Lakewood, CO 80227

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Tapered columns on stone bases across the new porch of a completed whole-home remodel on the Front Range
Wheat Ridge, Colorado · Design-Build

Wheat Ridge additions, ADUs and whole-home remodels.

Design-build across Wheat Ridge — additions, second storeys, accessory dwelling units and structural remodels, documented from the framing through to the final walk.

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Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Wheat Ridge is the best ADU jurisdiction on the Front Range. That is not our opinion.

Of the fifteen jurisdictions we work across, Wheat Ridge is the only one certified by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs as an ADU Supportive Jurisdiction. It got there by removing the three things that stop ADUs elsewhere: no owner-occupancy requirement, no parking requirement, and a guarantee that anything between 500 and 750 square feet is permitted.

Accessory dwelling unitsThe only DOLA-certified supportive jurisdiction on our listWheat Ridge is certified by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs as an ADU Supportive Jurisdiction — the only one of the fifteen Front Range jurisdictions we cover. Ordinance 1744 took effect 15 August 2022. There is no owner-occupancy requirement except where the unit is used as a short-term rental, and no parking requirement at all.
ADU size1,000 sq ft or 50% — and 500 to 750 always permittedThe cap is 1,000 square feet or 50% of the main house, whichever is more restrictive. Underneath that, anything from 500 to 750 square feet is always permitted regardless — which is the practical range for a rentable one- or two-bedroom unit, and means the calculation rarely fails on size.
Residential code2024 IRC, effective January 2026Wheat Ridge moved to the 2024 International Residential Code effective 1 January 2026 — the current cycle, alongside Denver, Arvada, Englewood and Littleton. Neighbouring Lakewood and Edgewater are a cycle behind on 2021, so plans drawn for one are not automatically valid in the other.
Bulk planeApplies to ADUs and to the main houseWheat Ridge applies bulk plane regulations to ADUs and to residential building generally — an angled envelope above your setbacks. It is the constraint that most often decides how tall a detached ADU or a second storey can be near a property line. We resolve the envelope before design, because redrawing afterwards is what costs money.

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

Straight Answers

Wheat Ridge questions we get asked.

Why is Wheat Ridge better for ADUs than neighbouring cities?

Because it removed the rules that stop them elsewhere, and the state has certified that. Wheat Ridge is the only DOLA-certified ADU Supportive Jurisdiction among the fifteen Front Range jurisdictions we work across. Under Ordinance 1744, effective 15 August 2022, there is no owner-occupancy requirement except for short-term rental use, and no parking requirement at all. The size cap is 1,000 square feet or 50 per cent of the main house, whichever is more restrictive, and anything from 500 to 750 square feet is always permitted.

Which building code will my Wheat Ridge plans be drawn to?

The 2024 International Residential Code, effective 1 January 2026. That is the current cycle. Neighbouring Lakewood and Edgewater are still on the 2021 code, so if your lot sits near a boundary it is worth confirming which jurisdiction you are actually in before design starts.

What is bulk plane and does it apply to an ADU?

Yes, it applies to ADUs and to residential building generally in Wheat Ridge. Bulk plane is an angled envelope rising from your property lines that sits on top of your setbacks rather than replacing them. It is usually the rule that decides how tall a detached ADU or a second storey can be near a line. Establishing the envelope before design is the cheapest way to handle it.

Completed home addition and whole-home remodel with stacked stone and a timber entry
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Bring us the house you already love.

We will look at what is standing, what it can carry and what Wheat Ridge 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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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

Arvada

The 2024 code plus a wildfire resiliency code that reaches re-roofs and additions, not just new builds.

Lakewood

Where the ADU rules are genuinely unsettled right now — and why that matters to your design.

Edgewater

Twenty-five and fifty-foot lots, a third-party plan reviewer, and a zoning rewrite still in flight.