Meet the Ventura Team Behind Benson ADU Ventura
When you call Benson ADU Ventura, the person who answers knows what a setback is and why it matters for your backyard. That’s because our crew is small, local, and hands-on. We’re not a rotating cast of subcontractors you’ll never see twice. Troy Eastman runs the crew personally, and the people who measure your foundation, frame your walls, and hand you the final walkthrough checklist are the same people whose names are on this page. We work like a crew that has to see you at the grocery store, because in Ventura, we probably will.
Our People
Troy Eastman, Owner & Lead Builder
Troy has spent his career on residential job sites, and he still walks every ADU project at least twice before it’s done. He’s the one who quotes your job line by line and the one who’ll point out that your avocado tree is too close to the proposed slab before the excavator shows up. He builds with prefab brands like Abodu, Dvele, and Mighty Buildings because he’d rather see panels arrive square and dry than watch a site-built frame sit through a Ventura June gloom week. Troy lives in Ventura and has strong opinions about proper eave depth on coastal lots. He’s been known to answer Saturday-morning calls about drainage gravel with more enthusiasm than most people reserve for their fantasy football lineup.
Marco S., Senior Installer
Marco is the crew’s framing and panel lead. He’s the one who makes a prefab kit from Plant Prefab or Boxabl actually feel like a house, not a shipping container with drywall. He came up in residential construction with a focus on structural framing and has spent the last several years running ADU and garage conversion installs across Southern California. Marco is certified in fall protection and has a talent for keeping jobsites organized enough that neighbors rarely complain. Outside of work, he coaches his daughter’s youth soccer team and reportedly owns more levels than any human needs.
Dana R., Service Coordinator
Dana is the voice on the phone, which is to say she’s the reason you won’t be routed through a voicemail tree at 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday. She handles scheduling, permit paperwork follow-ups, and the written price document that goes out before any work starts. Dana has a background in construction office management and knows the difference between a JADU and an ADU conversion the way other people know the difference between iced coffee and cold brew. She keeps the team’s materials orders straight and will absolutely call you back the same day. Her desk plant is named Gerald, and he is thriving, which says something about consistency.
Eli T., Apprentice Builder
Eli is the crew’s apprentice and the first person to crawl under a house to check for obstructions nobody else wants to check for. He’s learning the trade from the ground up, which in his case literally meant a season of digging trenches for utility connections before he ever touched a nail gun. Eli is enrolled in a local building trades program and spends his days on the crew absorbing whatever Marco and Troy will tolerate him asking about. He handles a lot of the jobsite material staging, and he labels every box like a person who has spent too much time looking for missing hardware. On weekends, Eli surfs, which is the most Ventura sentence you’ll read on this page.
One Standard, Every Job
Every project that leaves this crew’s hands runs through the same set of rules, whether it’s a compact studio ADU on a Midtown Ventura lot or a two-bedroom addition up in the hills. Troy writes the price before work starts. The quote is in writing, it’s line-itemed, and it doesn’t shift because someone forgot to account for the water heater relocation. That’s the Relay Home Co. standard we follow: written price first, then work, then a 365-Day Done Right Promise that says if something isn’t right within a year, we come back and make it right. Our technicians are background-checked and show up in uniform so you know who’s walking onto your property. We don’t have a different standard for bigger jobs or busier seasons. The same people who answer the phone are accountable for what happens on the build, and Troy signs his name to every project. That’s not a marketing line. That’s how the crew works.
How We Work With Homeowners
You’ll meet the whole team at different points in the process. Dana handles the initial call and the written estimate. Troy walks the site, checks setbacks (that’s the required distance between a structure and the property line, and yes, a palm tree in the way changes everything), and finalizes the plan. Marco and Eli run the build, and Troy stays on the job until the final inspection passes. You’ll get before-and-after photos and a digital invoice you can pay by link. No one’s going to knock on your door with a paper bill and a shrug. The whole point is that you know what’s happening, what it costs, and who’s doing it. Most of our clients have never built an ADU before. Our job is to make the process boring in the best way: a price on paper, a crew that shows up, and a build that gets done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Each Benson ADU location is independently owned and operated, and the Ventura location is owned by Troy Eastman. We’re part of the Relay Home Co. family, which was founded in 2006, and every location follows the same written-price and performance standards. But the crew you get in Ventura is the crew listed on this page, not a rotating corporate team.
Typically Troy, Marco, Eli, and any specialty trades needed for permits or utility tie-ins. Every technician who shows up has passed a background check and wears a Benson ADU uniform. You’ll know names, not just faces. Dana keeps you updated on timing, and Troy is on site for the inspection-heavy days.
If the work isn’t right within 365 days of completion, we come back and make it right. It’s a written guarantee on every project, and it covers the workmanship we performed. If a covered repair fails during that window, the second visit is on us. That’s what the promise covers and exactly how long it lasts.
Yes. We’re authorized to build with Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, and Tuff Shed, plus James Hardie cladding. These are brands you can research independently before you sign anything. Troy will walk you through which system fits your lot, your budget, and your timeline, and the price will be in writing before anything is ordered.
Written by Troy Eastman, Owner & Lead Builder at Benson ADU Ventura, serving Ventura since our local launch under the Relay Home Co. family, founded 2006.
