Est. 1991
Est. 1991
Before the plans, before the permits, before a dollar is spent — setbacks, space, and the county records decide it. Enter your address and check all three, free, in about two minutes. If your lot doesn't work, we'll tell you that too.
Si su lote no funciona, se lo decimos. La respuesta es gratis. Hablamos Español.
Who would the casita be for? Optional — one tap. It points your results at the right next step.
Free. Just the address — no name, no email needed to see your result. We don't sell your information — we haven't needed to advertise in over 15 years, and we're not starting with you.
Prefer to start with a person? Call us: 323.566.8096. A real person answers, in English or Spanish.
35 years of experience · The City of South Gate's top referral for ADU plans · No advertising in 15+ years — every client referred
Reading your lot…
Finding your parcel
While it reads your lot — the property is…
A backyard home is a six-figure decision. For 35 years we've watched projects end at the same three places — usually after money was already spent. Check them in this order.
Converting an existing garage usually doesn't trigger new setbacks — you're staying inside a footprint that already exists.
A JADU — up to 500 square feet inside your existing home — needs no yard at all. When the yard says no, it's often the door still open.
Once your city accepts a complete ADU application, state law puts the review on a 60-day clock.
Margarita has drawn plans for the same streets since 1991, and the story that walks in the door rarely changes. Mom is getting older, and the drive across town keeps getting longer. A grown kid is priced out of the neighborhood they grew up in. The house that raised everyone is one bedroom short. For a lot of families, the answer has been sitting in the backyard the whole time.
Until now, the first answer meant paying a professional for a feasibility opinion, or decoding zoning documents that read like legal filings. We think the first answer should be free — so we built the Lot Check to give it away.
Its own four walls in the yard. Needs the most room — 4-foot side and rear setbacks.
Shares a wall with your house. A fit when the yard is tight on one side.
Uses the footprint you already have — usually no new setbacks to fight.
Up to 500 square feet inside the existing house. The smallest yes, and sometimes the only one.
The check tells you which of these your lot likely supports — "likely" is deliberate; your city has the final say.
The Lot Check gives one of three verdicts. None of them is a guarantee — and one of them is us telling you to slow down. Here's what each means, plainly.
And when a lot truly doesn't work? We say so. A plain no, the reason for it, and whatever path is honestly still open — a JADU, a room addition, or nothing at all. No "let's explore your options" meeting. No plan set you don't need. An honest no costs you nothing; a polite maybe costs families thousands. Si no se puede, se lo decimos — y no le cuesta nada.
The Lot Check is a feasibility check, not a permit. It's the same first look we've given lots since 1991 — the look that tells you whether it's worth going further.
Honest answer: if your lot works and you decide to build, we'd like to be the ones who draw your plans. That's the whole business. No pressure, no fine print. The check costs you nothing either way.
And while we're being plain about money: permit-ready plan sets start at $4,800, priced by your project. A full ADU set typically runs $9,000–$14,000 — about $12 to $16 per square foot. The plans are the small number. The build is the big one. That's exactly why you check the lot before you spend either.
Diaz Blueprint & Drafting Services was founded in 1991 by J. Margarita Diaz, our architect-educated principal designer, and Carlos A. Diaz Sr. Same family, same phone number.
"Get your project to the finish line," another review says. That's the job: plans that pass, and the truth on the way there.
Aquí estamos desde 1991, ayudando a familias como la suya a construir para los suyos. Llámenos: 323.566.8096.
Asked across our counter for 35 years. Answered the same way here.
Permit-ready plan sets start at $4,800, priced by your project. Full ADU sets typically run $9–14K — about $12 to $16 per square foot. The honest framing: the plans are the small number. The build is the big number. The Lot Check exists so you know whether to spend either.
It depends on size, type, and your lot — which is why we don't print one number here. The Lot Check gives a ballpark range for the type your lot likely supports. Real ranges, not wishes.
We don't promise rent figures — nobody honest can. What we can say: a permitted casita is the kind that can be rented legally, insured, and counted when you sell. Numbers that big deserve a lender's math, not a landing page's.
For most casitas, what you need is a permit-ready plan set your city will approve. That's drafting — our trade since 1991. Margarita, our principal designer, is architect-educated, and some projects do call for added engineering. When yours does, we'll say so plainly.
We don't guarantee timelines — cities differ, and we won't pretend otherwise. What state law does set: a 60-day review clock once your application is complete. Our job is making sure it goes in complete.
Some lots can't be read automatically — unusual records, mixed use, missing data. That's not a no. Call us and Margarita's team will read it in person, the way we have since 1991. And if the answer is no, we'll say that too.
Sí. Las personas que dibujan sus planos lo hablan — no es un folleto traducido. Llámenos y verá: 323.566.8096.
Some people want to read first. The Owner-Managed ADU & JADU Handbook covers what to check, what things cost, and how the process runs — written plainly, in the same voice as this page. It's free for an email, and the download opens right here — no inbox hoops.
The handbook is the whole transaction. No newsletter you didn't ask for.
The pro lane — contractors & investors
We're a drafting firm — that's the whole business. For 35 years we've drawn residential plans across Southeast LA, and the pitch to people who build for a living is short: clean sets, straight pricing, and plan-check experience across Southeast LA and beyond.
Leave your numbers and we'll call you back to talk projects and pricing. If you run multiple projects a year, good working relationships run both directions — that's how this firm has grown since 1991.
Or skip the form: call 323.566.8096 and say you build. You'll get the same family that's answered this line since 1991.
And a likely yes today comes with a next step. Free, about two minutes, no email — just your address.
Rather talk it through first? Call us: 323.566.8096 · Hablamos Español