Renovation, Remodel, or ADU: a Guide for Homeowners

While many homeowners use the terms remodel and renovation interchangeably, they have different implications for your home improvement plans. In this article, we’ll share key factors to consider for renovations and remodels, why ADUs may be the best strategy for your home.

What is a renovation?

A remodel changes the structure, layout, or functionality of a room or entire home. Remodels are much bigger in scope and cost more than renovations, and also require hiring a general contractor, specialized experts (e.g., plumbers or electricians), and possibly an architect. Examples of remodeling projects include: home additions, moving bathroom pipes to make space for a washer/dryer unit, knocking down walls to create an open floor plan, changing the layout of a kitchen or bathroom, or expanding closets for extra storage. While remodels are a major undertaking and cost thousands of dollars, certain projects can significantly increase your property value ahead of a resale. Other homeowners remodel to customize their house to their needs or preferences.

Why ADUs may be the right solution for your home

If you’re looking to add square footage to your home, or want to create space for a specific purpose (e.g., hosting guests, a home office, or for family members in need of care), you may want to consider building an ADU instead of remodeling your home. ADU stands for Accessory Dwelling Unit. ADUs are permanent structures that provide a fully-appointed living space in the backyard of an existing residential property. They can range from full custom mini-houses with plumbing fixtures and appliances to a dressed-up garage or shed. You might also know them as a backyard home, granny unit, in-law apartment, guest cottage, carriage house, secondary dwelling unit — the list goes on! Lawmakers in California and Washington recognize ADUs as a vital tool to solve today’s housing crisis, and recently passed a number of initiatives to reduce red tape and streamline approval processes for building ADUs. Because of their relatively simple and affordable construction process, ADUs allow homeowners to quickly increase their property value by adding square footage. And with detached, prefabricated ADUs, homeowners don’t have to turn their house into a construction site or go through the hassle of a remodel.

How Abodu saves you time and minimize stress on ADU construction

If you’ve self-managed a remodel in the past, you know it can be a headache. From dragged-out permitting, lengthy and noisy construction, and financing red tape, the experience is often miserable for homeowners. Enter Abodu. Abodu simplifies the process and minimizes the stress of adding an ADU to your property. When you partner with us, we provide concierge-level service at every step — from permitting and design to off-site construction, delivery, and installation. While there are a lot of ADU builders in the market today, our customers tell us that these qualities make Abodu stand out: Fast timelines: By working with cities to pre-approve permits, we offer drastically shorter project timelines — think 4-6 weeks for permitting, and just 6 months to project completion. Seamless construction process: Prefabricated ADUs mean simpler construction and less disruption at your home — Abodu workers will be in your backyard for as little as two weeks. Beautiful designs: Our collection of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom ADUs boast high-quality Scandinavian design and premium, customizable features. Straightforward pricing: Our ADUs start at $228,800 with no hidden fees. With the Abodu Pricing Guarantee, if the cost of your project changes, we guarantee that we don’t profit from the change. And homeowners can rest assured that Abodu ADUs are built to state building codes to ensure you increase your property value well beyond the cost of the project.

Add an Abodu ADU in 3 steps:

1

Home Visit

We meet you in person to check if your backyard is eligible for an ADU and confirm it’s a great fit for Abodu. 2

Customize build

We handle everything from customized designs to permits prior to building your Abodu home. 3

Delivery install

We walk you through your new Abodu and explain all the features, bells, whistles, and custom details.

Ready to get started? Get in touch!

Whether you need an ADU to provide housing for your college grad or a place to work from home, Abodu will help you get there. We currently offer our full service in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and Seattle. To find out if we can add space at your place, please fill out the Abodu contact form here and we’ll be in touch. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.abodu.com/2022/07/19/renovation-remodel-or-adu-a-guide-for-homeowners)