If you hope for a successful ADU development project, the design and planning phase is a crucial step that must be completed prior to hiring a contractor. During this phase, you will plan, analyze, and establish the anticipated needs and hurdles for your project. Design and Planning of an ADU includes all parties involved, owners, designer, engineers as well as feedback from potential contractors.

To execute your project, a set of ADU plans and drawings are required on the construction site, to define the production details into bid documentation such as the materials to be used. ADU plans and drawings produced in the form of detailed floor plans, elevations and sections.

ADU plans will convey concept, ideas, construction details and other specifications required on the site by the contractor to execute the design as per the defined specifications. ADU plans also act as a record for the owner.

Sometimes, in a hurry to complete an ADU development project or in an attempt to save money owners will hire a contractor to issue their ADU plans in a way that it is part of the construction agreement, however, this might lead to ADU plans done to the contractor needs and not to owners wishes. These ADU plans might be such that saves on construction cost that contractor benefits from or doesn’t take into account other aspect that might increase costs and owner will carry those.

It is highly recommended that design and planning of an ADU will be done by a design professional hired directly by the owner and is not tied into the construction agreement in any way. Getting low-cost or free ADU plans from a contractor in most cases will result in higher construction costs.