Meet the Thousand Oaks Team Behind Seedling ADU Thousand Oaks
We’re a local crew that builds accessory dwelling units, garage conversions, and home additions across Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, and Moorpark. Most of us grew up in Ventura County and we’ve spent years working on the specific challenges this area throws at builders: expansive clay soil, steep lots in the Conejo Valley hills, and older 1960s and 1970s tract homes that need real structural attention before an ADU goes up. What unites us is simpler than a mission statement. We show up on time, we protect your home while we’re in it, and we don’t leave until the work is actually done right.
Our People
Ben Ortega, Owner and Project Lead
Ben has spent over 15 years in residential construction, the last eight focused on ADUs and garage conversions in Thousand Oaks and the surrounding Conejo Valley. He holds a California General B contractor license and has managed more than 200 foundation pours, frame-to-finish builds, and prefab site preparations. Ben is the person who walks your lot, checks the setbacks against Thousand Oaks zoning, and tells you honestly whether a detached ADU will fit behind your house or whether a garage conversion makes more sense for your property. He still handles every final walkthrough himself. Outside of work, Ben coaches his daughter’s AYSO soccer team and has strong opinions about the best breakfast burrito in Newbury Park.
Marcus R., Senior Installer and Prefab Specialist
Marcus has built and set prefab and modular ADUs from Abodu, Boxabl, and Plant Prefab, which means he knows exactly how a factory-built unit needs to sit on a Thousand Oaks foundation: level within an eighth of an inch, utilities stubbed in the right place, and weather sealing done so the first rainy season doesn’t find a problem. He came up through framing crews and spent six years doing seismic retrofits on older Ventura County homes, work that matters when you’re tying a new structure onto a 1960s ranch. Marcus is the one who notices a wall that’s three-sixteenths out of square before it becomes an expensive fix. He’s also the crew’s unofficial barbecue judge and refuses to discuss it during working hours.
Dana T., Service Coordinator and Permitting Lead
Dana handles the part of the job most homeowners dread: the paperwork. She’s been through the City of Thousand Oaks ADU permit process more times than she can count she says the secret is submitting complete plans the first time and not arguing with plan checkers over things that don’t matter. Dana coordinates inspections, keeps the schedule moving, and answers the phone when you call with a question at 6:15 on a Wednesday evening. She has a background in construction office management and a certificate in green building practices from Ventura College. Before construction, Dana spent five years running logistics for a regional landscaping company, which is where she learned that every homeowner wants the same thing: to know what’s happening and when. She texts photo updates to clients and, by her own admission, names all her houseplants.
Elias V., Apprentice and Clean-Up Crew Lead
Elias is two years into his construction career and already the person we trust with the Cedarwell Care Promise details: shoe covers at the door, drop cloths on every interior path, pet-safe products when there’s a choice, and a photograph of the cleaned-up work area before the crew pulls out of the driveway. He’s working toward his journeyman’s license and spends every Saturday morning at the local union training center’s HVAC and framing courses. Elias grew up in Thousand Oaks and went to Thousand Oaks High School, so when a neighbor stops by to ask what’s being built, he can explain the project without using a single trade abbreviation. He’s also the fastest taper on the crew and claims he only listens to classical music when he’s spreading mud.
One Standard, Every Job
Every Seedling ADU Thousand Oaks project runs the same way whether it’s a one-bedroom garage conversion off Lynn Road or a two-bedroom prefab ADU behind a Newbury Park hillside home. You get a written price before any work begins, with no surprise line items after the crew arrives. Every technician who steps onto your property is background-checked and wears a uniform, so you always know who belongs there. Inside the home, shoe covers and drop cloths are automatic, pet-safe products are used where there’s a choice, and you get a photo of the clean-up before we leave. A live person answers the phone 24/7 throughout the build, and every completed job is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Ben checks in on every active Thousand Oaks project at least once a week. Not because the client might be watching, but because he wants to see the work with his own eyes before the inspection happens.
Written by Ben Ortega, Owner at Seedling ADU Thousand Oaks, serving Thousand Oaks and the surrounding Conejo Valley for over 8 years.
