House with arches
House with Pool
House on Stonebrook
House on Libby

Adu Design

Scope of work: Permit | Labor | Material
Project Type: Kitchen
Project Costs: $ 52,200 – $ 57,700
Compl. Date: 03/13/2023
Completion time: 96 days
Get an Online Estimate

Accessory Dwelling Unit

An Accessory Dwelling Unit, Usually Just Called An ADU, Is A Secondary Housing Unit On A Single-Family Residential Lot. The Term “Accessory Dwelling Unit” Is A Institutional-Sounding Name, But It’s The Most Commonly-Used Term Across The Country To Describe This Type Of Housing. While The Full Name Is A Mouthful, The Shorthand “ADU” Is Better.

John is a father of 4 kids; he has two sons and two daughters, they live in the area of Tracy, California, in A big house with three bedrooms, but as the age grows of their kids, they want each of their own private space, an own bedroom. Thus John started looking into ADUs to give their kids their own space.

When John first came to mason, he explained that he wanted to build a cottage in the backyard. Mason did a phone call with John and onsite visiting the house. It was beneficial, and they can make a750 square foot unit ADUs.

After two consultations, john hired Cecilia home to do the Asus for him. Within one day, we signed the contract and started our work. Our team was able to finish the first draft within 15 days and send it to John. He had a few questions about the drawings and emailed us his concerns and doubts; we scheduled a zoom meeting ASAP as we got the email. During the meeting architectural designer， structural engineer and the project manager illustrate how all the drawings would work out and how all the concerns would be erased away with the professional service, and everything and the budget would all be under control.

After around 25 days, we finished all the paperwork and got to the permit application process; lucky John, we got the city’s comments in one week; it usually takes 3weeks for the city to send back the words. As soon as we got the comments back from the city, we started our review checking and were able to revise the drawings and send them back to town in 2days. We got the permit in another 2weeks, and John can finally start to build a dream ADU for their kids.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve got that space, you’re off to a good start. But there are a number of other property size requirements, as well. United Dwelling focuses on detached ADUs, but it’s worth noting an ADU that’s attached to an existing home can only be 50% of the size of the main unit. 

For example, if a home is 2000 square feet, the attached ADU can max out at 1000 square feet.

On the other hand, a detached ADU can be up to 1200 square feet, no matter the size of the main building.

Generally speaking, an ADU has to be less than 16 feet tall. And if your ADU is below that 16 foot height and is under 750 square feet, its building permits can’t be blocked.

If you’re building an ADU within a home or existing building, the ADU can max out at the maximum height of the existing structure.

There are also requirements for minimum interior space and how it breaks down — unfortunately, if you were planning on building one giant bathroom in your ADU, you’re going to have to adjust your plans. The living room/bedroom needs to be at least 70 square feet.

The kitchen (along with the hallways and closet) must measure in at 50 square feet.The bathroom must be at least 30 square feet and contain a toilet, sink, and a shower stall or tub.

The size of your ADU is important, but just as crucial are the materials you use to build it. There are critical standards to ensure that granny flats represent high quality housing options. 

There are any number of exterior cladding options, but a few are against regulations. Builders may not use single piece composite, laminates, or interlocked metal sheathing. As for the roof, it can’t be made of wooden shingles. It must also have a minimum of a 2:12 pitch for greater than 50 percent of the roof area. 

Windows, meanwhile, must be at least double-pane glass and labelled for building use, and they can’t have exterior trim.

Thanks to AB 68, homeowners that turn their garages into ADUs (or knock the garage down to build an ADU from scratch) no longer have to replace the lost parking spaces.

Additionally, there is now no parking spot requirement at all for units built within half a mile from public transportation. Around LA, it’s rare that some place isn’t within a half mile of some kind of public transport.

You also don’t need a parking spot if you’re in a historic district.

According to California granny flat law, owners of single-family homes can now build both a regular detached ADU as well as a smaller unit that’s known as a Junior ADU.

A Junior ADU is a smaller ADU that is part of an existing main building; it can extend the building up to 150 square ft. feet beyond the original footprint of the house. In many cases, a junior ADU is a remodeled extra large bedroom or garage that includes its own bathroom and some kitchen appliances.

If you own a multi-family home, you can build two full-size ADUs on the property (provided you have the space for it, of course).

Get A Free Quote