Meet the San Diego Team Behind Seedling ADU San Diego
An ADU is a new home on your lot, and the people who build it matter as much as the plans. Our San Diego crew is a small, steady group of builders who have framed walls from Chula Vista to Oceanside and fixed more than a few surprises behind old garage drywall. What unites us is simple: we write the price before we start, we protect your home while we work, and if something isn’t right a year later, we come back. Ben Ortega, Owner, holds that line on every project.
Our People
Ben Ortega, Owner
Ben runs each San Diego ADU and garage conversion personally, from the first site walk to the final clean-up photo. He started building as a young carpenter and has spent years focused on accessory dwelling units because they solve a real problem for San Diego families: housing that fits the lot they already own. Ben is the one who writes your price before any work starts, and he stands behind the 365-Day Done Right Promise on every project. When he’s not on a job site, he’s out surfing at Tourmaline or attempting to grow tomatoes that the coastal fog keeps testing.
Luis M., Lead Technician
Luis has been framing and finishing ADU projects for over a decade, and he is the person who catches details before they become problems. His specialty is garage conversions, particularly the structural and drainage challenges that come with older San Diego homes where slabs have settled over the years. Luis holds a California contractor’s license qualification in framing and rough carpentry, and he has a habit of labeling every shut-off valve and junction box he touches so the homeowner can find things later. On weekends he coaches his daughter’s youth soccer team in Clairemont.
Dana R., Senior Installer
Dana leads most of the prefab and modular ADU installations, and she has hands-on experience with Abodu, Cover, Mighty Buildings, and Plant Prefab systems. Because prefab panels arrive on a truck and go up fast, Dana’s job is precision: making sure the foundation is dead level, the crane pick coordinates match the plan, and the tie-ins are sealed correctly before San Diego’s marine layer tests them. She is certified in James Hardie siding installation, which matters on coastal lots where moisture and salt air chew through lesser materials. Dana restores vintage motorcycles and is very particular about torque specs, which fits.
Marco T., Apprentice
Marco is in his third year with Seedling and splits his time between job sites and night classes at San Diego City College’s construction management program. He handles material staging, the daily shoe-cover and drop-cloth protocol, and a lot of the careful cleanup that is part of the Cedarwell Care Promise. Marco grew up in National City and takes real pride in building ADUs in the neighborhoods where he knows the streets and the families. He is also the crew’s designated weather watcher, tracking when the Santa Anas will mess with trim work or when it is safe to open up a roof.
One Standard, Every Job
Every Seedling ADU San Diego project runs on the same written rules, whether it is a one-bedroom garage conversion in North Park or a two-bedroom prefab ADU in Escondido. Each family gets a written price before any work begins, with no change orders snuck in after the crew shows up. Inside the home, you’ll see shoe covers and drop cloths on every visit, and we send a photo of the clean-up before the crew leaves for the day. Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and use quieter tools near bedrooms when a baby is napping or school is happening at the kitchen table. That promise has a name: the Cedarwell Care Promise, and it travels with our people to every address in San Diego. We use pet-safe products wherever there is a choice, and there is always a live person answering the phone at (858) 988-6447, including during an active build when you have a question at 9 p.m. and want a direct answer before the next morning’s work starts.
If you are thinking about an ADU, garage conversion, or home addition in San Diego, call (858) 988-6447 to schedule a free walkthrough and get a written price. You will meet Ben or one of the people above, and you’ll know exactly who is building on your lot.
Written by Ben Ortega, Owner at Seedling ADU San Diego, serving San Diego since day one.
