Lincoln, Nebraska
Backyard Home And ADU
Builder In Lincoln, NE
A backyard home your Lincoln lot can actually hold, from the first eligibility check through permits, design, and the crew that pours the slab.
What Building An ADU
In Lincoln Includes
We start with whether the lot qualifies and finish with a livable backyard home. Everything in between belongs to one team, so the drawings, the permit, and the build stay accountable to each other.
- Lot eligibility and zoning checkWe read your parcel against the zoning rules that govern it to see what size and type of unit is allowed before you spend anything.
- Feasibility and utility planningWhere water, sewer, and power come from, how access and parking work, and what the setbacks leave you to build on.
- Schematic designPreliminary floor plans, spatial layouts, and conceptual elevations for a unit sized to the lot and to how you will use it.
- Renderings you can showExterior and interior views so family, neighbors, and lenders can see the backyard home before it exists.
- Permit set and city liaisonWe compile the documents, submit them, answer plan review comments, and carry revisions through to approval.
- ConstructionOur crew builds it, with subcontractor coordination, scheduling, budget management, and site inspections through the final walkthrough.
- About 80%
- Of R-1 to R-4 lots now in range
- #71724-25
- Nebraska contractor license
- 2021
- Drawing and building since
Our work
Backyard Homes
We Have Drawn
Drawn by us, and where we could, built by us too.
Questions
Before You Book
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly.
On most single-family lots, yes. In March 2026 Lincoln lowered the lot size rule for backyard homes, also called ADUs, in the R-1 through R-4 districts, which city planners estimated brings about 80% of those lots into range. Our ADU Checker at adu.denandburrow.com gives a first read on your address.
Run the address through our ADU Checker at adu.denandburrow.com for a preliminary read built on public GIS data. It is a starting point rather than an answer, and it does not account for HOA rules, so check with your association as well. If the result looks promising, we do the real zoning review before any design work begins.
Both work, and the lot usually decides. Detached gives the unit its own yard and entrance, while attached shares a wall with the main house and often simplifies the utility connections. Setbacks, buildable area, and who will live there settle the rest.
Our Estimate Builder at calculator.denandburrow.com estimates the size of home your income, debts, credit, and savings support, then emails you a report with a report ID. Bring that report to a consultation and we will size the unit around it.
Both. One team checks the lot, draws the unit, carries the permit, and builds it under Nebraska contractor license #71724-25.
Yes. Lincoln and the surrounding area is where most of our work sits, and we have designed and built units in other states too. Send us the address and we will tell you what we can do there.
How we work
Our Process
Four steps, one team. You meet the people who draw your home and the people who build it on day one.
Step 1: Discovery & Site Visit
We start on your lot or in your house. We walk it with you, talk through how you live, what the budget looks like, and what the zoning allows, so the first sketch is grounded in the real site.
Step 2: Design & Permits
Our designers draw the home, from concept plans to construction documents, and we carry the permit set through the city ourselves. You see every revision before it moves forward.
Step 3: Pricing & Pre-Construction
With the drawings set, we price the build line by line, lock the schedule, and walk you through selections. Because we design and build, the people who drew the plans price them, and you see every invoice once work starts.
Step 4: Build & Handover
Our crew builds what we drew. You get one point of contact, regular walkthroughs, and a clean handover with the documents, warranties, and a home that matches the plans.
Let's Talk About
Your Next Home
One team designs it and builds it, from the first sketch to move‑in day. It all starts with a 30‑minute call.
Alec CalzadaCo-Founder, Architectural DesignBlog
Guides & Tips
Straight answers on costs, timelines, and permits from the people who draw and build the homes.
- Can You Build A Backyard Home In Lincoln?Lincoln changed its accessory dwelling rules in 2026. Here’s who can build a backyard home now and the conditions that shape the design.Read more
- What A Backyard Home Costs In LincolnWhere the money goes on a detached unit, from the slab to the last fixture, and the choices that move the number most.Read more
- Can A Tiny House Be A Backyard Home?What separates a tiny house from a backyard home in Lincoln, how Nebraska labels factory-built units, and what to check before you buy one.Read more
