Detached and attached garages, enclosed carports, backyard workshops and RV or boat storage structures across the Bay Area — sited correctly against your property lines and drafted to survive plan check the first time.
This page covers new structures — a carport getting enclosed into a real garage, a detached workshop going up in the backyard, a storage building sized for an RV or boat. That's a different drafting problem than a garage conversion, which takes an existing attached garage and turns it into livable space (a bedroom, an office, sometimes a full ADU). If that's what you're planning, see our ADU & JADU Design page instead — the code path is entirely different, since you're removing parking rather than adding a structure.
A detached garage, workshop or storage building has to be sited correctly before it's ever drawn — how far it sits from the side and rear property lines, how tall it's allowed to be, and whether it pushes your lot past its allowed coverage percentage all get checked by the same zoning ordinance that governs the house, but the accessory-structure rules are usually a separate section with its own numbers. Get the site plan wrong and the whole set gets bounced regardless of how clean the floor plan is, so we start there rather than treating the site plan as a formality.
New standalone garages sited against your lot's setback, height and coverage limits, with a foundation, roof and electrical layout drafted as a real structure rather than a resized shed.
Enclosing an open carport into a fully walled, permitted garage — new wall framing, a garage door opening sized to fit, and any fire-rated assembly required by how close the structure sits to the property line.
Detached backyard workspace — woodshop, art studio, home gym — drafted with the electrical and ventilation the actual use needs, not a generic accessory-structure shell.
Storage structures sized for the actual vehicle or equipment — door height and turning clearance drafted to what you're parking, not a standard two-car opening.
We confirm your actual property lines, existing structures and easements, then check the detached-structure setback, height and lot-coverage limits your city applies before we site anything.
A 3D scan captures the existing house, fence lines and any structure the new garage or workshop has to sit relative to, so the new structure is sited against reality instead of an old survey.
Full set drafted in Revit — site plan, floor plan, elevations, sections and the fire-rated wall/opening details required when a structure sits close to a property line.
If the city comes back with corrections on setbacks or fire separation, we revise and resubmit — we don't disappear after the first set goes out.
This page covers building a new garage, carport enclosure, workshop or storage structure — adding square footage and, usually, parking. A garage conversion is the opposite: it takes an existing attached garage and turns it into livable space, which removes required parking and goes through a different review path, often tied to ADU or JADU rules. We handle both, but they're scoped differently from the first conversation — if you're converting an existing garage rather than building new, see our ADU & JADU Design page.
It depends on your city's zoning code and, often, the structure's size and height — many jurisdictions allow a detached accessory structure closer to a side or rear property line than the main house, but reduce that allowance as the structure gets bigger or taller, and require fire-rated wall and opening assemblies once it sits within a certain distance of the line. We pull your specific setback and fire-separation requirements before siting anything rather than assuming a standard distance will apply to your lot.
Usually, yes, though some cities exempt very small, low structures under a specific square footage with no electrical or plumbing. Once a structure has power run to it, exceeds the exempt size, or is tall enough to need a foundation inspection, it's a permitted build in most Bay Area jurisdictions — and it still counts toward your lot's coverage limit whether or not it needed a permit. We check your city's exemption threshold before assuming a workshop or storage structure is exempt.
Residential or commercial, drafting or Title 24 — send a few details and we'll follow up with next steps and a free quote.
(408) 676-8747
Sunny Drafting & Design