Meet the Upland Team Behind Ellery ADU Studio Upland
Every ADU we’ve designed, permitted, and built in Upland since 2015 has been handled by people who live here, not dispatched from a central office. Our crew doesn’t rotate based on who’s available in a ten-county radius. When you call (840) 212-3065, you get someone who knows the difference between Upland’s hillside zoning and the flatland setback rules, and who’s already walked your type of lot before.
Our People
Nadia Ellery, Principal
I’ve been running site walks since before ADUs were called ADUs, back when clients in Upland still asked if we were “building a granny flat.” I started Ellery ADU Studio in 2015 after watching too many homeowners get passed between an architect who’d never framed a wall and a contractor who’d never read a Title 24 energy report. I hold a California B-General Building Contractor license, and I keep it current myself, not through a name-on-paper arrangement. My job is to catch the detail that adds cost before it becomes a change order. On weekends I’m usually restoring a 1968 FJ40 Land Cruiser in my San Antonio Heights driveway, which has taught me more about patience with permitting delays than any seminar could.
Marcus T., Lead Technician & Site Supervisor
Marcus has been with us since 2019, which in ADU years means he’s shepherded projects through three major code cycles and Upland’s 2021 zoning update. He’s ICC-certified for residential building inspection and handles our pre-construction site audits, the ones where we find the sewer line that doesn’t match the as-builts or the oak root system that’ll complicate your foundation. Before he joined us, Marcus spent eight years as a finish carpenter in Claremont, so he still winces at exposed fasteners in visible trim. He keeps a running bet with the permitting desk about whether we’ll hit our submittal date, and he’s currently up by four.
Dana K., Senior Installer & Systems Specialist
Dana coordinates our prefab and modular relationships, which means she’s the one on the phone with Abodu or Mighty Buildings when a panel arrives with a window rough opening that’s 3/8-inch off. She’s factory-trained on Cover, Dvele, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie systems, and she’s completed the manufacturer’s install certification for each. Dana grew up in Rancho Cucamonga and still lives there, so she knows which Upland neighborhoods have the narrow alley access that rules out certain crane placements. She has a photograph of every module she’s ever set, timestamped, which she claims is for documentation but is also just her particularity.
Ruben V., Service Coordinator
Ruben answers the phone when you call (840) 212-3065, including the calls that come in at 10:47 PM from someone who’s just realized their other contractor’s estimate has seventeen line items marked “TBD.” He’s been with us since 2017 and has heard enough ADU questions to know when someone’s been quoted a garage conversion that doesn’t account for Upland’s fire separation requirements. Ruben schedules our site walks, tracks permit status with San Bernardino County, and sends the documented photo record after every visit. He has a spreadsheet ranking every permitting counter clerk by response speed, which he updates religiously.
Jesse P., Apprentice Installer
Jesse joined us in 2023 through a community college construction program in Fontana, and he’s currently logging hours toward his own B-license. Right now he works under Dana on module setting and under Marcus on rough framing, which means he’s learned two different ways to be precise and is developing his own synthesis. Jesse grew up in Ontario and still points out which Upland streets flood in heavy rain, a detail that’s saved more than one foundation schedule. He asks better questions than most journeymen I’ve worked with, usually starting with “what happens if this goes wrong?”
One Standard, Every Job
The Haven Standard isn’t a poster on a wall for us. It’s the reason Marcus writes his site audit notes in the same format every time, why Dana won’t sign off on a module delivery until she’s checked every strap point, and why Ruben stays on hold with the county rather than promising a callback that might not come. We’re independently owned and operated in Upland, not a satellite office taking direction from somewhere else. Every project gets the written price before work starts (Clause 1), the documented photo record on every visit, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the finished ADU doesn’t match the permitted drawings, we make it right. That’s not marketing language. That’s the agreement you sign, and it’s the same one we signed with the last 900 ADUs we’ve completed since 2015.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Upland, serving Upland since 2015.