Prefab ADU
Prefab, without the catalog feel.
Most prefab ADUs ask you to pick from a brochure. SHAPE pairs the speed of prefab with a real architect on your project, so your unit fits your lot, your light, and the way you actually live.
Prefab vs. modular vs. manufactured, what's the difference?
"Prefab" is an umbrella term for anything built off-site. Inside that umbrella, the distinctions matter:
Modular homes, what SHAPE builds, are engineered to the same California Building Code as a site-built home. They're permanent, financed like a normal home, and appraise the same way.
Manufactured homes follow the federal HUD code, not California's, and typically don't appraise as real property in the Bay Area market.
Panelized kits ship flat-packed and still get built mostly on-site, so they don't save the months that true modular saves.
Why architect-led prefab is different
Most prefab companies sell a fixed catalog because design time is expensive and they need to spread it across many sales. SHAPE built a system that lets a licensed architect customize every project without breaking the cost model, so you get factory speed and pricing on a one-of-one design.
That matters on Bay Area lots, where slope, setbacks, oak trees, and view corridors rarely line up with anyone's stock plan.
Prefab ADUs across the Bay Area
SHAPE delivers prefab ADUs across the San Francisco Bay Area, with active projects in:
Frequently asked
- Is a prefab ADU cheaper than a site-built ADU?
- Usually yes, by 10–25%, and it finishes faster. The savings come from parallel work (factory + site) and from a controlled environment where labor isn't lost to weather, theft, or sequencing delays.
- Can I finance a prefab ADU?
- Yes. Because SHAPE builds permanent modular homes to California Building Code, they qualify for standard construction-to-permanent loans, HELOCs, and cash-out refinances. We can refer lenders that finance ADUs frequently.
- How does delivery work on a tight Bay Area lot?
- Modules are trucked in on flatbeds and set with a crane in a single day. Tight lots, common in Palo Alto and Mountain View, require a pre-delivery site walk to plan crane placement, tree protection, and street closures. SHAPE coordinates all of it.
- Do prefab ADUs have to look modern?
- No. SHAPE has delivered prefab units in contemporary, modern farmhouse, Craftsman, and Spanish styles. The factory builds what the architect draws.
- What kind of foundation do prefab ADUs sit on?
- Most SHAPE units sit on a permanent perimeter concrete foundation or a stem-wall foundation engineered for your soils. On hillside lots we use pier-and-grade-beam systems.
Let's build it.
A free 30-minute call with our team. You'll leave with a feasibility read on your lot and a real sense of what the project costs and how long it takes.
