Welcome Home
A holistic backyard upgrade
Welcome Home is a series where we share stories from clients detailing their motivations and reflections on their ADU journeys. We hope their experiences and insights will enrich your exploration and help shape your vision.
When a Berkeley family needed to expand their 1,200 square foot home, going the traditional route of designing an addition proved both cost-prohibitive and arduous for permitting. With minimal space available in the backyard, which already included a sizable deck, Type Five helped re-imagine the entire area as an extension of the main home. The result is a 328 square-foot ADU with a large new deck that seamlessly connects the ADU to the main home. Homeowner Jeroen uses the ADU as a serene, sunny office, allowing him to separate work from family life.
What inspired you to build this ADU?
It was a change in the family. We recently had a baby, so we were looking into ways to create more living space. We first talked to a number of architects to see if we could expand the existing house, and that turned out to be not feasible. The other option was to sell the house and find something else, which in Berkeley is very difficult. I also work in Berkeley and I can walk to my office, so giving up this quality of life would have been difficult. We like the neighborhood we’re in, especially now that we have a child. There’s playgrounds around, and it's safe and clean.
Fortunately, we have a neighbor who works in construction and he recommended Type Five to us. We had a conversation with them about doing an ADU and felt immediately very excited about the idea and realized it would be a much better option than trying to expand the house or build a second floor or something like that. It also just so happens that the Type Five office is right around the corner for us, so it was really appealing to work with a company that is so close by. All of that combined made us decide to opt for an ADU.
What motivated you to begin this process?
We were lucky because Berkeley and California made it easier to build ADUs a couple years ago. Before that, I don't think it would have been possible to build this in our garden, which is not very big. Luckily, we barely made it. Our garden is just big enough for an ADU.
As you started to think about building something, were there any design features or qualities that were essential for you?
As I mentioned before, we have a relatively small backyard and a big deck so the main focus was to make sure we could design the ADU and deck in a way that would still leave us some garden space. And I must say that Type Five was a great partner in this respect. They not only helped us design the ADU, but also sat down with us and looked into how to reorganize the deck and the garden. And so it was the total picture. That was very valuable to us.
How was the experience working with Type Five for the design phase?
A very good experience. What I really appreciated was the fact that we didn't just discuss the building of the ADU in itself, but the broader picture of the entire space, like how the ADU would fit in the backyard, what would be the best position in relationship to the house, and even how we could improve our backyard space through the building of the ADU.
The main focus was to make sure we could design the ADU and deck in a way that would still leave us some garden space. And I must say that Type Five was a great partner in this respect.
How was the permitting process?
It was very smooth and I'm very glad that I didn't have to do any of it myself. Type Five was very helpful in getting the necessary permits, so it was very easy. One aspect that initially concerned us when we discussed changing the existing house and adding a room with architects was the permitting process, which seemed to be a major headache. With the ADU, it was so much simpler and easy to get all the permits.
That’s a good point. With an ADU, you don't have to go through the whole community design review that an addition would require.
Yeah, exactly. With hindsight, if I can give one recommendation to the people who want to add more square footage to their homes, it’s to think twice before you hire an architect to design an addition to your house, because it’s a very complicated and expensive process. An ADU is a much simpler and straightforward process, and it's also much faster.
How was the construction phase?
Very smooth. We were also in the luxurious position where I was able to take a five-month sabbatical abroad in Munich this summer, which allowed us to have the ADU being built while we were not here. We avoided having to deal with the noise during construction. My in-laws came by periodically to check in on how things were going.
And you were able to stay in touch with the Type Five team to make decisions while you were abroad?
Yeah. Easily. That was very, very easy.
What's your favorite thing about your ADU?
A couple of things. We're very happy that there's a lot of light in the ADU. Initially, one of our concerns was that the space might be too dark, but then, when we saw Type Five’s design, which included large windows and doors that could also serve as windows, we realized there would be plenty of daylight inside the ADU. This was a big plus for us. I need that because I need to read books and write a lot of articles for my work, so having daylight is essential.
The other thing I love is that having a baby and needing to read and write a lot for work is often a challenge, so being able to transform the ADU into my working space allowed me to be in an environment where I can better concentrate. And we were able to transform what used to be my office inside the house into our daughter's room. So that's a big plus.
Any additional advice you would give someone interested in building an ADU?
I would want to stress the importance of thinking not just about the ADU in itself, but also about the way it will transform your garden or backyard, like how it will look in relation to the existing house, and how it will change the garden and what you can do to fit it in nicely and create a harmonious unity.
