Friday ADU Chat Recap: Top Questions and Advice

Last Friday, we had an inspiring ADU chat with several homeowners and New Avenue designers. We’d like to thank everyone who came to ask questions, share their goals, and talk about their experiences. Here are some of the questions we focused on and some important tips our designers shared.

Great questions from our participants

How can I learn about my options?

The best way to start is with a phone call. When you schedule your free call, you’ll spend 30 minutes with a member of our team. We'll ask you about your goals for your home and answer your questions. We'll use the New Avenue app, which contains data from hundreds of completed projects, to help you understand what your project is likely to cost and how long it may take.

Next, we’ll schedule a visit with the design–build team that’s just right for your project. This team consists of a design professional and a licensed general contractor. For a $600 fee, they’ll visit your site virtually or in person, talk with you about your goals, and share their thoughts on your project.

This is not a design meeting. It’s about getting an understanding of what your pains are, what your site is like, and what you’re comfortable investing.

We will:
1) Meet you at your home, virtually or in person, to assess the house and property
2) Discuss your goals and needs
3) Determine the scope of work and come up with a proposal

We strive to produce the best project quotes in the industry. Your team will thoroughly analyze your project and do some research to ensure an accurate quote. You’ll receive a full, detailed quote for the design and an estimate for construction. (The contractor will provide a fixed-price bid once most of the design, permitting, and engineering is complete.)

We know we can deliver a project that we will all be proud of for the full quoted price.

What does the design proposal include?

Your design proposal outlines your costs for design, permitting, the creation of construction documents, and construction administration.

Your design team will develop up to three conceptual designs. These conceptual options will include a site plan, floor plans, elevations, building sections, sketches, and the layout of the interior rooms such as bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, and living areas. Once you select a conceptual design, your design team will work with you to finalize the details.

Here’s a typical breakdown of a design professional’s time:
Predesign: 5%
Schematic Design: 25%
Construction Documents: 40%
Permitting: 10%
Construction Administration: 20%

If the initial meeting is done virtually, how do you learn about the space? Can you design based on old blueprints?

If you have blueprints or as-built drawings of your house, that helps us a lot. However, we often find that the drawings were done incorrectly or the home was not built exactly as specified. We will need to come to the property for up-to-date, accurate measurements.

What are my financing options?

If you’re renting out your ADU, it will pay for itself over time. But you do need financing to pay for the up-front costs. Typically, you’ll want to set aside around $5,000 per month for design. Your designer will help you plan your monthly payments as part of the initial meeting and design proposal. Throughout the project, we invoice at the first of each month for the previous month’s work.

There’s no better way to finance any project than bank money. Many people take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and write checks against it to pay for design and permitting. Or they do a 30-year refinance, put the money in their bank account, and write checks against that. Construction loans are another option.
Although New Avenue has no official relationships with financial institutions, we can provide the names of some bankers that have helped our clients.

What about pre-fab homes or shipping containers?

People often consider pre-fab homes or shipping containers as a way to save money and time.

While they might save a little time, these prefabricated options aren’t actually less expensive. That’s because shipping and cranes (necessary for installation) are expensive. You’ll spend money on code compliance and making the prefabricated structure fit your property.

Shipping containers are particularly challenging because they have set dimensions. It can be difficult or even impossible to create a comfortable bedroom or fit your furniture into a shipping container. Insulation must be added to the inside of the container, further reducing your living space.

When you look at the cost of a prefabricated home, it does not include utilities, foundation, and permitting. A nice prefabricated home ends up costing the same as a custom one that was designed to fit your property and your specific needs.

That said, prefab is amazing if you want either a massive 100-unit apartment building or a mobile home. Those are standardized, mass-produced products that work at scale. Your home just isn't standard; it's already a custom home. That is why a custom ADU created by a good design–build team is always a better option.

Will it still feel like I have a backyard if I add an external ADU?

Many homeowners replace a garage or shed with an ADU or add a new ADU to an empty space in the backyard. It’s important to consider what the yard will look and feel like after adding an accessory dwelling.

If the yard is small, an ADU might take up most of the yard. You may need to get creative with landscaping. A well-designed garden or a deck between the main home and the ADU can maximize usable backyard space.

Lifting a house and adding an internal or attached ADU is a good option for small properties. If yard space is a priority, doing this allows you to keep more open space in your yard. If rental income is important, it also allows you to add two rental units: a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) attached to the main home and an external ADU in the yard.

Will the construction disturb my neighbors? Can the noise be limited to certain hours?

All construction projects are messy and noisy. If you want to limit the work hours, we may be able to work within your specifications. This depends on the contractor.

Of the eight months it typically takes to build an ADU, three of those months are loud, heavy construction. After the first few months, most of the construction takes place inside the unit and is quieter. Neighbors typically can’t hear the internal work such as drywall, plumbing, and finish installation.

How do you decide on size?

While ADUs start around 250 square feet, it’s important to note that bigger gets you more. Whether your ADU is for renters, family, or you, you’ll get more out of a bigger home.

Here are some numbers to help you imagine your future ADU:

360 square feet is the smallest you can build and have one bedroom. (Smaller ADUs are efficiency-style, with a single sleeping/living area.) 450 to 500 square feet is ideal for a nice one-bedroom ADU. At 650 square feet, you can add a second bedroom.

Another point to consider: For most projects, about 20% of the cost is design, engineering survey, permits, other pre-construction. 80% is construction. Even a small ADU has all the expensive components of a huge house—the electric panel work, the sewer work, the utilities, the hours it takes for permitting—it’s all the same whether you’re building a 200-, 500-, or 1000-square-foot home. While building a smaller ADU is less expensive, a 250-square-foot ADU is more than half the cost of a 500-square-foot ADU. A 350-square-foot ADU is more than half the cost of a 700-square-foot ADU.

Can ADUs be two stories tall?

Most jurisdictions have restrictions on ADU height. In Berkeley, for example, two-story ADUs are allowed, but a 16-foot maximum height makes that difficult to achieve.

Can you get an exemption from height restrictions?

An exemption from height restrictions is unlikely. While our designers can work with city officials to get their projects permitted, many requirements, like height restrictions, don’t leave much room for interpretation.

Will my project be designed and built by licensed professionals?

Yes, our team members have all have the necessary licenses. In most cases we need a licensed engineer and a licensed general contractor. The designer will be a licensed architect or a trained residential designer with years of experience designing custom homes, remodels, and ADUs.

Can we talk about my particular property/idea/goal/problem?

Absolutely. Just sign up for a 30-minute call, and you can talk to a proven professional who has designed dozens of ADUs.

Tips from our design professionals

Design–build is the best way to see your project through.

New Avenue is a design–build company for several reasons. You’ll get better quality in both design and construction because the designers are looking at the construction, and the builders are looking at the design. Throughout the project, you and your entire team stay in touch through our specialized app.

You’ll also get more accurate quotes. Because our system covers every aspect of your project, we know what every phase will cost.

Know your priorities and goals.

Understanding your priorities and goals will help you make the right decisions for your project. It will inform every aspect of your design.

If you want to prioritize rental income, you may want to forgo some backyard space in favor of maximizing the size of your ADU. If you want a nice accessory dwelling for your parents to live in, you may want to spend a little more to make sure they have enough space and finishes they’ll love. If you love cycling and mountain climbing, you’ll need to make sure you have room for your gear.

If you need some help identifying your priorities and determining what kind of design would be best for your particular project, schedule a call. We’ll help you understand your options.

Don’t put it off too long.

While being informed is important, it’s possible to wait too long. When you have a knowledgeable, experienced team to answer your questions and guide you through the entire process, your ADU will be working for you as soon as possible.

As with many major life events, most people don’t “feel ready” when they start their projects. That’s because it’s a big investment. But even if you don’t feel ready, New Avenue will help make sure you are.

Thank you

Thanks to the homeowners who brought their questions, stories, ideas, and advice, and thanks to our designers who helped answer questions and support us all with valuable information. We all had a great time and learned a lot from each other.

Whether or not you had the chance to join us, go ahead and schedule a free call. We’d love to answer your questions and get to know you and your goals.