House Plans and Custom Drafting in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Service Area: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale permitted just 227 new single-family homes in all of 2024, and each one carried about $537,000 in construction value, per the Census Building Permits Survey. With Zillow putting the typical home here at $520,973 after a 4.6% one-year climb, this is the classic profile of a built-out coastal market where remodels and additions, not new subdivisions, drive the demand for drafting. Apex Drafting Services delivers that work 100% remotely: as-builts, addition plans, ADU designs, and permit-ready drawings for Fort Lauderdale homeowners and builders.
New construction is scarce here, and that shapes every project
The 2024 Census Building Permits Survey recorded 227 single-family units authorized in Fort Lauderdale, worth $122.0 million combined, plus 28 duplex units and zero buildings of five or more units. Broward County as a whole authorized only about 1,655 units for the year, 697 single-family and roughly 958 multifamily, one of the lowest totals of any large Florida county.
Demand, meanwhile, keeps arriving. The city reached roughly 190,641 residents by 2024 estimates, up about 4.1% from the 182,726 counted in the 2020 Census, and it sits inside the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro, the fourth-fastest-growing metro in the country in 2023-24, which added 123,000 people to reach 6.46 million.
One honest caveat: the Census survey tracks new construction only, so there is no comparable city-level count of remodel and addition permits to quote. But the arithmetic is hard to argue with. This is a fast-growing metro, a city adding fewer than 250 new houses a year, and a typical home value above half a million dollars that posted the strongest one-year appreciation among the Florida cities we serve, ahead of Miami and Tampa. When moving up gets expensive and new supply barely exists, homeowners build up, build back, and convert what they already own.
Where a remote drafting team fits among Fort Lauderdale's architects
Fort Lauderdale has no shortage of full-service architecture firms, several of which market residential drafting directly and seal every sheet in-house. For a ground-up custom estate with complex engineering, hiring one can be the right call. But a large share of residential work here, a second-story addition, a garage conversion, a kitchen reconfiguration, an as-built set for a permit correction, does not need a full architecture engagement priced like one.
That is the gap we fill. Drafting and CADD are all we do, so quotes reflect drawing time rather than a principal's billable rate, and scope stays tight. Where Florida practice requires a licensed architect's or engineer's seal, which is common for structural work in coastal conditions, we prepare our sets to hand off cleanly to those professionals for review and sealing. Timelines depend on scope, so instead of promising a blanket turnaround, we commit to a delivery schedule in writing with your quote.
ADUs in Fort Lauderdale: the state opened the door, the city sets the frame
Florida's SB 184, effective July 1, 2025, requires every local government in the state to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit on single-family-zoned lots and bars certain restrictive local provisions. A follow-up bill, SB 48, passed the Florida Senate 38-0 in the 2026 session but died in the House on March 13, 2026, so SB 184 remains the statewide floor, and cities still set size, setback, and parking specifics above it.
Fort Lauderdale's specifics are tighter than the statewide trend. Under ULDC Sec. 47-19.2, accessory dwellings are allowed only as accessory to single-family homes in eight zoning districts, capped at 600 square feet or 49% of the principal structure, whichever is less, with one unit per lot, layouts limited to one bedroom and one bath or an efficiency, minimum lot sizes ranging from 5,000 to 10,890 square feet by district, and a 30-day minimum rental term.
- RS-8
- RD-15
- RC-15
- RM-15
- RML-25
- RMM-25
- RMH-25
- RMH-60
These rules keep evolving as the state and the city adjust, so we verify current code before design work begins and design to the stricter standard. Making a 600-square-foot envelope live large is a genuine design problem, and it is exactly what our ADU plans and design service exists to solve.
The services Fort Lauderdale's market actually calls for
We offer eight residential drafting services. In a city where existing homes are the main canvas, four of them do most of the work.
Home Additions and Remodel Drafting
With 227 new houses permitted in a year for a city of roughly 190,641 people, nearly every Fort Lauderdale project starts with an existing structure. We draft second stories, rear additions, and full interior reconfigurations that turn the house you have into the house you need.
Permit-Ready Drawings and As-Builts
Every addition begins with an accurate record of what exists. We produce as-built documentation and complete permit sets formatted for city submission, so your contractor is not stalled at the review counter.
ADU Plans and Design
SB 184 guarantees Fort Lauderdale homeowners a path to an ADU, and the city's 600-square-foot, one-bedroom cap defines the box. We design efficient one-bed and efficiency layouts that fit ULDC Sec. 47-19.2 to the inch.
3D Renderings and Walkthroughs
When the average permitted house here carries $537,000 in construction value, the projects behind those permits deserve to be seen before they are built. Renderings and walkthroughs let you approve the design, not imagine it.
Building one of next year's 227? For new construction on an infill lot we draft custom house plans to your site and program, and our stock house plans, starting at $799, offer a lower-cost starting point.
Serving Fort Lauderdale remotely, alongside the rest of Florida
Apex Drafting is based in Colorado City, Arizona, and every project runs remotely. Measurements and photos come from you or your contractor, drawing reviews happen by phone and screen share, and finished sets arrive as print-ready PDF and CAD files. It is the same process we run across Florida and nationwide.
Fort Lauderdale drafting questions, answered
How much do house plans cost in Fort Lauderdale?
Stock house plans start at $799. Custom house plans, addition and remodel drawings, and ADU designs are quoted per project based on scope, since a 600-square-foot ADU and a two-story addition are very different drafting jobs. Every quote is free and includes a written delivery schedule.
Can I build an ADU on my Fort Lauderdale lot?
It depends on your zoning district and lot size. Fort Lauderdale's ULDC Sec. 47-19.2 allows one accessory dwelling per lot, only as accessory to a single-family home in the RS-8, RD-15, RC-15, RM-15, RML-25, RMM-25, RMH-25, and RMH-60 districts, capped at 600 square feet or 49% of the main house, whichever is less, limited to one bedroom and one bath or an efficiency, with minimum lot sizes of 5,000 to 10,890 square feet by district and a 30-day minimum rental term. Florida's SB 184, effective July 1, 2025, requires local governments to allow at least one ADU on single-family-zoned lots statewide, but Fort Lauderdale's dimensional rules still control the details, and they are evolving, so we confirm current city code before designing.
Does Apex Drafting have an office in Fort Lauderdale?
No. Apex Drafting is based in Colorado City, Arizona, and serves Fort Lauderdale 100% remotely, as we do nationwide. Measurements and photos come from you or your contractor, reviews happen over calls and screen shares, and you receive print-ready PDF and CAD files for submission to the city.
Why do you emphasize additions and remodels in Fort Lauderdale?
Because that is what the data says this market builds. In 2024 the city authorized only 227 new single-family homes, and Broward County as a whole authorized about 1,655 units, one of the lowest totals of any large Florida county, while the typical home value reached $520,973, up 4.6% in a year. Very little new supply plus strong values means most homeowners who need more space get it by adding on or reconfiguring, and that is remodel and addition drafting work.
Get a Free Quote for Your Fort Lauderdale, FL Project
Tell us what you're building and we'll scope it, confirm the timeline, and give you a firm number before any drafting starts. Every plan set is drafted to your local jurisdiction's documentation standards.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (435) 668-1095.
Put your Fort Lauderdale project on paper
Tell us what you are planning, whether that is an addition, an ADU, or a full set of as-builts, and we will scope it with a free written quote and a committed delivery schedule.