Acton ADU is California’s trusted ADU specialist with 35+ years of design-build experience. We plan, permit, and site-build backyard homes that strengthen multigenerational living, protect budgets and schedules, and deliver lasting value. Our Build Ready and Custom ADUs combine timeless design with a proven, end-to-end process: clear guidance, quality construction, and a solid warranty. Ready to add secure, flexible space to your property? Check your property and get a free quote.
It began the day he broke his father’s wooden mallet. The mallet was a family heirloom that Stan’s father had crafted himself on his own father’s antique Shopsmith lathe. Stan was devastated and rushed to grab a hunk of old firewood. He carefully took the wood, placed it on the antique Shopsmith--and in that moment, his passion for carpentry was born.
While studying computer science, Stan worked his way through college as an apprentice to John Warren, a local remodeling contractor. Upon graduating, Stan was well on his way to working in SIlicon Valley tech, but he always found himself drawn to his roots as a craftsman. So he made a decision. He would be a builder. A builder who learned from John Warren the satisfaction and pride of quality craftsmanship, and the profound importance of integrity. Values that helped shape the foundation of Acton Construction.
Acton Construction was a design-build company with enthusiasm for crafting beautiful homes that are functional, lasting, and charming. Acton Construction thrived through established processes and utilizing expertise to provide customers with certainty, transparency, and value--always. This is our legacy.
As a passionate ADU advocate, Stan Acton committed to utilizing the 30 year legacy of Acton Construction, to specialize and focus solely on navigating regulations, designing, and building ADUs to help homeowners create lasting, long-term housing options to keep family close, earn passive income, and ultimately grow our communities responsibly.
In the following months, Acton ADU was born. A veteran design build company with decades of residential architecture and construction experience to tackle the challenge of making ADUs accessible for homeowners who need them.
Tree climbing is more than an adventure for us—it’s a symbol of our dedication to growth, endurance, and family connection. Redwoods, with their towering presence and deep roots, are the perfect metaphor for the multigenerational families we serve. These ancient trees stand tall through time, representing strength, shelter, and resilience—values we carry into every ADU project we undertake. By climbing these old-growth redwoods, we connect with their stories, drawing lessons that guide our craftsmanship and designs.
Our Build Ready ADU plans are named after the trees we’ve climbed, blending nature’s wisdom into every home we create. Each plan tells a story of resilience, rooted in the natural world, and offers a sanctuary where families can grow and thrive together.
At Acton ADU, we foster an environment of growth, both personal and professional. We promote from within, offer leadership coaching, and maintain an open feedback culture where all ideas are valued. Every team member is essential to building our culture, aligned with the core values of the Acton Way. Together, we embark on adventures, tackle challenges, and grow stronger as a team—reflecting the strength and inspiration we gain from the trees we climb.
Join us at Acton ADU, where we build homes, legacies, and families that stand the test of time—just like the redwoods that inspire us.
Looking for a Career? We’re Hiring!
Check out open positions →
I moved to Palo Alto from Boulder, Colorado when I was three years old.
As a kid, I spent every waking hour building forts, chairs, boxes, tables, and all sorts of wooden contraptions with whatever I could get my hands on. I was fortunate. High schools still had wood shop and I was even more fortunate to have an inspiring shop teacher named Bud Jamison. Bud never bothered with the curriculum. Instead, he encouraged us with a blank canvas and a heaping load of leeway to chase our creative endeavors. Bud’s the one that really turned me into a designer and a builder.
The experience instilled in me an appreciation for detail and beauty, specifically the beauty of a well-designed form. Take that discovery and couple it with the opportunity to express myself freely? I was inspired. But the greatest artists (not that I’d count myself among them), have parameters too. Whether it’s literally a blank canvas with defined dimensions, or the volume of a slab of marble ready to be chipped into a statue, the opportunity to express myself and create beautiful, functional things within a restrictive set of limits soon became even more inspiring for me. And a good thing too, because California, for all its beauty and wonders, does seem to have a lot of limiting regulations and red tape, orbiting the field of building.
I worked my way through college as a remodeling carpenter. I never could shake my love of woodworking, so I happily framed homes, crafted cabinets and finished carpentry on crown molding to help pay for my degree in computer science. Once I graduated, I was swept up by Texas Instruments and worked as a salesman for four years before my entrepreneurial itch needed to be scratched. So, in the spring of 1990, the pull of building was stronger than the allure of Silicon Valley tech riches, and I became a carpenter again. And, so begins the 30-year story of Acton Construction and Acton ADU.
I remember it vividly. Standing idly in the small, highly personalized walk-in closet of my historic home in Naglee Park in early 2017. You know those moments when you’re suddenly struck by an idea? An epiphany? Well, that’s what happened. It was a bolt of lighting that flashed through me and lit up every neuron in my brain. In that spectacularly ordinary moment, literally under the light of a swinging light bulb, I had a vision. ADUs will make an impact.
ADUs. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). They go by many names. Backyard homes, granny flats, or cottages. But, in the United States regulatory environment, these homes are called ADUs. And for the first time, the State made an effort to make them easier for homeowners to build.
The population in California has been growing exponentially since I was a kid in Palo Alto building forts. And, all around me the hum of innovation has made Silicon Valley explode with opportunity. Heck, even I was in tech for four years! Housing has been a growing issue for years. The costs keep escalating, builders can’t keep up, regulations are tight, and ultimately the families that have been here for decades are feeling the pinch. As these families age and their kids grow up they need to plan for their future in a place that is growing more expensive and unwieldy by the day. But now? Now I can do something about it. Acton Construction will specialize in ADUs.
Sure, Acton Construction had been a successful residential, design-build remodeling company for 30 years. My team is great, we have decades of experience working with local ordinances and have developed processes and best practices that have made us predictably successful. So why ADUs? Two reasons. The first? Acton Construction has all the tools to specialize in ADU design, navigation, and the building of ADUs. We already have. And, we have paid close attention to the real world importance of home customization in the vast, ever-changing landscape of homeowner regulations. The second? I’ve always loved to design and build forts. Well, that and my deep appreciation for the importance of design when you’re building smaller homes. Bud Jamison taught me that in wood shop class.
As Acton Construction moves forward into the future, we’ve adopted our true name: Acton ADU. We thrive in our purpose and vision, and love our role as partners for California homeowners to not just design and build ADUs, but to help guide plans with the people we work with to explore the rewards, security, and family integrity that generational living brings. Every family has different needs, every property has different opportunities and limitations. Therefore, every ADU is unique.
Nothing inspires me more. Nothing inspires our team more. We are making a difference.
- Stan Acton, Founder of Acton ADU
