Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by
Adding an additional dwelling unit to your property can be difficult if you are working with the wrong person. The last thing you want is for your ADU costs to be through the roof because your contractor is overly expensive or had costly mistakes. That’s why we put together a quick guide on how to choose the right ADU contractor.
Work With An ADU Professional
Building an ADU is essentially like building a smaller scaled home. So, you need to work with someone who has experience with building houses, not just someone who has put up a shed or two. You should also try to work with someone who has experience building ADUs, not just houses. This is because ADUs have their own sets of regulations surrounding them that ADU professionals will be aware of, but general contractors may not be.
An ADU professional will also be able to help you come up with the best space-saving ideas and find areas where you can save yourself money. Plus, working with a local ADU expert can make the permitting process go by quicker since they probably work with the local government often.
Read More: Six Tips On Hiring The Best Home Remodeling Company
Start With Research
To find the best ADU contractor for the job, start by asking your friends and family who they used to build their ADUs. If no one you know has had a positive experience with an ADU professional, turn to review sites like Yelp to find one. Be sure that the contractor has positive reviews and has experience building ADUs in the area.
Finding The Right Price
Nobody wants to go for the most expensive contractor, and you shouldn’t have to. There are many affordable, high-quality contractors that can get the job done without breaking your budget. However, do not go with the cheapest contractor either. If their prices seem too good to be true, they probably are. The cheapest contractors are usually inexperienced and can make costly mistakes or have hidden fees they don’t tell you about in the beginning. So, we also suggest having a contractor come check out the job in person to get an idea of the full scope of work to give an accurate estimation and be sure to ask them about possible extra fees.
