A contractor whose office is in the same city as your house
Kirkland is where our company lives. That is not a marketing line — it changes how a project runs. When an inspector leaves a correction notice at 9 a.m., someone from our team can be at the counter at City Hall before lunch. When a homeowner in Norkirk calls about a door that swelled after the first wet week of October, we are not scheduling that visit for three weeks out because it is "across the water."
The city's housing stock is unusually mixed. A 1948 cottage in Market, a 1978 split-level in Rose Hill, a 2004 tract house in Kingsgate and a waterfront rebuild in Houghton are four completely different construction problems, and pricing them the same way is how contractors lose money and homeowners lose patience. We walk the house before we quote it.
Neighborhoods we work in
Juanita · Norkirk · Market · Houghton · Rose Hill · Bridle Trails · Finn Hill · Totem Lake · Kingsgate · Highlands · Lakeview · Everest · Moss Bay
Permits and inspections in Kirkland
Building permits for Kirkland addresses go through the City of Kirkland's Development Services / permit center, not King County, and the city runs its own review queue and inspection schedule. Structural work, additions, ADUs, most decks over a certain height and any change to a bearing wall need a permit; simple cosmetic replacement usually does not. Lots near Lake Washington, along Forbes and Juanita creeks, or on the steeper Finn Hill and Holmes Point slopes can also fall under critical-area or shoreline review, which adds studies and time to the front of the schedule.
We pull the permits, we meet the inspectors, and we build the review time into the calendar we give you instead of discovering it in week six. Requirements change — we confirm current rules with the city for every job rather than working from what was true last year.
What we build in Kirkland
- Kitchen renovations in Juanita and Rose Hill split-levels — usually opening the wall between kitchen and living room
- Primary suite additions over garages in Norkirk and Market
- Full renovations of 1950s–70s houses in Houghton and Bridle Trails, down to studs
- DADUs and garage conversions on larger Finn Hill and Juanita lots
- Cedar and composite decks with real rain-management detailing on sloped lots
- Bathroom rebuilds in condos and townhomes near Totem Lake and downtown
Kirkland at a glance
- Based in Kirkland — Kirkland is a core service area
- We pull the permits and meet the inspectors
- Written, itemized estimates — no verbal numbers
- Bonded and insured in Washington
- Free walkthrough, written estimate
What Kirkland lets you build in the back yard, in 2026
Washington rewrote the accessory dwelling unit rules statewide, and Kirkland rewrote its code to match. Most of what homeowners here believe about ADUs is two or three years out of date.
| What people ask | Kirkland, 2026 |
|---|---|
| How many you can build | Two — one attached plus one detached, or two of either type |
| Biggest detached unit | 1,200 sq ft for a detached unit |
| Height | No separate ADU limit — an ADU follows the height allowed for a house in your zone |
| Parking | None within half a mile of a major transit stop. Beyond that, a lot with more than one ADU needs one off-street space |
| Can you sell it separately | Yes — an ADU may be held in separate ownership from the house |
| Owner occupancy | Not required. Washington abolished it statewide under RCW 36.70A.681 — you do not have to live on the lot to have an ADU, and you may rent both units |
| Who issues the permit | City of Kirkland Development Services Center |
Worth knowing in Kirkland
Impact fees on an ADU are capped at half of what the principal unit would pay (KMC 27.10.030).
Ready-made plans
Kirkland runs the only working pre-approved plan catalogue on the Eastside — four plans, PDF packets open to download, through the Kirkland ADU Toolkit.
Source: Kirkland Zoning Code 115.07, current through Ord. 4936 (May 2026), plus RCW 36.70A.681. Checked 4 September 2026. Codes in this region are being rewritten faster than any web page keeps up with — we verify your parcel against the code in force on the day we submit, not against a summary.
Four ways to add a unit — a new detached building, the garage, the basement or a suite inside the house — with a calculator that takes your own numbers: see all four and what each returns →
What it costs: a new detached unit on the Eastside runs roughly $325,000 to $550,000 all in, and advertised "starting at" prices leave out $120,000 to $180,000 of site, utility and permit work. Here is the whole number, line by line →
Building in Kirkland: what works in your favor
- Kirkland keeps a gallery of pre-approved DADU plans — pick one and the permit review is dramatically faster and cheaper than a custom design.
- Kirkland permits are filed through the regional MyBuildingPermit portal — one system we work in every week.
- School impact fees are currently waived for ADUs in Kirkland.
- One of the earliest Eastside adopters of middle-housing rules — staff are used to ADU applications, which shortens review.
Statewide, Washington law (HB 1337) is on your side in Kirkland: up to two ADUs are allowed on most residential lots, a detached ADU may be up to 24 ft tall with side and rear setbacks of no more than 5 ft, units up to 1,000 sq ft must be permitted, there is no owner-occupancy requirement, and no parking can be required near major transit.
Rules change and every lot is different — we verify your exact address with the city before any design work. This page is information, not legal advice.
Kirkland questions we get asked
Do you actually work in Kirkland every week?
How long does a Kirkland permit take?
Can you build an ADU on my Kirkland lot?
Nearby areas we serve
Building in Kirkland? Let's talk.
Tell us about your project — we'll listen, come out, and give you an honest number.
Get a Free EstimateGet a free estimate in Kirkland
Tell us about your project — we'll come out, listen, and give you an honest number.
Call or text(425) 866-3940Email: office@nwhomesremodel.com
Hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Sat by appointment
Based in Kirkland, WA — serving the Eastside and Greater Seattle