Meet the Long Beach Team Behind Ellery ADU Studio Long Beach
Every ADU we’ve designed, permitted, and built in Long Beach since 2015 started with a conversation at a kitchen table or in a driveway. The people doing that talking, measuring, and building are the same crew you’ll see from first site visit through final inspection. They’re background-checked, uniformed, and trained to the Haven Standard - not because it’s policy, but because Nadia Ellery won’t send anyone to your property she wouldn’t send to her own.
Our People
Nadia Ellery, Owner & Lead Designer
Nadia founded Ellery ADU Studio in 2015 after watching her parents’ contractor disappear mid-garage conversion in Bixby Knolls, leaving a half-framed shell and no permits pulled. She built this studio on one rule: every client gets a written price before any work starts, and every finished project matches the permitted drawings. Nadia holds a California contractor license and still personally reviews every permit set before it hits the Long Beach Development Services counter. She’s oddly specific about soil compaction reports - once spent three hours on a Belmont Shore lot arguing with a geotech over a 2-inch discrepancy that would’ve cost the client $8,000 in over-excavation. She keeps a photo of that foundation pour in her truck.
Marcus T., Senior Installer & Prefab Systems Lead
Marcus came to us in 2019 from commercial tilt-up construction, which turns out to be excellent preparation for dropping an Abodu or Cover unit into a Long Beach backyard with crane clearance measured to the inch. He’s certified in modular set and seal, and he’s the reason we can coordinate Dvele, Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie systems under the same single contract - he speaks their install manuals fluently. Marcus lives in Signal Hill and has a running bet with the crane operator about whether they can beat the 4-hour set window on narrow lots in Alamitos Beach. He hasn’t lost since March.
Elena R., Service Coordinator & Permit Navigator
Elena spent six years at the Long Beach Development Services counter before we convinced her to switch sides. She knows which plan checker will flag a setback variance on a corner lot in California Heights and which one wants the fire separation detail called out explicitly on the structural sheets. She coordinates our documented photo record system - every visit, every finding, every fix - and clients receive the link before the crew leaves the driveway. Elena keeps a spreadsheet of every permit submission date, approval, and correction cycle for the 900-plus ADUs we’ve completed. She can tell you the average review time for a garage conversion in the Wrigley area versus a detached unit in El Dorado Park without opening it.
James K., Apprentice Installer & Site Prep Specialist
James joined us in 2023 through a community construction program in North Long Beach. He’s completing his electrical and plumbing rough-in certifications while handling our ADU Site Prep & Utilities work - trenching, sewer lateral extensions, and the gas meter upgrades that Southern California Gas often requires for full kitchens. On a recent job in Los Altos, he found the existing sewer line was terracotta, not ABS as the as-built showed, and flagged it before we broke ground. That single catch saved the client a $3,400 change order and two weeks of delay. James is the one who texts clients the morning-of with his ETA and a photo of the truck loaded.
One Standard, Every Job
The Haven Standard governs how this crew operates, whether we’re converting a garage in Belmont Heights or setting a prefab unit in Naples. Clause 1 means the written price you sign is the price you pay - no “call for a quote” games, no surprise line items when the drywall’s already up. Clause 5 locks the scope at signing; no crew member has authority to expand work without Nadia’s written approval and yours. The 365-Day Done Right Promise means if the finished ADU doesn’t match the permitted drawings, we make it right - in writing, before your project starts, not as a verbal assurance that evaporates when you need it.
Our background-checked, uniformed technicians carry license verification on every page of every proposal. The documented photo record goes to your inbox after every visit - what we found, what we did, with timestamps and locations - not a summary of how it felt. And when you call (562) 414-4842, a live person answers, 24 hours a day. No voicemail queue, no callback that doesn’t materialize.
We’ve completed 900-plus ADUs since 2015 - garage conversions, detached units, Junior ADUs, interior conversions - every one with that written price upfront and that photo record at completion. If you have a written estimate from another builder already in hand, we’ll give you a Free Second Opinion. We’ll tell you exactly what we see, what we’d do differently, and what it should cost in the Long Beach market.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Long Beach, serving Long Beach since 2015.