If you don’t mind my asking, how much did the entire addition cost — fees and permits, design/architectural work, engineering, materials, labor, etc? Also, what are the specifics: attached/detached, size?
We would be interested in doing the same thing when (if??) we buy.
Thanks![/quote]
Our case was about as atypical as possible.
We built a detached companion unit – 700sf. Handicap accessible. A very nice looking “casita”.
Architecture – free. My husband is a registered architect.
It was on a slope, so we had civil engineering – 11k for the civil plan
4k for structural (2k building related, 2k for retaining walls)
10k for geotechnical (aka dirt).
If we had a level lot – you could eliminate the geotechnical, civil, and 2k of the structural… Engineering would have been 2k instead of 25k.
Permits – again atypical because we had the hill issues and had to get a civil permit and a separate permit for the retaining walls that hold the building site in place. The building permit was probably $30k, the others were a lot less. Oh and because of the retaining wall footings, we triggered a CalOSHA permit requirement. (Not at all typical.)
Judging by your screen name, I presume you’re renting. If you plan to do this, make sure the home you buy has a big enough lot. In San Diego (city) you need to have double the nominal size for your zone… In our case we needed at least a 10k sf lot since the nominal was 5k. Our lot was big – but on a canyon – so we had the added expense of grading/retaining walls. Unincorporated county has completely different rules. You’ll want to check what the requirements are for a companion unit for whatever city you buy in. San Diego probably has the most restrictive.
But – it’s worked out well (except financially)… my mother in law finds it much easier to care for my wheelchair bound father in law in a house that was designed handicapped accessible from the start. And my kids get to spend quality time with their grandparents – which is HUGE.
