A garage conversion can be one of the easiest ways to build an ADU on your property. That is if you know what you are doing. That is why we put together these quick 4 tips for garage conversions.
1. Condition Of Your Garage
The first tip is to check the condition of your garage. Is the foundation good? Are the walls structurally sound? If not, doing a garage conversion may end up being more costly for you than doing a new construction ADU. Make sure the garage is in good living conditions, otherwise it might be easier and less expensive to build a detached ADU.
2. Size Of Your Garage
There are ADU size limits you need to be aware of before converting your garage. If your garage is under 150 square feet, it cannot be turned into an ADU without adding square footage. However, it is very unlikely that your garage is this small.
The good news is that it usually doesn’t matter how big your garage is. Since it is a pre-existing structure, there are usually no maximum size limitations for garage conversions.
3. Plan Your Space Well
A big tip for a garage conversion is you need to plan where you will store everything that is currently being stored in your garage. Sure, you may not need to park your car there, but what about your lawn mower, gardening tools, bikes, etc. Anything in your garage right now will have to be stored somewhere else.
If you don’t have anywhere else to store it, you may consider building a small shed on your property as well or only converting a portion of your garage into an ADU.
4. Type Of ADU
Finally, you should consider whether you want to convert your garage into an ADU or a JADU. A JADU must be attached and no larger than 500 square feet. However, an ADU can be attached, but bigger than 500 square feet. JADUs can have shared bathrooms with the house and have different regulations associated with them than ADUs, so keep this in mind when deciding what to convert your garage into.
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