Building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is always a very responsible task for homeowners. Even cooperation with an experienced contractor is connected to numerous difficulties. But in order to build an accessory dwelling unit yourself, you should pay special attention to all the stages of work to achieve a certain level of professionalism in terms of construction.
In this article, we will do our best to tell you about all the existing pros and cons of DIY ADU construction. Stay tuned, and you will learn a lot of useful information on building an ADU on your property.
If you're planning to build an ADU yourself, it will provide you with some benefits. Every stage of building requires the involvement of specific workers, including architects, designers, economists, and sometimes even lawyers. Building an accessory dwelling unit yourself, you will not have to pay for their labor. Moreover, in order to improve your existing space with the help of a contractor. You will certainly deal with customer service support, whose members will also ask for payments.
Secondly, if you are not satisfied with your primary residence and need some extra living space, you can create any design that you want if you want to implement a construction project yourself. Customization is one of the few pros of DIY ADU construction since you can personalize your space in any way you want.
It is not always easy to find a designer who will be ready to work with all of your preferences. Doing the work yourself, you'll be sure that every square foot of your property will be designed according to all of your requirements. You will be free to build your own entrance everywhere you want and choose materials of any color and pattern.
Working yourself, you will always have the ability to create your own deadlines and follow your own piece of work. If you have enough time to build an ADU, you can spend as many weeks and months as you want. For example, when it is hot, you can take a break and go on a vacation with your adult children. You will not be afraid of any unpredictable money losses that will lead to deadline extensions.
Finally, building an additional space yourself occurs to be a great construction experience. After a successful ADU construction, you will have enough skills to do some other kinds of work yourself. For instance, you may implement garage conversion or make a renovation of your primary home without the help of builders since you will know all the peculiarities of construction.
Thus, by building an ADU yourself, you can save much time and money. DIY ADU construction will be the best solution for those who are looking for affordable housing and would like to work at their own pace.
Sometimes implementing an accessory dwelling unit project on your own will not be a good decision because you will face some difficulties which not every homeowner can resolve themselves.
Do not hesitate to contact your local contractor's team if you are not satisfied with your primary residence and would like to build an ADU with the help of top professionals!
Considering building an ADU yourself, you might wonder in what ways you can save money.
Firstly, as we have already mentioned, you will not have to pay for the builder's and the designers' labor. Even if you require a consultation with a specific professional, you may have to pay only for a one-time consultation and will not need it to work with other specialists whose service is not required.
Secondly, you will always be free to find materials for construction yourself. That means you will be able to find great sales on building materials and buy them at a lower price than could be offered by your contractor. This will obviously provide you with extra cash.
Thirdly, an accessory dwelling unit of any type may become a potential source of extra income. Building an ADU is a great solution since it may become your rental property serving as a passive income. Moreover, an ADU may lead to an increase in your primary house cast. Apple house or garage construction may double your house cost.
A detached ADU may also serve as a single-family home for tenants.
So, do not put off starting building an ADU since it may become a perfect investment and provide you with rental income.
We understand that every homeowner would like to start enjoying your guest house or garage as soon as possible. But there is a specific limit in terms of building time management that should be taken into account while setting a deadline. Firstly, you should note that the building inspection process will usually take time since department specialists have a lot of work to do.
This process is always connected with some kind of bureaucracy. And, obviously, it leads to delays. We advise you to expect the inspectors to complete the work within two or three weeks.
Secondly, you should always understand that time spent on the construction itself may be prolonged due to several unpredictable factors. If the weather outside becomes worse, you may not be able to continue your construction process. If, due to heavy rain, your basic storage is all filled with water, you will have to spend some additional time to resolve this problem, and only then will you be able to continue working with your backyard cottage.
We believe that to let your family enjoy the process at your own pace, you should double your ideal time to create a deadline for your whole project.
Building an ADU involves a number of skills required for successful project implementation.
Firstly, a homeowner should possess basic construction knowledge in order to properly organize building and siding works. Understanding which materials suit better for different kinds of spaces in your ADU or main residence.
Secondly, you should possess some knowledge and skills for dealing with electrical systems as well as plumbing systems. This knowledge is usually very specific and requires education, which is why, in most cases, a homeowner needs to address nearby utilities.
Finally, homeowners should reveal a high level of economic literacy, which will help to find the materials at the best prices.
In order to make the whole construction process as safe as possible, a homeowner should obey several safety rules.
Here is the list of the main ones:
Safety should be the primary aspect of any construction work and is always worth paying attention to it.
Several difficulties are connected with the availability of resources and materials. Before starting a project implementation, you should always make sure that all the necessary materials are available in nearby stores where you can always shop online.
It is always worth researching the building market to find the best prices among all the local suppliers. After it, you should implement a quality check according to the appropriate criteria.
If some materials are not available in your region, you order them online and exceed the deadline taken into account. The amount of time spent waiting for the delivery.
Mind that the contractors' team is always ready to assist you with finding the necessary construction resources and materials.
While implementing an ideal project, always obtain the corresponding building laws and codes. Firstly, pay attention to the zoning codes. Secondly, you will have to deal with property line codes which regulate the way homeowners set borders between their possessions. Find that homeowners associations are highly involved in the process of property line inspection.
The next important thing you should consider is building codes which regulate the way different kinds of materials are used in your ADU. The inspectors will also pay attention to the technologies involved in the process.
Finally, the level of safety kept while implementing your building project will also be thoroughly inspected.
After any project stage is completed, quality control procedures should be implemented. The inspectors will check the qualifications of the workers involved, as well as the tools they use. Secondly, the quality of materials will be checked. The general building plan should be inspected since you should make sure there are no violations in your budget and the deadline will not be extended.
We highly recommend you implement control after any stage of work in order to keep everything perfect!
Along with inspection and control issues, a homeowner should keep in mind long-term maintenance and upkeep for ADU construction.
In order to make sure your junior accessory dwelling unit will serve you as long as it's possible, you should implement regular inspections. The most important thing is that it should be checked every six months for electricity and plumbing systems since safety violations of the work may result in injuries, floods, or fires.
Another factor that should regularly be inspected is your landscaping. Homeowners should always make sure their trees and bushes are not approaching the ADU too close.
You can consult your local homeowner's association to find out what other kinds of inspections are required to implement long-term maintenance for your ADU.
If you are satisfied with your current housing options, you may consider building an additional house for small families who will rent your detached ADU since they are fed up with their multigenerational living environment. Moreover, if you add some extra space to your square footage by constructing a garage conversion, you will double your property's cost in comparison with the houses with the same property, which was not modified.
It will depend on the type of your living space. If you can offer tenants a tiny house, the rent will not cost them about $800. Sometimes a person needs to rent a garage only, and in this case, the cost and, hence, your income will depend on the number of square feet. You may also use the property of a family member to get extra income. For example, you can rent out your granny flat, freeing her from paying property taxes and letting her enjoy her daily life in your own primary dwelling unit.
As you might remember, you always have the option of building a space for living yourself, which has its own pros and cons. You can also find a rental flat since many homeowners rent their granny flats. Mind that even such space as a garage can be modified in a way you will fully enjoy your life living there.
Those who need to modify their living space are usually afraid of unpredictable factors. For example, they think they may not foresee all the peculiarities of in-laws before a garage construction and will have to pay fines. The latter, on their terms, will lead to a decrease in their full home value. Sometimes they are afraid of unpredictable weather conditions, which may result in floods leading to losing basic storage.
