Lakewood additions, pop-tops and whole-home remodels.
Design-build across Lakewood — second-storey additions, kitchens, whole-home remodels and structural work, documented from the framing through to the final walk.
Lakewood’s ADU rules are genuinely unsettled. You should know that before you design one.
Lakewood adopted a new zoning code that took effect on 1 January 2026, written to comply with Colorado’s ADU law. Those ordinances were then referred to the ballot on 7 April 2026 and reported repealed by a wide margin. At the time of writing the city’s own zoning pages had not caught up, and the last official ADU handout Lakewood published is a 2017 document whose requirements do not square with current state law.
Verified against official City of Lakewood and Colorado Department of Local Affairs sources as of August 2026. Code editions and ADU rules change, and several Front Range jurisdictions are mid-revision right now. Treat this as the starting point for your project, not as legal advice, and confirm the current standard with the Lakewood Planning Department before you commit to a design. We do that on every job as a matter of course.
Three Lakewood projects, start to finish.
Lakewood Second-Storey Pop-Top
A full second storey added to an existing single-level house — the structural question answered before the design was drawn.
Lakewood Kitchen Remodel
Layout, structure and services resolved together rather than on paper only — documented through the build.
Lakewood Custom Home Build
A new house on an infill lot, photographed from the excavation and footings up — the part of a build you can never inspect again.Lakewood questions we get asked.
Can I build an ADU in Lakewood right now?
Honest answer: the current operative standard is unresolved and we confirm it with the city before quoting. Lakewood adopted new zoning ordinances effective 1 January 2026 that complied with the state ADU law, those ordinances went to the 7 April 2026 ballot and were reported repealed by roughly 65 to 35, and the city's published material had not been updated to reflect the result. The last official Lakewood ADU handout is from 2017 and does not square with state law. Anyone who quotes you a firm Lakewood ADU rule off a website today is guessing.
Is there still a 1% cap on building permits in Lakewood?
No. Lakewood's Strategic Growth Initiative, the 1%-per-year residential permit cap approved as Ballot Question 200 in 2019, is preempted by Colorado HB23-1255, effective 7 August 2023. The city page describing the cap is still live and unchanged since 2021, which is why the question keeps coming up. It should not affect a remodel, addition or pop-top.
Which building code will my Lakewood plans be drawn to?
The 2021 International Residential Code. That is one cycle behind Denver, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Englewood and Littleton, which are on the 2024 code. If your lot is near a boundary it is worth confirming which jurisdiction you are actually in before design starts, because the applicable code changes energy, structural and safety requirements.
Bring us the house you already love.
We will look at what is standing, what it can carry and what Lakewood currently allows on your lot — then tell you honestly what it takes. It starts with a short phone consult, not a sales visit.
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