ADU & Room Additions

Considering options to expand your home’s square footage may lead you to the debate of ADU vs. room addition. Both methods are great ways to accommodate a growing family or meet new household needs. Determining if an ADU or room addition is right for you can be challenging. Neither project is easy to complete, as they both require a lot of labor, resources, and time. Therefore, there are a few questions you must ask yourself.

Home Addition Methods

When your home no longer meets your family’s needs, it’s time to consider either moving or expanding your existing home. Moving to a new house can be very expensive, whereas a home addition can be a cost-saving solution.

Home additions can be approached in various ways, including building an ADU or adding a new room. Other methods include converting existing rooms, adding a second story, or creating bump-out additions.

ADUs and room additions are common methods used to create additional space. However, choosing between the two comes down to understanding your specific needs as a homeowner and for your family.

ADU vs Room Addition

ADUs, or Accessory Dwelling Units, are smaller secondary structures on the same single-family lot as the main living structure, ranging from 500 to 12000 square feet. They can be located inside the main structure or be attached to or detached from it. In California, it’s important to consider why you would choose an ADU over a room addition. ADUs are essentially small houses or apartments and are permanent structures with a living area, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

If you need to expand your home for a new family member, like a child, an ADU wouldn’t be suitable. In this case, you simply need a bedroom. The same applies if you need an extra bathroom or desire a true master bedroom in your home.

An ADU wouldn’t be the right solution for these needs. Instead, a traditional room addition would be the perfect choice. Room additions are constructed to add a single room to a home, such as bathrooms, bedrooms, sunrooms, closets, or larger kitchens. A room addition is ideal for addressing the need to add a single room for a specific requirement.

Building an ADU is the perfect choice for individuals who value independence, such as an elderly family member or a college student. It provides everything they need without relying on the primary structure. Once the resident no longer needs the ADU, it can be utilized as a source of passive income by renting it out to a permanent resident or using it for visiting guests.