Preventing ADU Errors
When constructing an ADU, it is important to be aware of common mistakes people make so that you don’t make them yourself. Preventing these ADU errors will not only save you time but also money on your project.
Educate Yourself
The best thing you can do to avoid common ADU mistakes is to educate yourself on the different laws and regulations for your specific community.
Most of the time, people make errors surrounding the feasibility of their project. They do not look into the different regulations such as:
- Essential aspects (kitchen, bathroom)
- Height requirements
- Setback requirements
- Square-footage requirements for different rooms
By not doing so, they waste time designing and submitting a proposal for approval that will not be approved. Worse though, is that they may make the mistake of beginning to build before approval and face penalties afterward.
Work with Professionals
The cheapest option is always the most expensive option in the long run. Just because a contractor or designer has an amazingly low price, doesn’t mean they are going to be saving you money.
Often, these cheap individuals are unlicensed and uninsured. They tend to add extra fees later down the line that they didn’t mention in the beginning. They also like to take their time and may not build the unit correctly, resulting in wasted time/money as well as the need for a professional contractor to come in and fix their mistakes later on.
Spend Adequate Time in the Design Process
The design process is just as, if not more important as the construction phase. In the design process, you should go through every aspect of your ADU, and have it decided before you start any construction.
You need to take into account who the ADU is being built for and what their potential growing needs will be. Are they going to have children? Are they older and need adjustments to help with their mobility and ease of life? These are important considerations to think through in the design process.
Never leave anything to figure out later. That is how you end up overspending and missing things.
