MNBE designs, permits, and builds ADUs, DADUs, and custom homes across Kirkland, one licensed team from first site visit to final inspection.
One licensed, bonded team for the whole job, from design and Kirkland Planning & Building permitting to fixed price construction.
Where a Houghton or Norkirk lot's land value justifies it, we replace an aging home with a ground up custom home, with feasibility run honestly first.
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Detached, attached, and basement ADUs, up to two per lot and 1,200 sq ft each under Kirkland's 2025 middle housing code.
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Drawings built to clear Kirkland Planning & Building the first time, hillside view lots and critical areas included.
Explore ServiceWhy MNBE in Kirkland
We've taken ADU plans through Kirkland's Development Services Center, intake, plan check, corrections, and inspections, so we know which comments their reviewers actually send back and design to them before we submit. Kirkland's smaller queue rewards a clean first submittal. Every submittal and every response is handled by us, never a third party expediter.
Finn Hill, Rose Hill, and Bridle Trails climb steep grades, and the lots with the best Lake Washington and Olympic views are often the most regulated. We coordinate the geotechnical report early, design foundations and drainage to the slope, and run critical area and any shoreline review in parallel with the building permit instead of letting it stall the project.
Our detached ADU one city over in Redmond, full framing, roofing, kitchen, siding, and HVAC, finished and passed every inspection. We build the same way across Kirkland. See the full project, and the homeowner's verified five star review, on the project page.
What We Build in Kirkland
A freestanding backyard cottage with its own entrance and address, the strongest rental performer. Kirkland allows detached ADUs up to 1,200 square feet, and its Pre-Approved Plans program can cut the permit to weeks. Larger Bridle Trails and Finn Hill lots take one comfortably.
Connected to the main house by a shared wall or addition. Kirkland allows up to two ADUs per lot with no owner occupancy requirement and no added parking within a half mile of frequent transit, so both units can be rented. Often the faster permit on a tight downtown lot.
The Craftsman bungalows and mid-century ramblers of Norkirk, Market, and Houghton sit on full or daylight basements that convert beautifully into legal dwellings with a separate entrance, full kitchen, and code compliant egress. Kirkland exempts many garage and basement conversions from added setback and coverage rules.
On many Kirkland lots, especially the lake view streets of Houghton and west of Market, land value justifies replacing an aging home outright. We run that feasibility honestly, sometimes the right answer is a ground up custom home, not a remodel, and build it under the same license and fixed price contract.
FAQ
Answering the questions Kirkland homeowners ask us most about building an ADU.
Yes. Under Kirkland's updated zoning code and Washington's HB 1337, most residential lots allow up to two ADUs, typically one attached and one detached, with no owner occupancy requirement. The practical ceiling is lot coverage and any critical areas, and shoreline lots are limited to one. We confirm what your parcel supports during the free site visit, before you spend on design.
Kirkland's Pre-Approved DADU Plans program advertises approval in as little as a few weeks for vetted plans, and the Planning and Building Department generally moves faster than Seattle SDCI thanks to a smaller queue. A custom ADU runs longer, and correction cycles are the biggest variable: anticipating Kirkland's standard plan check comments can save a full round. Hillside and shoreline lots add review.
Cost is site specific on Kirkland lots, so we don't quote a generic per square foot number. Slope and soils, utility tie-in distances, excavation access, and finish level move the total far more than floor area does, and city permit and review fees come on top. After one free site visit you get a written fixed price bid, line by line.
Thank you for considering MNBE for your Kirkland ADU or custom home. We respond within one business day, Monday through Saturday.
We design and build across Kirkland, from flat infill lots near Totem Lake to the steep, view streets of Finn Hill, Rose Hill, and Bridle Trails above Lake Washington, on a build calendar shaped by the Northwest's wet winters and short, busy summer season. Whatever your terrain and whatever your lot can support, our crews and our Kirkland permit team already work there.