All Forum Posts by: Dan Adams

It's pretty simple.  The vibe of Biddeford has gone from burning garbage in a decimated downtown, to boutique hotel and trendy restaurants in very few years.
The apartments in town were built for mill workers a long time ago.  There is not space for new buildings.  The quaility of old existing units, and the ability of the long term population to pay new rents, blended with an influx of small high end mill conversion units is simply not balanced.

Thanks for the replies.  I am an experienced renovator, having done work and management on all aspects of my own properties from the foundation up for 18 years.
Since the State laws are new, I'm excited about the possibilities, and looking to chat with other Owner/Builders about the feasibility and pitfalls.
I guess that my biggest open questions are about foundations and waste water management requirements in conjunction with an existing multi family building.  I have not done a lot of research yet, but I imagine that others in town are begining to wonder about their options as well.
Being creative and building are the parts that I'm passionate about, so I'm not interested in cookie cutter designs or paying others to do what I consider to be the fun part.

All of the meetings that I see about ADUs are sponsored by builders who want to sell their ADUs.
Are there others who want to build their own or want to share their experiences about building ADUs / converting outbuilding / navigating codes in Portland that DO NOT involve hiring one of these tiny house start-up companies?

 Me too.  I know that in Biddeford, it seemed like having a proper frost wall foundation was needed to make a garage habitable, or even attaching detached garage to a home. 
Lots of old garages in Maine have little to no foundation, making them a difficult shell to build up.

I attended a Portland panel discussion about ADUs in Maine.  It was high on selling the concept, low on the rules and details, and those rules dont exist yet as far as I can tell. 
I would like to know about or be involved in the discussion.  I'm not sure where that discussion is, and I feel like it's probably being led by builders who may have an interest in making if more difficult for owners to build themselves.