Notes on planning a second unit
Longer reads on the decisions that come before a build: cost, who to hire, how to pay for it and how the work is organized.
Notes on planning a second unit
How to Pick an ADU Builder in Los Angeles
The builder you choose shapes the cost, the schedule and how many people you deal with. A planning-minded way to compare the options and check the people behind them.Read the note
ADU Construction Cost in Los Angeles, Line by Line
An ADU budget is a set of separate lines, and the type you pick moves every one of them. Here is how the lines work and what pushes each one up or down.Read the note
ADU Financing: Loans, HELOCs and Cash-Out Compared
Paying for an ADU is a planning question as much as a money question. How the main financing routes compare, and what every lender will want to see from the project.Read the note
Design-Build vs Hiring an Architect and a Contractor
Two ways to get from an idea to a finished building, with different handoffs and different points where the budget can slip. A plain comparison, with ADUs and additions in mind.Read the note
Before you plan a unit
It depends on the lot. A detached unit needs open yard and a path for utilities, an attached one needs a wall of the house to build against, a garage conversion needs a sound structure, and a JADU needs a room inside the home you can give up. We look at all four before recommending one.
On many single-family lots, state law allows both. Whether yours does depends on the zone and the layout, so we confirm it in the lot review before drawing either one.
Yes. We prepare the drawings, submit them, answer the plan check corrections and pull the permit. During the build we schedule each inspection through final.
Not always. Some units share the main house's water and power, others get separate meters. It is a cost and a rental decision, and we lay out both options for your lot before you choose.
Find out what your lot can hold
Give us the street address and a line about the unit. You hear back with the ADU types that fit and what each one involves.