Pictured: Tuscan Revival, Paso Robles
San Luis Obispo County · based in Paso Robles
Custom Home Builder in San Luis Obispo County
Custom homes, remodels, additions and ADUs from Paso Robles to Nipomo, built by a family team that answers its own phone.
- LicensedCSLB #986950
- Your teamMichael & Chris Harrod
- Office1345 Riverside Ave, Paso Robles
- WhereAll of San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County
A home builder from the county, for the county
Harrod Built is a family general contractor led by brothers Michael and Chris Harrod. Our office is at 1345 Riverside Ave in Paso Robles, and most of our finished homes are within a short drive of it, in Paso Robles and Templeton.
We build new custom homes on your lot, remodel and add on to existing houses, and build ADUs and guest houses. If you don’t have plans yet, our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design, can draw them, so one team carries the job from the first site walk to the final inspection. If you already have an architect, we build to their drawings.
Whether you searched for a custom home builder, a home builder, a general contractor or a remodel contractor in San Luis Obispo County, the first step is the same: a free walk of your lot or house, and an honest read on the permit path, the schedule and the budget.
What we build here
- Custom homes on your lot (design-build or built to your architect’s plans)
- Remodels, kitchens and baths
- Home additions
- ADUs and guest houses
- General contracting
- Plans through our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design
Building here
What to know before you build in SLO County
City or County permits
San Luis Obispo County has seven incorporated cities: Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. Inside those, the city’s building and planning staff review your project. Everywhere else, including Templeton, Nipomo, Cambria, Avila Beach and the rural North County, it goes through San Luis Obispo County Planning & Building, which takes applications through its PermitSLO portal.
The coastal zone
Lots near the ocean, from San Simeon and Cambria down through Morro Bay, Avila Beach and Pismo Beach, often sit in the coastal zone. There a new home or a larger addition needs a coastal development permit under the local coastal program, and some decisions can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission. We plan extra time for that review.
Water, wells and septic
In town you usually connect to city or community services district water and sewer, and some districts limit new connections (Cambria has a water wait list). On rural parcels you are often drilling or relying on a private well and designing a septic system, which needs percolation testing and County Environmental Health review. We check both before you commit to a design.
Wildfire zones
Much of the rural county, and the hills around towns like Atascadero, Templeton and San Luis Obispo, is mapped in fire hazard severity zones. Homes there are built to the wildfire chapter of the building code (ember-resistant vents, Class A roofs, ignition-resistant siding and decking) with defensible space around them. You can look up a parcel on the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps.
Slopes and soils
North County hillsides and oak-studded lots are beautiful and often steep. Expect a soils report, an engineered foundation, retaining walls, drainage plans and some thought about how concrete and lumber trucks get up the driveway. On flatter lots, expansive clay soils can still call for a deeper or post-tensioned foundation.
How long it takes
Design and permitting usually take longer than people expect, and coastal and hillside lots take longest. Construction on our own recent homes here ran from 9 months (the Tuscan Revival and the Spanish / Santa Barbara Style home in Paso Robles) to 14 months (the Modern French Country in Templeton and the Contemporary in Morro Bay). We give you a schedule for your project before you sign.
Areas we serve
Towns we build in across San Luis Obispo County
Custom homes, remodels, additions and ADUs across San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.
San Luis Obispo & South County
Cost by town
Custom home cost in other towns
Same rough ranges, different local costs: permits, fees, water, trees and site work change from town to town.
Planning guides
Budget and planning guides
What a custom home costs on the Central Coast
Rough per-square-foot ranges for SLO, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, and what moves a home between them.
Cost to build a custom home in SLO County
What drives the budget on a Central Coast custom home, and how to get a real number.
ADU cost on the Central Coast
Detached, attached or conversion: what moves the price of an ADU or guest house.
Home remodel cost in Paso Robles & SLO County
Kitchens, baths, whole-home remodels and additions: the cost drivers we see.
Building on a hillside lot
Soils, foundations, retaining walls, drainage and access: what a sloped lot adds before the house begins.
How long it takes to build a custom home
The phases from lot to move-in, what sets the pace, and how long our own recent homes took to build.
Building with a well and septic in North County
Wells, septic under the County LAMP, Paso basin and will-serve letters: what a rural North County lot needs before the house.
Building in a fire hazard severity zone
What Chapter 7A (and the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code) change on the roof, vents, walls, windows, decks and landscape.
Build or buy a custom home on the Central Coast
Honest comparison: custom new build vs buying an existing home in SLO, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.
SLO County building permits: city vs county
Seven cities vs unincorporated PermitSLO, planning vs building, coastal permits and fire-zone steps.
Coastal development permits in SLO County
Cambria, Cayucos, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and Avila Beach: exempt vs CDP vs Minor Use Permit, and Coastal Commission appeals.
Do you build everywhere in San Luis Obispo County?
Yes. We build custom homes, remodels, additions and ADUs across the county, from San Miguel and Creston down to Nipomo, and along the coast from San Simeon to Pismo Beach.
Are you a general contractor or a custom home builder?
Both. Harrod Built is a licensed California general contractor (CSLB #986950). Most of our work is custom homes and major remodels, and we also take on additions, ADUs and general contracting.
Can you help with plans, or do I need an architect first?
Either works. Our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design, draws house plans, ADU plans and remodel drawings, so we can run the job design-build. If you already have an architect, we build to their plans.
Will you look at a lot before I buy it?
Yes, and it’s free. We walk the property with you and talk through access, slope, water, septic or sewer, fire zone and the likely permit path while you can still walk away.
How much does it cost to build a custom home in SLO County?
It depends on the site, the size and the finishes more than anything else. Our custom home cost guide walks through the cost drivers, and we give you a written estimate once we have seen the lot and the plans.
Need plans first? Our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design, draws permit-ready house plans, ADU plans and remodel drawings across the county: home design and drafting in San Luis Obispo County.
Start your project
Building in San Luis Obispo County? Tell us about your project.
A few details help us call you back with useful answers about budget, schedule and permits.
805.712.8993michael@harrodbuilt.com
1345 Riverside Ave, Paso Robles, CA 93446
CSLB #986950
