design & permitting
Architectural design, engineering, and permit submission — handled by us.
Build & handover
Construction, inspections, certificate of occupancy, warranty.
Counties and cities we serve.
Every jurisdiction sets its own ADU rules until SB 531 takes effect on July 1, 2027. We publish what we know about each one — read your county before you call.
Northern Virginia
Hampton Roads
Piedmont & Shenandoah
Southwest Virginia
Questions homeowners ask first
Who builds ADUs in Virginia?+
Virginia Backyard Homes is a Virginia Class A licensed design-build firm (#2705195817) specializing in accessory dwelling units and detached backyard homes. We handle feasibility, architectural design, engineering, permitting and construction under one contract, across Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, the Piedmont and beyond.
How much does it cost to build an ADU in Virginia?+
Interior conversions typically run $60,000–$150,000. New detached backyard cottages typically run $180,000–$400,000 or more, roughly $250–$400 per finished square foot. Site work — utility runs, grading, tree clearing and septic capacity — is the largest source of variance between two otherwise similar lots.
How do I find a good ADU contractor near me?+
Confirm the firm holds an active Virginia Class A contractor license, ask whether design, engineering and permitting are included or subcontracted, ask to see a written cost band rather than a verbal estimate, and ask how they handle a lot that turns out not to be feasible. A builder who has never walked away from a project has probably sold one that shouldn't have been built.
How long does it take to build an ADU?+
Plan on roughly 10–16 months from Readiness Assessment to certificate of occupancy. Design and engineering take two to four months, permitting varies enormously by jurisdiction, and construction of a detached unit typically runs five to eight months.
Do you handle the permits?+
Yes. Zoning verification, engineered plans, permit submission and inspection coordination are part of the design-build scope. Permitting is where most owner-managed ADU projects stall, particularly in the jurisdictions preparing for the SB 531 changeover in 2027.
What areas of Virginia do you serve?+
We work throughout Virginia, with the deepest experience in Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, Fauquier and Albemarle. We publish a rules page for every jurisdiction we serve so you can see exactly what is permitted on your lot before you call.
Still deciding? Start with the cost guide or the SB 531 explainer.