6 Essential Tips When Building a Guest House in Northern California

Are you thinking about adding a guest house to your home? If you’re already thinking about it, you’re about to gain a whole lot of benefits from it! If not, you should start to think about building a guest house because of the benefits it could give you.

Now you may be thinking, what benefits? Well, for starters, you’ll be thinking about the future as your family grows. Substantially increasing your property value.  And also have a long-term investment to earn passive income once it’s built, should you choose to do so.

So why build a guest house? What tips do we have for you? Keep reading and we’ll give you great guest house building tips and ideas for your future accessory dwelling unit.

1. Understand Local Laws

To build a guest house, you have to make sure that there are no laws forbidding the building. You’ll want to look at property laws and zoning laws in your area to find out if you are able to build.

If there are no local laws prohibiting the building of a guest home, you will need to check if there are any laws about the size of the build or how close it can be to your neighbor’s lawn.

You also may need approval from a local board to start the building process.

Once you know that you can build, you are able to plan your layout based on local laws and what you want from your guest house.

2. Come Up With a Layout Before You Start

The second thing you want to do is consider what the guest house is for. Are you planning to have family friends stay there when they come into town? Or are you thinking that your mother-in-law is going to be moving in a few years down the road?

Whatever you have in mind, you want the layout to be conducive to that. For instance, if your mother-in-law is moving in because she no longer can live alone, you should consider a one-floor house so there are no stairs. If that isn’t the case, you could have two floors in the guest house.

You may also want to consider having the kitchen open up to the living room area so that families can visit with one another. This also makes the house look bigger than it really is.

Consider What You Want to Include

This is where the fun starts. What kind of interior are you looking to have?

Do you want a fancy clawfoot tub in the master bathroom or are you keeping it simple with a standard tub and shower? There are plenty of guest house ideas to help you decide what to include. 

You will also want to know what types of rooms you will have in the home, like a movie theater or a small gym, and how many bedrooms you want.

4. Set a Budget

Based on what you want in your home, you will need to consider your finances.

Your budget needs to include projected costs of labor, site work, foundation, permits and fees, cost of materials, and cost of individual items like sinks, tubs, showers, cabinetry, etc.

This budget will help you stick to a plan and not get ahead of yourself. If you see fancy lights or an intricate ceiling design that you know you can’t afford, you’ll be able to look at your budget and say no.

You may even be able to figure out a way to finance the guest home.

5. Plan the Yard and Patio

In addition to planning for the inside, you also want to consider what you want to be done on the outside. This may differ based on the size of the area you have for the build.

You may want to consider building a small porch or patio in the back to create an outdoor area to enjoy nice weather or a morning coffee. You could even put a balcony on the second floor off the master bedroom if you include a second floor!

Creating space for the patio is one thing, but you will also need to think about the type of landscaping you want to go with. If there is a lot of yard space, you’ll be able to enjoy a grassy area. Around the house, you can incorporate colorful flowers or plants that you know will last all year so you don’t have to worry about gardening. 

6. Consider Hiring a Contractor 

Planning the layout, setting a budget, and knowing what you want inside is one thing. But actually doing all of it and building the guest house may be out of your comfort or knowledge zone.

Because of this, it’s always a good idea to look into hiring a contractor. That way, you can rest assured that the home is up to all the codes for your area and the standards that it needs. You also won’t need to go through the frustration that building a home may create. 

Tips for Building a Guest House

Before you finished reading through the first paragraph of this article, you had a pretty good idea that building a guest house would be a sound investment. It’s well worth the time and money put into it.

But now you know that and a few guest house building tips. You can use this new knowledge to start the build.

If you’re ready, you can contact one of our specialists to help you get started building a beautiful guest home!