Model 05 · Fully custom
Your design. Built and priced line by line.
When none of our four plans is quite right, we build yours — from a napkin sketch, a standard plan changed to fit, or a full set of drawings. You get the same licensed contractor and a written, line-item bid before anything is signed.
What we build custom
If it goes in a backyard, we can bid it.
Your layout, our shell
Start from one of our four plans and move walls, add a bedroom, swap the bath for a bigger one, or change the footprint to fit your yard.
Your architect’s plans
Already have drawings? We bid them as drawn, flag anything that will cost more than it should, and build to them.
Golf-sim and entertainment casitas
Simulator bays with the ceiling height and depth a full swing needs, lounge space, a wet bar and a half bath. See our three golf-sim layouts on the Golf sims page.
Pool houses, studios and garages
Pool houses, art and music studios, home gyms, RV and detached garages — including living space built into a garage.
How a custom bid works
Six steps from idea to keys.
The first three steps are how we get to a real number. You don’t sign anything until you have the line-item bid in hand.
01
Discovery call
Twenty minutes on the phone: what you want to build, who it’s for, your budget range and your address. We run the lot check while we talk, so you know your legal size limit before we go further.
02
Site visit
Damon walks the lot: equipment access, distance to water, sewer and power, your electrical panel’s capacity, grade and drainage, and anything in the way.
03
Scope and concept
We turn the idea into a written scope — size, rooms, ceiling heights, finish level. No plans yet? We sketch a concept floor plan with our architect so everyone is pricing the same building.
04
Line-item bid
You get a written bid broken out by trade: design and engineering, permits, site work and utilities, shell, systems and finishes. Anything not yet selected is shown as a clear allowance, not buried.
05
Drawings and permits
Once you approve the bid, the architect finishes the construction drawings and engineering and we submit for permits. Changes after this point are priced in writing before they happen.
06
Build
Slab, framing, finish — with photo updates at every milestone and a walkthrough before you take the keys. Same crew, same license as our standard models.
Before the first call
What to have ready
- Sketches, photos, a Pinterest board, or plans you already have
- Photos of the yard and the side access into it
- A plot plan or survey, if you have one (we can pull the county record if not)
- Your HOA’s rules, if you have an HOA
- A budget range — it changes what we recommend, not what we charge
None of it is required. Bring what you have.
A reference point
What custom costs
Every custom project is priced on its own. The number depends on the size and layout, the finishes you choose, the site work your lot needs, and the design and build time the project takes. The line-item bid shows exactly where each dollar goes before you commit.
If a standard plan gets you 90% of the way, we’ll say so. Changing one is usually faster and cheaper than drawing from scratch.
See the four standard plansWhy under 1,000 sq ft
Stay under 1,000 square feet and skip planning approval.
Arizona’s 2024 casita law (HB 2720, A.R.S. §9-461.18) requires every city over 75,000 people — Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Phoenix and the rest of the Valley’s big cities — to approve a casita up to 1,000 sq ft or 75% of your home, whichever is smaller, as a permitted use — through ordinary building-permit review, with no zoning hearing in front of it.
That is why all four of our standard plans are 576–990 sq ft. Staying under the line is the single biggest thing you can do to shorten the calendar.
01
No planning hearing
Under 1,000 sq ft (and under 75% of your house), a casita is a permitted use. No public hearing, no variance, no use permit, no neighbor notice. It goes straight to building-permit plan review.
02
5-foot setbacks
Cities can’t require more than a 5-foot setback from the side and rear lot lines, so a casita fits in yards that older casita rules ruled out.
03
Limited design rules
State law says a city can’t require a casita to match the main house’s exterior, roof pitch or materials. In practice, some cities still push for a level of design matching or material standards. We check what your city expects and design to it from the start, so it doesn’t hold up your permit.
04
Rent it, limited parking rules
Long-term rental is allowed and the city can’t require you to live on the property. State law also bars requiring an extra parking space, though a few cities still ask for one. We confirm what your city requires before we plan the site.
Go over the line and the process changes.
Past 1,000 sq ft, or past 75% of your house, the building is no longer a by-right casita. Depending on the city that means a use permit, a variance or a public hearing with neighbor notice — months added before a building permit can even be filed — or a flat no.
Two things the state law doesn’t cover.
HOA rules are private and still apply — we prepare the architectural submittal. And towns under 75,000 people and unincorporated county land follow their own rules. The free lot check tells you which rules cover your address.
Tell us what you want to build.
Send a sketch, a photo or a sentence. Damon will call to set up the discovery call and site visit.