Additions & ADUs

Upsize your living quarters, add mother-in-law quarters or personalize your art studio.

There are two primary ways of adding more square footage to your property, additions or accessory dwelling units (ADUs). If property allows, an ADU gives you a separate building that you can use for a different purpose than your main house. It might be an office, workshop, or rental (if it can be metered separately).

Reasons for an ADU

  • Mother-in-law unit
  • Space for grandparents
  • Guest house
  • Caretaker's cottage
  • Home office
  • Workshop
  • Extra space for kids, such as a recreational room
  • Supplemental rental income as a full-time rental or vacation rental using AirBnB or VRBO

Considerations for an ADU

  • Does the size of your property allow for another building?
  • Is your infrastructure (power, septic) capable of handling it?
  • Does the zoning in your area allow for it?

If your situation is not set up for an ADU, then you might consider an addition instead to get that extra space. In this case an extension off one side of the house or renovating a basement into livable space might be the perfect solution.

Early Design-Build Involvement

There are a number of important consideration early in the project, like deciding between an addition or an ADU. You don't do this every day, but we do. We get involved with you at the idea stage and stay with you the entire way to help you through the design process. You get to lean on our expertise and we get more familiar with the project from day one, which allows us to build quicker for you.

Here are some issues that you will have to work through:

  • How will we tie this project into your existing aesthetic so that it looks intentional?
  • Do we need to get independent designers involved for specific areas such as designing an outdoor kitchen or creating a lighting plan?
  • Do you have a plan picked out? Does it need revision? Or do you need a plan created?
  • What contracts and permits will be necessary?

Overall, we are looking to help you develop a concept and then a master plan to build off of. Aesthetics and specific issues can be dealt with during the course of the project with reference to the master plan.

Your Involvement

Every client is a bit different in the amount they want to be involved. We find that most are more heavily involved up front and then scale back as the project is rolling. We commit to open communication with you and keep you informed on what we are doing, why we are doing it that way, and when we expect to complete it. Since building living spaces are typically interrupting your day-to-day life, we do what is possible to minimize interruptions and keep the project on schedule.

Project Completion

With the end in sight, we will be doing everything we can to meet the schedule because it is your living space. We will do a final walkthrough with you and ensure all is done according to master plan and agreement or will we capture a final punchlist of items and complete them right away. We guarantee our work to industry standards.

Recent Projects

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