Pictured: Contemporary, Morro Bay
San Luis Obispo County · Los Osos & Baywood Park
Custom Home Builders in Los Osos, CA
New homes, remodels, additions and ADUs in Los Osos, from a family general contractor based in Paso Robles.
The short answer
Harrod Built builds custom homes, remodels, additions and ADUs in Los Osos. Building a new home here usually means San Luis Obispo County permits, a coastal development permit, a water-offset certificate under the County’s Title 19 program, and a growth allocation. Our nearest finished home is the Contemporary in Morro Bay. Call 805-712-8993 or contact us.
- LicensedCSLB #986950
- Your teamMichael & Chris Harrod
- Office1345 Riverside Ave, Paso Robles
- WhereLos Osos & Baywood Park 93402
Los Osos
Building on the back bay
Harrod Built is a family custom home builder and general contractor led by brothers Michael and Chris Harrod. We build new homes on your lot in Los Osos and Baywood Park, and take on remodels, additions and ADUs here too.
Los Osos has more steps before construction than most towns in the county, mostly because of water and habitat. None of them are reasons not to build, but they decide the schedule, so we sort them out with you before design gets expensive.
If you need plans, our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design, draws them in-house so the same team carries the project from design through construction.
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
- Landscaping and outdoor living through our sister company, Paso Robles Landscaping
Building here
Permits, water and habitat in Los Osos
County permits
Los Osos is unincorporated, so permits run through San Luis Obispo County Planning & Building, with applications filed through the PermitSLO portal. Depending on the site, a new home may need a discretionary land use permit (such as a Minor Use Permit) or a simpler plot plan first, before the building permit application goes in.
The coastal zone
Los Osos sits in the coastal zone, and its Community Plan is part of the County’s local coastal program. A new home or a larger addition usually needs a coastal development permit, and in parts of town decisions can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission.
Water: retrofit-to-build
All of the town’s drinking water comes from the Los Osos Groundwater Basin. Under the County’s Title 19 Retrofit-to-Build program, new development that uses basin water must retrofit older plumbing fixtures in existing homes to save twice the water the new project will use, and the certificate is needed before the building permit is issued.
Growth allocations and habitat
The County meters new home construction in Los Osos with yearly allocations and a waitlist. A new house also needs water and sewer will-serve letters and a Certificate of Inclusion under the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan. Right now the County says it can’t issue those certificates until the state approves its permit coverage for Morro manzanita, a newly listed plant, so the timing for new homes on vacant lots is uncertain. We check the current status with the County for your parcel, and line up the other steps early so you’re ready when certificates are available.
Sand, wind and salt air
Sandy soils, ocean wind and fog shape the details: a soils report and the right foundation, corrosion-resistant fasteners and flashing, and windows, siding and decking that hold up near the bay.
Wildfire zones
If a parcel is mapped in a fire hazard severity zone, the house is built to the wildfire chapter of the building code. Check your address on the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps; we confirm it on the first site walk.
Do you build custom homes in Los Osos?
Yes. Los Osos and Baywood Park are part of our San Luis Obispo County service area, next door to Morro Bay, where we built the Contemporary.
Can I build a new house on a vacant lot in Los Osos?
Often, yes, but plan for the County’s extra steps: a growth allocation, water and sewer will-serve letters, habitat plan coverage, a Title 19 water-offset certificate and usually a coastal development permit. Habitat-plan certificates are on hold for now while the County waits on a state permit, so timing is uncertain. We walk through the current status with you before you commit to a design.
Do you remodel and add on to homes in Los Osos?
Can you look at a lot or house before I buy it?
Yes, and it’s free. We walk it with you and talk through soils, access, water, the permit path and what the budget is likely to depend on.
What does a custom home cost in Los Osos?
It depends on the lot and the design. Our Central Coast custom home cost guide gives Michael’s rough per-square-foot ranges; a real number comes from a site visit and a written estimate.
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.
Building in the Santa Lucia Preserve
Design Review Board stages, CSD water and will-serve, lot-specific fuel management and Monterey County permits.
Pebble Beach building permits
Del Monte Forest coastal permits and design approval, Pebble Beach Company ARB, protected trees, Cal Am water and fire rules.
Carmel design review: Track 1 vs Track 2
Carmel-by-the-Sea design studies: staff-level Track 1 vs Planning Commission Track 2, site assessment, story poles, trees and volume.
Montecito Board of Architectural Review (MBAR)
What MBAR reviews, conceptual vs preliminary vs final review, what to submit, floor area guidelines, fire and water steps in Montecito.
Big Sur building permits and the critical viewshed
Coastal permits, staking and flagging, the Highway 1 viewshed test, water and septic, fire access and rebuilds on the Big Sur coast.
Building in Hope Ranch: architectural review and County permits
The Association’s ABR stages, floor area, height and view rules, County design review and coastal permits, water, septic and fire access.
ADU rules in San Luis Obispo County
County vs city rules, how many ADUs a lot can have, size, setbacks, water, septic and fire checks, pre-reviewed plans and the permit path.
Buying land to build on in SLO County
Legal lot status, zoning, water, wells, septic, fire, flood, Williamson Act contracts and access: what to check before you close.
Rebuilding after a wildfire in SLO County
Debris removal, the County permit path and fee waivers, like-for-like and nonconforming rules, septic, Chapter 7A and insurance steps.
Need plans first? Our design studio, Harrod Drafting & Design, draws permit-ready house plans, ADU plans and remodel drawings across San Luis Obispo County: home design and drafting near Los Osos.
Areas we serve
Nearby in San Luis Obispo County
Custom homes, remodels, additions and ADUs across San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.
North County
San Luis Obispo & South County
Start your project
Building in Los Osos? 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
