11/20/2025
Adu update. 540 sqft being added to the back of a rental property, shared wall with 2 car garage to avoid a 10 foot setback between structures, 6 foot rear setback instead of 4 foot because of sewer line running down the back of the property instead of the front (not all houses have sewer lines that run into the street, some run down the back of property lines). Should be completed at the end of the year. Unit has Its own 100amp panel and water main, all electric So we didn't have to add a gas meter and run gas lines. It will have a mini split ac/heat unit to the bedroom and living room. It will have 1 off street parking space which is important. It will have a rear patio area behind the garage as well measuring 10x10. We put in vaulted ceilings in this unit to make it feel bigger and it does already. Believe it or not, it was not that much more expensive to build a stand alone adu versus doing a garage conversion. The reason is because the city makes you add so much more lumber to the garage and theybmake you shore up the garage foundation so much that building a stand alone doesn't cost but maybe 5% more than a adu garage conversion. If you have the 10 foot setback between the house, garage etc to build your adu without attaching it to the garage, then it will be even cheaper. This is because the shared wall with the garage and adu will need to have a full footing poured under it which added 9500 to the cost. So if it makes sense and you have the room, don't attach your adu to the garage since it will add to the cost.
