Adding to Your House with an ADU or Detached Space

With the holiday season approaching, you may be among the many people searching for a little extra space in your home this year. Whether your conundrum involves something as simple as where to put those holiday decorations or as complex as where to put the in-laws – this is the time of year where we all wish we had a little more room.

Building an Acesssory Dwelling Unit (ADU) or detached addition for guests is becoming an increasingly attractive option for many homeowners. Many municipalities are shifting toward more acceptance of ADUs by loosening zoning regulations and lowering permit fees on these structures to help alleviate housing pressure in high-cost areas. Many are even legitimatizing the use of such outbuildings for income via home sharing sites like AirBnB – typically if the owner still resides on the property. Detached guest spaces and ADU’s are some of the most flexible and valuable renovations a homeowner can make on their property – using it for guests, hobbies, workspaces, and income – often all of them together over the course of a year.

Studio Shed’s Summit Series is designed to maximize this flexibility. We offer customizable exterior layouts, which are paired with optimized interior floorplans to create that perfect studio or one-bedroom backyard dwelling unit. While these are becoming some of our most popular and flexible spaces, there are some considerations to make sure they’re right for you:

• Always check local regulations as zoning and occupancy regulations for ADU’s vary widely across the U.S.
• Consider that adding plumbing typically adds complexity to the process. There are many site-specific issues to be addressed, and more planning is involved.
• While zoning for these structures is becoming more relaxed in some areas, energy code requirements and efficiency regulations are typically tightening. Studio Shed has the ability to meet these requirements, but note that modifications to our standard product are sometimes necessary depending on your area.

If you’re a homeowner who doesn’t necessarily want or need the complexity of adding a full ADU to your backyard, there are other great options that leverage the flexibility of a detached backyard structure. Many of our customers have added a Studio Shed home office or creative studio to their backyard, freeing up a bedroom in the home for guests or visiting relatives. With a smaller footprint and no plumbing to connect, the process for these types of installations is very straightforward. Our Signature Series is perfectly tailored for these uses, and our customer experience team has the knowledge to help you through each step of the process.

Finally, with the increasing popularity of finished backyard structures and modular additions, home appraisals are taking account of this type of space. Select Studio Shed customers who have sold their homes have seen their Studio Shed appraise for approximately 1.5x the price they paid for the structure. It’s one of the highest returns on investment of any remodel project.

So, if this holiday season is making you acutely aware of needing a little extra elbow room – give us a call. At Studio Shed, we like to think we’re making the holiday season just a bit more harmonious for our customers – one backyard at a time.