Question & Answer webinar with How To ADU and BuildZig
California’s sheltering in place this week, so we took the opportunity to start offering virtual Q&A sessions for our subscribers.
The first thing I learned…
Running this website and speaking to hundreds of people building ADUs in California taught me one thing very quickly. Every project is unique, and everybody is at a different step in the process with its own questions and challenges.
That’s why we were very excited to get two experts from BuildZig come in and speak to our subscribers about their specific questions.
Who are these ADU experts?
Laura Blair is a member of the California Bar and the COO of BuildZig. She has significant expertise in a number of fields including land use (her legal specialization) as well as planning and permits (often referred to as entitlements).
Carlos Plazola is the CEO of BuildZig and a licensed general contractor. He’s served as Chief of Staff for the Oakland City Council and was an economic development advisor under Jerry Brown. He’s built close to a hundred projects in the last ten years ranging from everything from small ADU additions to midrises and manufacturing facilities.
Together, Laura and Carlos have created a one-stop shop to get consumers from planning through construction to completed projects. And that makes them very good people to talk to for homeowners like How To ADU subscribers.
We're very grateful that Laura and Carlos are sharing their experience with our subscribers, and we hope you'll take advantage of the opportunity to advance your own ADU project.
The webinar was very informative and we thought we’d share the video recording here for others to benefit.
What ADU topics did we discuss?
Accessory Dwelling Unit topics - Timestamp in video
Laura Blair went over the ABC’s of ADU’s - 14:05
What makes costs vary so much? - 28:30
What’s included in the cost of $200-$500 / sq ft?
What’s possible at $200/sq ft?
What drives costs up unexpectedly?
Are there any ways to make your costs more predictable?
What are the setback and size restrictions for detached ADUs? Is there a maximum percentage of your lot that can be covered? - 35:45
Minimum set backs and lot coverage requirements
Can the accessory unit be larger than the primary house?
What are the new rules starting in January 2020? - 37:50
My property has been in two different cities over time. Who do I talk to at the city? - 40:36
Have you noticed cities or counties leading the pack to make ADU construction easier? - 44:35
Can I do a garage conversion and add on to it - can I combine my garage easement and a new foundation for the add-on? - 49:20
What if your foundation is brick or appears to be brick? - 54:15
Lots of great questions. We’ll be breaking some of the most popular questions out into their own articles.
Please share this article and the recording with friends and family looking into building an Accessory Dwelling Unit.
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