AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building · Licensed and insured since 2020 · Verify our license
Axe Construction is a licensed Class B general building contractor that designs and builds ADUs across Orange County: detached backyard units, two-story ADUs and garage conversions, plus ground-up custom homes. We coordinate the plan set with licensed design partners, file with your city’s building department, and build through final inspection.
AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building
An accessory dwelling unit is a full, legal home on your lot. That means a kitchen, a bathroom, a separate entrance, its own utilities, and a permit that makes it rentable or livable for family. Building one involves the same steps as a small house, compressed into a backyard or garage footprint.
Our design-build process:
There is no single Orange County building department. Each incorporated city, including Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and the rest, runs its own planning and building review. The County of Orange, through OC Development Services at OC Public Works, permits projects in unincorporated areas such as Trabuco Canyon and Coto de Caza.
That matters because programs and timelines vary by city:
We check which programs apply to your address before design starts. A pre-approved plan can save design time, but only if it fits your lot and your goals.
A detached ADU is a standalone home in the backyard. It gives the most privacy for tenants or family and the most flexibility in layout. See our ADU construction services for the full process.
On a narrow lot, building up instead of out keeps your yard. A two-story ADU can put a living area downstairs and bedrooms upstairs. Height and stories depend on your city’s rules and the parcel, so we confirm what is allowed during feasibility.
Converting an existing garage reuses the slab and walls you already own, which can shorten the schedule. The conversion still needs structural, energy, fire-separation and utility work, plus a permit, to become a legal unit. See our garage conversion ADUs.
Demand is steady. Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Demographic Research counted 1,490 ADUs completed across Orange County in 2024, and 5,992 between 2005 and 2024. Anaheim (222 in 2024) and Santa Ana (156) led the county. Owners build them for three main reasons:
Yes. Along with ADUs, we build ground-up custom homes on vacant lots and on sites where an existing house is being replaced. As custom home builders we use the same design-build approach: licensed design partners prepare the plans, we take them through your city’s plan check, and our team builds through final inspection. If you are comparing builders, see how our new home construction in Los Angeles process works. It is the same process we bring to Orange County projects.
Yes. We build full rebuilds of homes destroyed by fire. We do not do cleanup or restoration. The 2024 Airport Fire, which started in Trabuco Canyon on September 9, 2024, burned 23,526 acres and destroyed 160 structures across Orange and Riverside counties, according to CAL FIRE. Rebuilds in unincorporated areas such as Trabuco Canyon are permitted by OC Development Services. We confirm current county rebuild requirements and any available relief with the county before design. See our fire rebuild services.
We are not a remodeling company. We do not take remodels, renovations, repairs, room additions or handyman work, and we do not do fire or water cleanup or restoration. Our work is new construction: ADUs, custom homes and full rebuilds.
Founder Tomer Fedida earned his law degree at Loyola Law School and spent 14 years in Southern California real estate development before leading Axe Construction. He is a licensed California attorney as well as the qualifying general contractor on CSLB License #1069232. That background shows up in three places most builders leave to chance: the contract you sign, the city rules and permits your project depends on, and, for rebuilds, the insurance scope that funds the work. Axe Construction does not provide legal services; it builds with the fine print already read.
What that means for you over the life of the project:
A home is the longest contract most families ever sign. Our job is to make sure the paperwork protects them as well as the framing does: lien releases, warranties, permits closed out, everything documented so it still holds up ten years from now.
A coastal permit rule or an ADU ordinance is a legal document first. I read them the way I was trained to, line by line, before we draw anything. That is how we know what a lot allows and what it does not.
Axe Construction has completed a project in Orange County and has taken plans through an Orange County city building department first-hand, so the local review steps, correction letters and inspection sequence are familiar ground. Ask us about our Orange County work when you schedule a consultation and we will walk you through the process we followed.
Learn more about Axe Construction.
Your city does. Every incorporated Orange County city, including Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, runs its own building department and plan check. For unincorporated areas such as Trabuco Canyon or Coto de Caza, the County of Orange issues permits through OC Development Services at OC Public Works.
It depends on the city, the plan and how many correction rounds the plan needs. Under California Government Code § 66317, a city must approve or deny a complete ADU application within 60 days, or it is deemed approved. Anaheim’s ADU Express can finish review in one to three days for qualifying detached ADUs. Coastal Zone properties can take longer.
Cost depends on size, detached versus conversion, one or two stories, site work, utility upgrades, sewer and electrical capacity, finishes, and city fees. A garage conversion usually costs less than a new detached unit because the structure already exists. We give a written estimate after a site visit and confirm it as the design develops.
Often, yes. Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and the County of Orange offer pre-approved plans. They can cut design time, but they must fit your lot, and some cities do not allow any changes. Huntington Beach’s plan, for example, cannot be modified. We compare a pre-approved plan with a custom design for your site.
If your property is in the California Coastal Zone, you may. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach both note that ADUs in their Coastal Zones may require a Coastal Development Permit in addition to the building permit, which adds time. We check your parcel’s Coastal Zone status during feasibility so the schedule reflects it.
They solve different problems. An ADU is a separate legal unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and entrance, so it can house a tenant or relative independently. A room addition simply enlarges your existing home. Axe Construction builds ADUs and new homes only. We do not take room additions or remodels.
On many lots, yes, but height and story limits vary by city, ADU type and parcel. Rules for detached ADUs differ from rules for attached units, and HOAs and Coastal Zone review can add conditions. We confirm the allowed height for your address before design so the plans go into plan check matching local standards.
Yes. We build full rebuilds of fire-destroyed homes. We do not do cleanup or restoration. The 2024 Airport Fire destroyed 160 structures across Orange and Riverside counties, according to CAL FIRE. Rebuilds in unincorporated Orange County are permitted by OC Development Services, and we confirm current county requirements before design starts.
A custom home moves through feasibility, design, plan check, construction and final inspection. Design and permitting often take as long as construction, and the timeline depends on the city, the site, the size of the home and how quickly decisions are made. We build a schedule for your project after the first site review.
Thinking about an ADU or a new custom home in Orange County? Call (323) 729-3140 or Schedule a consultation through our contact page. We will look at your lot, your city’s rules and the fastest legal path to a permit.
AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building
8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 363, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 · (323) 729-3140