We start with your design. Modular is how we build it, not what you settle for.

Shape Homes · Journal

The journal.

Cost, code and craft, written from the projects we are actually building. Town guides cover setbacks, review timelines and what each planning department will and will not approve.

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Plan set, cost estimate and calculator on a job-site table

Cost · 8 min read

What a modular ADU actually costs in the Bay Area in 2026

The factory package, the foundation, the trenching and the four line items that decide whether your project lands at $315,000 or $470,000.

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Custom home on a wooded Woodside lot

Town guide · Woodside

Building in Woodside: slope, septic and the design review calendar

What the Town of Woodside asks for before a permit is issued, and how a shop-built structure moves through it.

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Custom home in Atherton

Town guide · Atherton

Atherton: lot coverage, heritage trees and a realistic schedule

The three constraints that shape almost every Atherton set, and where a modular schedule buys back months.

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Home in Portola Valley

Town guide · Portola Valley

Portola Valley: fault zones, fire hardening and grading limits

Geotechnical review drives the foundation, and the foundation drives the price. Here is how we sequence it.

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ADU in Palo Alto

Town guide · Palo Alto

Palo Alto ADUs: the ministerial path, start to occupancy

State law sets the floor, the city sets the paperwork. What actually gets an ADU approved without a hearing.

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ADU in Los Altos Hills

Town guide · Los Altos Hills

Los Altos Hills: MDA, MFA and how an ADU fits inside them

Development-area math decides the size of the building before anyone draws a plan.

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Looking for another town? See all ten towns we build in.

Twenty minutes, and you will know
what your lot can take.

Bring the address. We pull the parcel, your city's ordinance and a street view of the driveway before the call.

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