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Wellborn Home Additions & ADU: The Miami Owner’s Guide
A Wellborn home addition or ADU in Miami typically costs between $53,100 and $153,400 when built to Florida code with hurricane-rated construction and flood-plain compliance. That range covers everything from a single-room bump-out with Wellborn cabinetry to a full detached ADU with a kitchenette, bath, and separate entrance. Most Miami homeowners discover they need this work after a failed permit inspection, a sudden property-tax reassessment, or the realization that a mother-in-law suite beats paying Miami rental prices for the next decade.
We stock and install Wellborn-compatible cabinetry, trim, and finish components for additions and ADUs across Miami, from Homestead up through Aventura. Whether the existing part is a Wellborn cabinet line that’s been discontinued or a custom millwork profile that never quite matched after the last renovation, we match it, price it in writing, and build it so the new square footage actually adds value instead of headaches.
Which Wellborn Models This Applies To
Wellborn has run several cabinet and built-in series over the years, and Miami homes tend to have three of them: the Wellborn Premier line (framed, classic overlay), Wellborn Estate (full-overlay, soft-close), and Wellborn Select (semi-custom, often spec’d in new construction from the mid-2010s onward). The compatibility gotcha most owners hit is this: Wellborn changed their hinge boring pattern and drawer-box joinery between Premier and Estate runs, so a cabinet door from one series won’t hang cleanly on the face frame of another without redrilling and risking split stiles.
When we’re quoting an addition or ADU in Miami, we identify the existing Wellborn run by checking the inside of a drawer box or the back of a door for the stamped series code, then we verify the finish sheen against the current Wellborn finish deck before we order a single panel. For OEM versus aftermarket, Wellborn components ordered direct carry the manufacturer finish warranty and exact color matching; quality aftermarket doors from a local Miami mill shop can save 20 to 30 percent, but the finish match is only as good as the shop’s spray booth. We default to OEM for client-visible surfaces and offer aftermarket only where it’s hidden or where the client wants a deliberate two-tone look.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Wellborn Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Doors no longer close square or rub at the corners. Miami’s humidity cycles swell and shrink wood fiber year-round. A door that scrapes in August and fits in January means the cabinet was installed before the house’s humidity was balanced, or the original installer skipped end-panel sealing.
- Drawer glides bind, rattle, or drop on one side. Soft-close glides on Wellborn Estate and Select carry a finite cycle life. Once the nylon roller inside the glide wears flat, the drawer starts slamming and the undermount clip loosens. It’s a $30 part, but it’s also the most common thing we replace during a remodel punch-list walk.
- Water staining or swelling at the sink base or lower vanity. A slow P-trap drip or failed supply-line crimp under a Wellborn cabinet will wick into the particleboard core long before you see water on the floor. In Miami, where humidity already hovers at 70 percent most of the year, this failure advances fast.
- Hinges pulling out of the face frame. On framed Wellborn cabinets, the hinge screw bites into about 3/4 inch of hardwood. If the door has been over-opened or installed slightly out of plane, the screw threads strip and the door sags. Wood filler won’t hold; the fix is a threaded insert or a stile repair.
- Wall cabinets separating from the wall. This is the one you don’t ignore. A cabinet pulling off its mounting rail usually means the installer hit drywall anchors instead of studs, or the wall has shifted. In an ADU or addition, it sometimes means the rough framing moved during Miami’s wet season. Call us before a full cabinet comes down.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A full home addition or ADU in Miami runs $53,100 to $153,400 depending on square footage, foundation type, kitchen and bath count, and how much Wellborn cabinetry you’re extending or matching. On the smaller end, a single-room addition with a wet bar and one Wellborn vanity typically lands between $53,100 and $75,000. A detached ADU with a full kitchen, bath, separate meter, and impact-rated windows pushes toward $120,000 to $153,400, and a two-story or custom-styled ADU can exceed that.
Every quote from us includes the written line-item breakdown: framing, electrical, plumbing, drywall, flooring, Wellborn cabinetry with hardware, countertops, paint, and finish trim. No allowances that balloon later. No “we’ll figure it out when we get there.” The number we hand you before the first tool comes off the truck is the number on the final invoice. And every addition or ADU we build in Miami carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if something wasn’t done right, we come back and make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
If you’re dealing with a Wellborn cabinet door hinge or a drawer glide, that’s a homeowner-level fix if you can read a part number and turn a screwdriver without stripping the head. If you’re dealing with wall cabinets pulling away from framing, load-bearing wall removal, or any electrical or plumbing work inside the addition or ADU, that’s a licensed-contractor job, full stop. Miami building code and the Florida Building Code for wind load don’t care how many YouTube videos you’ve watched.
Luca has walked more than a few Miami additions where a handyman-builder put a wall where a beam belonged, or wired a kitchenette without pulling a permit. Good work doesn’t need a sales pitch. Call (850) 801-8046 and we’ll tell you whether it’s a Saturday-morning job for you or a Tuesday-morning job for us.
FAQs
With proper construction and sealed Wellborn cabinetry, expect 30 to 50 years from the structure and 15 to 25 years from the cabinet finish before Miami humidity and UV exposure require refinishing or replacement. Cabinet structure outlives finish here by a wide margin, which is why we specify sealed end panels and topcoats designed for coastal humidity from day one. Call (850) 801-8046 to get a scoped quote for what you have.
Yes, in most cases a sagging door, stripped hinge, or worn glide can be repaired for under $200 in parts and an hour of labor. The exception is water-damaged particleboard, which keeps degrading once it’s saturated, and is better replaced than patched. We’ll tell you which one you have before we quote anything.
A single-room addition in Miami typically takes 8 to 14 weeks from permit to paint. A full detached ADU runs 4 to 7 months depending on site work, utilities, and inspections. We give you a written schedule with permit dates, inspection windows, and a live arrival time for every crew visit, so you’re not calling an office to ask where the crew is.
We stock common Wellborn replacement parts in our Miami shop: hinges, glide clips, bumpers, shelf pins, and touch-up kits. Custom doors, drawer fronts, and full cabinet boxes are ordered from Wellborn or a local mill shop with a 2 to 4 week lead time, and we price that lead time into the quote so you’re never surprised. Call (850) 801-8046 and we’ll check stock while you’re on the phone.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Miami at Sawyer Remodel Miami, serving Miami and nearby areas.
