Backyard Cottage 101

It is often the case that the house that we once bought is no longer enough to place all the dwellers living in it comfortably enough, which is why homeowners usually start to think about the ways that they can increase their living space.

One option is to simply buy a bigger house and sell your current one, but it is not usually something that you could consider simply because you do not have enough money for that. You could also try to make a home addition project together with a professional remodeling company, but chances are that you cannot place your family somewhere else for the period of time during which the project is done.

An alternative possibility that usually satisfies most homeowners would be to build Accessory Dwelling Units on your property land. ADUs are also called backyard cottages, which implies that they would take the form of a small house that would be created on the rest of your property land either independently from the main dwelling or by sharing a wall with it.

There are multiple different types of ADUs that you can create, as well as lots of possible reasons why you might need one, so in case you would like to learn more about this opportunity; we would suggest you keep reading this article!

Backyard Cottages and Their Types

First of all, you need to understand that backyard cottages, or ADUs, are not some small houses that you saw or heard about: they would not allow you to move together with them across the country, and they have their own size limitations dictated by the local authorities.

Backyard cottages are created for reasons that are not similar to the ones for which tiny homes are made. Instead of great mobility and living conditions that are not as great as they could have been, ADUs are usually made in order to increase the amount of space near the main dwelling of the family. ADUs can be used as a private space for your teenage kids, as a dwelling that you can rent out, or as a house where you can put your elderly so that you can take care of them.

As for the types of backyard cottages that you can build on your property, let us cover the two major categories under which all other kinds of ADUs fall, detached and attached ones:

Detached Backyard Cottages

The most popular type of Accessory Dwelling Unit is a detached one: it is still built on your property land but separately from your main dwelling, which means that it can act as a small independent house that you could use to place your teenagers, elderly, guests, or tenants.

However, it is quite logical that as detached backyard cottages stand independently on your property land, the budget that you will need for building them will be bigger than for the attached ADUs. Therefore, many of those who still think that they need to build a detached backyard cottage do so with an understanding that they will need to rent it out for some time in order to return the money initially invested into the project.

Attached Backyard Cottages

In comparison with detached backyard cottages, attached ones are not as independent, meaning that they will share one of their walls with the main dwelling located on the property land.

Attached ADUs are a great idea for those of you who cannot make a home addition project for some reason but still need to expand your living space in order to give your kids some privacy or create some entertainment place that would allow you to relax while working or nursing the kids inside the house.

Attached backyard cottages would be a bit cheaper to create in comparison with detached ones, but this fact has its setbacks as well. For instance, it is much harder to rent the place out when it is attached. Putting the amenities inside an attached ADU could also be a harder task in some cases.

Therefore, when thinking about the type of Accessory Dwelling Unit that you would like to build on your property land, think about the amount of extra living space that you need to add, the budget that you can afford, the size of your property land that is available for new constructions, and the zoning restrictions that were placed by your local authorities.

Why Building Backyard Cottages?

As we have already covered, backyard cottages are always a good idea for those who need to increase the amount of living space available on their land, especially if other home addition options cannot be implemented in your case. What is more, as this would be a project that would take place outside of your main dwelling, you would not need to move your family out of the house for the construction process.

In addition, you need to remember that backyard cottages are quite versatile homes that you can use throughout your life for multiple purposes. Hence, you can initially build it in order to take care of your elderly, but then give this place for some of your guests to live in or for your kids to have a private place where they could safely spend some of their free time. And once the ADU is no longer needed by anyone, it could act as a great storage space that would allow you to declutter your main dwelling or keep some of the seasonal stuff in there.

Another great opportunity that backyard cottages provide to you is the chance to increase your income. Accessory Dwelling Units, especially the detached ones, could be rented out quite successfully, therefore allowing you to return back some of the money that was spent on the project in the first place.

Building an ADU would also increase your property value, meaning that you could then sell your land for a higher price. However, please remember that as your backyard cottage would be placed on your already existing land near the main dwelling, it would all be considered to be one property, meaning that you cannot sell your ADU separately from your house. If this is what you want, other options would need to be considered.

As you can see, ADUs can bring many benefits to you; you just need to understand which ones are actually necessary for you so that you would not waste your money on a backyard cottage that would not be used by anyone!

A+ Construction & Remodeling Backyard ADU Cottages

At A+ Construction & Remodeling, our expertise extends to the creation of exquisite prefab ADUs. Not only are these accessory dwelling units cost-effective, but they also allow for faster construction times. As one of the pioneering prefab ADU builders in Sacramento, we’ve made it our mission to provide homeowners with a seamless and enjoyable construction experience. Our prefab accessory dwelling units embody modern design elements, energy efficiency, and functionality, designed to enhance the homeowner’s lifestyle and the property’s overall appeal.