All Forum Posts by: David Edwards

@George Seybolt Not sure what your jurisdiction is like but having unpermitted work can be an issue at time of sale and in my opinion is just a corner being cut unnecessarily. If you are doing anything to the exterior you also run a higher risk of getting red tagged and having to pause the work while you go through the appropriate process which will increase your construction costs. 

I do agree with @Alex Colby in that you should get some real numbers from a contractor so you have a better idea of what the addition will cost, it sounds like you are looking at plumbing as well as exterior work including roofing so there may be a couple trades involved bringing that price up.

Hope that was helpful, Good luck,

@Derek Daun Architects (I'm assuming designers work in a similar fashion for this discussion) tend to price things a couple different ways. One method used is a percentage of construction costs this percentage tends to range from around 4% all the way up to 15+% with the scale of the project inversely effecting the percentage used (bigger projects = lower percentage) after that baseline is established most folks will look back at how long it usually takes to do these projects as well as the client relationship and will adjust accordingly to reconcile these figures. The reason that the price percentage increases on smaller projects is that smaller projects still have a lot of upfront work involved so the time needed to complete properly may not be much less than something bigger. Also, if you get into really big residential work or commercial a 4% (or even less) cut of a big number can support the team size required to complete the work. 

Based on an assumption of the market rate of construction being $250/sf (probably a little low since small projects don't benefit from an economy of scale) it looks like they have you somewhere in the 4.5% range. I don't know how they typically price things but I think your existing relationship may have helped you out on this project. Not saying there isn't always a way to get things done cheaper but if you think the quality of their work is good you may be looking at a deal. 

Hope that's helpful,

Terrane, have used them for multiple site surveys, always provide high quality work and my clients tell me they also come in as the most affordable option. For exterior extents they should have you covered, if you need an interior building survey it can often be tacked onto an architects scope for the new work. 

Hope that helps, 

@Kristjan Schweizer Depending on where you are located your jurisdiction may have a path for permitting of previously un-permitted structures. I'd start by reaching to your local building and planning department and seeing what the process looks like. Sometimes these can be handled as "subject to field inspection" permits but often they will require a set of drawings to both show them what they are inspecting as well as providing a record of the structure. You can reach out to a local architect to help you through this process. I'd budget a few thousand for their time. 

The line the contractor or seller is giving you about not having time to get permits is nonsense but also more common than it should be on budget builds. If they got certain parts of the work inspected (electrical, plumbing) then you are in a better starting position.

If you reach out to the city for help you will be in a way better position than if you get caught sneaking a structure by them when something goes wrong or a neighbor decides it's a problem. 

Feel free to DM if you'd like to discuss further.

@Account Closed I'm an architect from the neighborhood over (greenwood). One thing I'd keep in mind when looking at potential sites is the width of the lot (it changes what your base height limit is for a DADU and can make getting a second level in more difficult) and the maximum lot coverage for the site in question. 

For example, I was recently reviewing a lot where the buyer wanted to understand the constraints of converting a small house into a DADU and then building a primarily residence. The limiting factor for this site was lot coverage which would have limited the new homes footprint to somewhere in the 500sf range. 

I think you are on the right track with the shed roof if you are budget conscious, I've spoken to multiple builders about form and cost and they seem to agree that's the most cost effective option.

Lastly, be prepared for this to cost more than you think it should, for a project this small you lose almost all economies of scale that you could get with a larger project. One architect I'm in regular contact with says she tells clients they should expect to spend 350-450k on a ground up DADU and the last one I sent out to bid came back in at almost $550/sf. 

I think your past experience with less creative architects may have been directly related to their lack of communication. Having conversations throughout the project about the goals and aesthetics can really help the project along. From my experience working in all sorts of firms, the smaller ones are able to be more nimble in their processes and the people you are talking to about the concepts is usually the person who will actually be working on the project.

Also if your architect thinks that the target isn't matching with the project budget its their job to bring this up. Just watering something down to make budget is a quick way to have a confused and disappointed client.

@Scott Christopher, 

Seattle architect here, I'd be happy to have a discussion about your project and see if there's any way I can help you move your project forward. 

I will start by saying that your ability to get those kind if sf prices will be highly dependent on your relationship with contractors. There's a discussion on the forum about Seattle prices (I realize this is slightly different but a starting point) and I've mentioned that if you are paying market you are looking at at a bottom of around 250/sf. People have anecdotally mentioned on the site that when acting as GC 150/sf is achievable but highly dependent on scale and complexity. You also need the time / comfort to manage all of your subs and the additional liability. 

Shoot me a DM if you're interested in getting into the weeds on this.

Best,

@Darren Chang yeah it looks like they basically don't allow DADU's currently. The guest cottage feels like they are thinking of those as detached mother in law suite's. Maybe worth calling the city to confirm but it seems pretty straightforward in the code. As I mentioned, I just skimmed things earlier (gotta protect my time) but section 20.20.120.c spells things out for DADU's pretty clearly. I think the thing I'd be trying to work in a project like this is how they define attached or detached and if there is any room for creativity to get you something like a DADU while still complying. 

Without the ability to have (2) ADU's on site just allowing them attached probably seemed like the best way to act like they were interested in providing a pathway to more density without making it accessible to that many people.

@Darren Chang I just skimmed the code and It looks like there is an owner occupancy requirement for accessory dwelling units (as you mentioned you could in theory live in either). I'm not immediately seeing where the code states that these uses are not able to be rented out but that may be buried in the code somewhere or specific to a certain zone. They do mention that you are not allowed to rent out the owner occupied portion of the site ever. 

Duplex up, with the caveat that I'm assuming you are building on a site with decent soil conditions and that you aren't seeing any issues with the height limits in the your projects zone. Insulated slab on grade is going to be more cost effective and you are going to be able to command higher rents from an above ground unit than one that's partially underground. Moving dirt is expensive if you can avoid it I would.