Cost to design and permit a new apartment in a San Francisco home

Unhappy with his San Francisco home, Marc approached New Avenue for help in planning major renovations.

First, he wanted to solve a dry-rot problem in the garage. He also wanted to expand the garage, which was not fully excavated when the house was built. He also wanted to stop a leak in the garage that was coming from the deck above. The large, multi-pane picture windows on the front of his home needed to be replaced, and Marc wanted to connect the laundry room, which was only accessible from the exterior of the main home.

In planning the much-needed renovations, Marc saw an opportunity to increase the usable space in his home, adding an apartment that he could rent out.

The left image shows the existing home. The right image shows the planned renovations.

A New Avenue design professional created a design that expands the usable area of the garage and moves the laundry room onto the garage level. The former laundry room will become a new apartment with a kitchen, living area, bedroom, and bathroom. Renovations to the main home include a walk-out deck.

The left image is a cross-section of the existing home. The right image shows the planned renovations.

The total cost to design and permit this project was $78,408.43 at the time of the project. In 2020, the design and permitting budget for this project would be $90,169.00 . You can see the full budget for design and permitting below.

Budget to design renovations and a new apartment for a San Francisco home