r/AccessoryDwellings

People. People please for the love of life and limb please wake up.

Think THRICE before jumping into the ADU bandwagon.

Don't you know that THEY...The Government...want you to build ADUs so that they can TAX YOU more. And more. And more.

Tax tax tax. Then you die.

Is that how you want to live your life? A slave to the "system"??

Just throw a sleeping bad in the garage if you want another sleeping area.

Don't fall for the ADU hype. All across the land, people have for decades and decades...found...errrr...CREATIVE ways to add additional living spaces. You can do it to. Do it for the ART. GET creative.

Stop the ADU lunacy. Once built, you've added a PERMANENT added tax burden to your residence.

Get WOKE. Keep them eyes open.

We had a client recently that originally wanted a normal one-story ADU in the back of their property. Pretty straightforward at first.

Then after looking at the lot a little more, they realized the footprint was going to take up way more backyard space than they expected. They still wanted room for their kids to be outside, so they started asking about going vertical instead.

What they ended up doing was kinda interesting. They used one of our one-story ADU layouts for the upstairs, then made the entire bottom floor a garage/storage area.

Sounded like an easy adjustment, kinda just putting our typical floor plan on top of a garage. But it definitely became a different project once engineering got involved. Suddenly we were talking about stair placement, ceiling heights, structural loads, city height limits, all that stuff.

Honestly though, once it was done, it fit the property way better than the original plan. They kept most of the yard and still got a full living space upstairs.

Made me curious how many people would actually choose a 2-story ADU if they had the option. Seems like more people are doing it lately, especially on tighter lots.

I built a small tool that pulls daily permit filings from LA County specifically for new ADU construction, JADUs, and garage conversions. Wondering if this kind of data is actually useful to contractors, architects, or solar installers, or if I'm solving a problem that doesn't exist.

Happy to share a free sample if anyone wants to take a look. Also genuinely curious, what would need to be added to make this actually useful to someone in this space?

I’m looking to install a prefab work pod this July since the summer weather makes setup easy. But I'm not so sure on the electrical side.

For those who have a detached backyard home office: do you actually use solar panels, or did you just run a standard trench line and plug into the main house grid?

I’m looking for long-term cost savings, but if a solar setup + battery doesn't make a massive dent in the utility bill, I might just stick to a traditional grid hookup.

Fyi I wfh about 8 hours a day and do some heavy PC gaming at night for around 3–4 hours.

If you went the solar route for your pod, how much did it cost you to get up and running, and is it worth it for a heavy user? Thanks!

Anybody here recently done / doing a garage conversion in the coastal zone now that AB462 is in effect? Or has an architect that is currently doing conversions in the coastal zone and can refer me? I know streamlined guidance from CC is supposed to come out this Summer but who knows what they'll come up with.

Recently finished a duplex renovation, have an attached garage just under 500sqft that I'm thinking about converting.

Should have done all at once but you live and learn. Garage has a new 100amp subpanel. Sewer runs underneath existing slab (which supports other 2 units). I can pull gas and water from existing but tbd on if LA City allows that. Walls are fireproofed, insulated, meet T24 from previous renovation. One side has an entrance with windows, the other side is the garage door that would need to be closed in.

Would think JADU is the optimal route here but unsure if JADU is applicable to duplexes and not just single family homes.

Hey!

SoCal ADU company is looking for experienced general contractors who would help to complete the builds. Anyone interested please drop your contact in the thread.

Has anyone in Sacramento successfully used prescriptive framing/construction detail sheets for a simple one-story ADU or residential project instead of full custom structural engineering details?

My engineer sent me an example of Los Angeles “Type V” single-story residential construction sheets that include standard framing, footing, shear wall, fastening, and span details that can apparently be referenced in plan sets for conventional wood-frame structures.

I’m trying to find out whether the City of Sacramento has something similar, accepts standard prescriptive framing sheets/details, or has a preferred approach for simple ADUs.

If anyone has experience with this through Sacramento Building, I’d appreciate any insight. Thanks!

Trying to figure out the first steps I need to take in order to build a dadu from the ground up, but honestly I find myself going in circles.

I see if I build 500sf I can avoid certain fees but I don’t know if its that much of a difference if I just go for the 1200sqft

I also see the concrete slab will cost about the same whether it’s 500sqft or 1200sqft

Is there somewhere I can find out how much I will be paying for all permits?

If I use the Pre-Approved ADU Standard Plans what would be my next step into using those?

Would it be a smart save if I build two 500sqft adus and connect them down the line? My property is eligible for a adu and a jadu.

I see that the LADBS) implemented the Standard Plan Program to provide LADBS customers a simplified permitting process for the design and construction of accessory dwelling units that are built repeatedly, but when I message or call the architects for pricing on their plans they don’t respond, answer, or the email says it’s unavailable.

As you can see I’m all over the place, and will take any help I can get. Thanks!

I’ve been noticing that ADU costs around West LA still surprise people more than almost anything else.

Especially in places like Mar Vista, Rancho Park, Beverlywood, Mid City, Santa Monica, and Culver City.

Rough ranges I keep seeing:

Garage conversion:
$175k–$250k

Detached ADU:
$280k–$400k

Two-story ADU:
$375k–$550k+

The big swings usually come from the boring stuff.

Electrical upgrades.
Sewer location.
Foundation work.
Fire-rated walls.
Access to the back of the lot.
How far utilities need to run.

What looks workable on paper may not fit cleanly on the actual lot.

From what I’ve seen, the biggest difference is early property review.

The practical takeaway is simple: square footage matters, but the lot conditions often decide the real budget.

Curious if other homeowners, designers, or builders around West LA are seeing similar numbers.

We live in CT. We have a ranch home, with a 200 sq ft den off the main living area. We would like to add another 300-400 sq ft and a bathroom off of the den to serve as an in-law/ADU. We received a quote from a contractor for $120k. Does this seem too good to be true or seem reasonable? Also, what is the most cost effective way to fund this?

Edit: we’ve had several contractors come out and this has been the best quote, not necessarily the cheapest. We would first have to get a land survey and soil test since we have septic. We have looked into different financing options, home equity allows us to tap into $84,000 and the rest we would have to come up with. Not sure if it’s possible, especially if there are unforeseen costs. We could do a construction to permanent loan but then we would have to refinance the entire loan. The estimate includes costs for materials, foundation work, obvi labor..

Most homeowners think building an ADU is expensive because of construction costs.
That’s not actually what destroys the budget.
The real killer is bad planning before construction even starts.
I’ve seen people lose:
4–8 months in permitting

tens of thousands on redesigns

huge amounts on utility relocation

money fixing grading/drainage mistakes that should’ve been caught on day one

And the craziest part?
A lot of contractors still bid ADUs without properly analyzing:
setback limitations

sewer connection distance

electrical capacity

soil conditions

access logistics

parking impact

foundation compatibility

That’s why two identical-looking ADUs can have completely different final costs.
One finishes smoothly.
The other turns into a financial bleeding machine.
The homeowners usually blame “construction pricing”…
…but most of the damage started long before the first shovel touched the ground.
ADUs are becoming one of the smartest investments in California right now — but only when the planning phase is done correctly.
Most expensive mistakes in construction happen in silence before construction even begins.

Just found out from my town that they don't allow these! Anyone ever run into this and any other suggestions?

Hey guys! With AB 253, we are now allowed to use a Private Permit Reviewer to handle the permits if the municipality take longer than 30 days on their dashboards (which is pretty much everyone). The problem is this industry has never existed in California before. Are there any licensed architects or engineers interested, even as a side hustle? Let me know because I have some companies that would set up such a business and handle the insurance and bonding if they have the people to do the jobs.