Lakewood, CO 80227

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Covered porch on a completed Englewood home addition
Englewood, Colorado · Design-Build

Englewood additions, ADUs and whole-home remodels.

Design-build across Englewood — additions, basement-level work, accessory dwelling units and structural remodels, documented from the excavation through to the final walk.

Get a free estimate →How Englewood permitting works
Englewood, Colorado

Englewood removed the two rules that used to kill ADUs. Most people have not noticed.

Englewood’s Unified Development Code, adopted in September 2023, permits accessory dwelling units in eight zoning districts and did two things that matter more than the headline: it eliminated the owner-occupancy requirement and it eliminated the parking requirement. Those two rules, not the size cap, are what historically stopped ADUs from being built on ordinary lots.

Accessory dwelling unitsPermitted in 8 districts — no owner-occupancy, no parkingEnglewood’s Unified Development Code, adopted 25 September 2023, permits ADUs in eight zoning districts with a 800 square foot cap. The owner-occupancy requirement was eliminated and the parking requirement was eliminated. Those two removals are what make an Englewood ADU practical on a normal lot — more so than the size cap, which is generous for a rentable one-bedroom.
Residential code2024 IRC for permits after 31 May 2026Englewood is on the 2024 International Residential Code for permits issued after 31 May 2026 — the current cycle, alongside Denver, Arvada, Wheat Ridge and Littleton. Neighbouring Centennial and Greenwood Village are further back, so a set of plans is not automatically portable across the city line.
Bulk planeThe constraint that actually shapes your designEnglewood applies bulk plane regulations — an angled envelope rising from your side and rear property lines that sits on top of, not instead of, the setbacks. It is the rule that most often decides how much second storey you can actually build and where a detached ADU can go. The city publishes homeowner flyers explaining it, which is a fair indication of how often it catches people mid-design.
What this means for your projectDesign to the envelope firstOn an Englewood addition or pop-top the sequence that saves money is: establish the bulk plane and setback envelope, then design inside it. Doing it the other way round is how a project gets redrawn twice. We start here on every Englewood job.

Verified against official City of Englewood 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 Englewood Community Development before you commit to a design. We do that on every job as a matter of course.

Built Here

An Englewood home addition at basement level.

Covered porch on a completed Englewood home addition

Englewood Home Addition, Basement Level

An addition taken down to basement level and tied into the existing structure, finished with a covered porch across the new elevation.

Straight Answers

Englewood questions we get asked.

Can I build an ADU in Englewood?

Yes, in eight zoning districts, under the Unified Development Code adopted 25 September 2023. The cap is 800 square feet. More importantly, Englewood eliminated both the owner-occupancy requirement and the parking requirement – those two rules, rather than the size cap, are what historically made ADUs impractical on ordinary lots. Englewood is also a subject jurisdiction under Colorado HB24-1152, so the state floor applies underneath the local rule.

What is bulk plane and will it affect my addition?

Bulk plane is an angled envelope that rises from your side and rear property lines and sits on top of your setbacks rather than replacing them. In Englewood it is usually the rule that decides how much second storey you can actually build, and where a detached ADU can sit. The city publishes homeowner flyers on it. The cheapest way to handle it is to establish the envelope first and design inside it – not to design first and discover it at review.

Which building code will my Englewood plans be drawn to?

The 2024 International Residential Code, for permits issued after 31 May 2026. That is the current cycle. Neighbouring jurisdictions are not all on it – Centennial is on 2021 and Greenwood Village is on 2018 – so plans are not automatically portable across a city line.

Completed covered porch on an Englewood home addition
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What We Build

Whole-Home Remodels

Down to the studs where it needs to be, staged so you can live through it where it does not.

Home Additions

Rear, side and bump-out additions engineered to what the existing structure can actually carry.

ADUs

Detached, attached and basement accessory dwelling units, designed to the standard that applies on your lot.

Second Storeys & Pop-Tops

Adding a floor without moving. The structural question gets answered before the design does.

Kitchen Remodels

Layout, structure and services together — most kitchens that disappoint were solved on paper only.

Basement Finishes

Egress, ceiling height, moisture and mechanicals settled before a single wall goes up.

Structural Remodeling

Load-bearing walls, beams and foundations — the work that makes open plans possible.

Custom Homes

Ground-up design-build on your lot, with the same documentation discipline as our remodels.

Nearby

Littleton

On the 2024 code, with historic review scoped so most interior work needs no approval.

Centennial

Full published permit turnaround times — and an unusual ADU design-match rule.

Cherry Hills Village

Two-and-a-half-acre minimums, 75-foot setbacks and a 23% floor area cap.