With several cities across the country passing new laws to remove restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), homeowners have responded by constructing ADUs at a record pace.
One of the fastest and most cost effective ways to get an ADU is by purchasing an ADU kit.
What is an ADU Kit?
An ADU Kit is a kit that contains the basic structure or shell of your ADU such as windows, doors, walls, etc. ADU kits are also known as prefab ADUs, modular ADUs and sometimes manufactured ADUs.
The two most common types of ADU kits are: Unassembled and Pre-Assembled.
Unassembled ADU Kits
Unassembled ADU kits are ADUs that will arrive at your house unassembled. This means that the different pieces to your ADU shell such as the windows, doors and walls will come to your house unassembled and it will be up to you to put them together.
These types of ADU kits do not typically include things such as cabinets, plumbing or appliances and so it will be up to you to purchase or build these things on your own.
If you choose to have your ADU kit delivered to you unassembled you will save some money, but I would recommend you have someone help you to build the structure. As you could imagine it would be quite the task assembling the entire ADU kit on your own.
One of the benefits of choosing this type of ADU kit is that you can obviously save some money by assembling the ADU yourself.
Another benefit is that you have more customization options when compared to the pre-assembled ADUs. This is because it is packaged smaller and therefore it can be shipped more easily allowing for more customization.
ADUs that come pre-assembled can only be made so big because they have to be transported on trucks and therefore need to be tiny enough to one be carried by a truck and two fit the highway the will be traveling down.
Although there are many benefits to ordering an ADU kit that is unassembled, there are also a few things to consider before you make your purchase.
One thing you should consider before ordering an ADU that is not assembled is that it could sit outside your house for several days, weeks or even months. You may have all the pieces to your ADU shipped to you and then not touch for a while.
Although this scenario is unlikely given the investment, it is still a possibility. You may become ill, you may have trouble finding help or depending on where you live, the weather may also delay the construction of your ADU.
Leaving the materials to your ADU outside, without storing them properly, may cause damage to the materials so make sure that if you do not plan on building your ADU right away that you have a plan to properly store the materials so that they do not get ruined outside.
Another thing to take into consideration before purchasing an unassembled ADU is your own abilities in the field of construction. If you are not familiar with building houses, you may struggle putting your home together.
Although all the components for your ADU will be there (walls, windows, doors, etc.), it will still be up to you to assemble them on your own. This will mean screwing the walls together, installing the windows, hanging the doors, hanging drywall, etc.
This does not even include things such as cabinets, plumbing, drywall and appliances that typically do not come with homes that are unassembled.
If you feel confident in your building abilities then assembling your ADU should not be a problem; however, I know for most people this will be a very challenging task to accomplish on their own and you will more than likely need to hire a general contractor in your area to assemble the ADU.
This leads me to my next point; another thing that you should consider when purchasing an unassembled ADU kit and that is that you will need to hire at least one person, if not more to help assemble your ADU.
Attaching walls, hanging doors and installing windows is a lot to ask of one person and so you will need to hire someone to help you move and lift certain objects if nothing else.
The good news is that if you are a capable builder then the labor will be cheap as all you are requiring of your helper will be for them to help you move and lift certain objects.
But if your knowledge of construction is lacking, then you will have to hire someone with greater skill such as a general contractor who can help assemble different parts of your ADU and this will mean more money out of your pocket.
If this sounds like too much work, then maybe a pre-assembled ADU is a better fit for you.
Pre-Assembled ADU
Pre-Assembled or Finished ADU kits are ADUs that will arrive to your house finished and ready to be placed onto the foundation.
Pre-Assembled ADU kits will typically come with cabinets installed, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, flooring, counter tops and a pre-painted interior.
Pre-Assembled ADUs are the quickest and easiest way to owning an ADU. These ADUs will take about two to three months to build on average and can be moved into within days after being delivered.
This is great because this means you do not have to worry about having workers on your property for months as your ADU is being built. Once utilities to your ADU are connected and turned on and your ADU passes inspection, you are good to go.
Another benefit of choosing a pre-assembled ADU kit is that you do not need to worry about designing your ADU; this will be done for you. The builders will often have a variety of ADU designs for you to choose from and all you have to do is choose the size and style that fits your needs. That’s it.
Many companies who sell ADU kits will also help you obtain permits from your city making the process even easier.
ADU kits sound pretty hassle free if you ask me and anytime you can reduce stress when constructing an ADU it is worth it.
Although pre-assembled ADUs are great, there are still a few things you will need to be aware of.
For one, as was touched on earlier, you will be limited on the designs that you can choose from. Since these ADUs will be coming to you pre-assembled on a truck, they cannot be too big or they will not fit coming down the highway.
Another thing to consider is the price it will cost to have the ADU delivered to your house and then installed onto the foundation. Transportation costs are not always included in the price of the ADU kit and neither is the crane that will be required to lift the ADU onto its foundation.
Although there are some that you may need to overcome, Pre-Assembled ADU kits are still the quickest and easiest way to ADU ownership.
Things to Consider Before Purchasing an ADU Kit
Although ADU kits are the easiest option towards owning an ADU, they are not completely worry free. Below are a few things to consider before you purchase an ADU kit:
- Laying your own Foundation
So even though ADU kits will come to you completed or partially completed, they do not come with foundations, this job will be up to you.
According to Homeadvisor.com, the average cost to build a foundation is $4 – $7 per square foot so keep this in mind as you are calculating the price of placing an ADU kit on your property.
- Delivery Costs
Delivery costs can vary greatly depending on the type of ADU kit that you purchase as well as where the company will be delivering the ADU to.
If the company has to travel several hundred miles to deliver your ADU then you can expect the price to be greater than if they were just delivering locally.
Delivery costs are something very important that you will want to discuss with the company you choose to purchase your ADU kit from.
- Renting a Crane
So this can be complicated. As you can imagine these ADU kits will be quite large and more likely than not will require a crane to remove them from the truck that they are delivered on.
Similar to delivery costs, crane rentals may not always be included in the price of your ADU. For this reason, you will want to work with the company that is building your ADU kit to see if you will need to rent a crane to place the ADU in your yard.
If crane rental is something that you will be responsible for then you will want to factor that into what it will cost you to get an ADU on your property.
Final Thoughts
As has already been mentioned several times here, ADU kits are the quickest, easiest, and often most affordable way to getting an ADU onto your property.
There are a few things to consider before purchasing an ADU kit, but overall there is no better option to building an ADU than an ADU kit.