Denita, thanks. I see that some of the info was hidden under "More Comments". The term ADU isn't in my vocabulary, either.

With that said, more input!

12. Does your community require a second exterior door? Do both bedrooms also have egress window capabilities?

13. Put the fridge at the other end of your cabinetry, otherwise it's gonna seem like it's in the living room.

14. Where are you putting the kitchen trash/recycling/compost? This might sound like a minor detail, but a standard plastic trash bin from Walmart and a small box for recycling take up several square feet at the end of my kitchen cabinet run.. All these little things add up!

15. Don't eat up kitchen space with the 2nd bedroom closet; space for the kitchen is at a premium, and a kink in a room wall is always awkward IMO. Consider a bare minimum shower in the 2nd bathroom, with the extra for a closet accessed from the bedroom.

16. Linen storage?

A kitchen set up like your current plan looks more or less like this (NB these are not standard size appliances). Add a spacer directly to the right of the stove, 'cos that corner cabinet is awkward to open. Note how there's almost no lower cabinet space for pots, pans, mixing bowls, Crock pots..., but this is about the footage of your plan. Most of the lower cabinet space is under the sink.

[Side note: this is NOT my house.]

In case you're wondering, yep, that's a couch you see encroaching on the kitchen.

ADU = Accessory Dwelling Unit

This is a common but technical term in real estate. It means a secondary 'house/apt' on a given lot. Not many locations around my area allow them unless they are attached to the main house, but others areas allow detached ADU's in their zoning. As I understand the OP's post, he has the main house already and is planning for a detached ADU for the future.

@ tangerinedoor

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions.

1. The walls are 2x4 framing

2. The 800 square is located in California. The concept of mud room does not exist here, but it is a great idea. If I have the space, I will put mud room and double doors as entrance.

3. I have 25' deep for the kitchen and living space. I think 8' couch should be fine.

4. The space in the hallway is for closet. I am trying to separate the sleeping area for the living space by having the hallway.

5. All interior doors are 30". Exterior doors are 36"

6. Tank-less water heater mounted outside. Ductless mini-split for heating and cooling. No solar panel plan, but the electrical panel will be setup ready for the solar hookup with the connection in the attic.

Can you share the layout of your 700 sq. ft. I just curious to see how can you fit mud room there.

Again, Thank you for taking the time and pointing out the little details :). Looking forward for your 700 sq.ft floor plan.

Happy New Year !!

My "mudroom" is behind the front door when it opens.

FWIW I have a hard time getting the mini split to manage all the rooms, even though it's situated to do just that, and I have no hallways.

You're planning on an attic? You could add a loft?

@tangerinedoor

Thanks. I am planning on 10' wall with an attic. If the mini split does not work, then I will install whole A/C system and put the furnace in the hallway next to the Washer/Dryer closet.

FYI, the Living room will be 13' x13' and kitchen will be 13' x 12'.

If you do not mind, please share you floor plan.

Thanks,

Here is the latest version per suggestions from @cpartist and others

1) Resize the master bathroom

2) Redid the hallway bathroom to use 36"x36" shower

3) Added closet by the entry so no one runs into the door by accident. That will reduce the area. I never seen door that does not open next to wall. I might be wrong. !!Open to suggestions!!

4) Removed the closet from the kitchen for bedroom #1

Kitchen Area 13'-1 1/2" x 12'-0"

Living Area 13'-1 1/2" x13'-0"

Suggestions and feedback please!!

Thank you and Happy New Year!!

Since you live in California and you already have a patio planned, have you thought about a set of living room windows like this (also in California)? It would make the living room seem much larger than it actually is, and it can be left open if temperatures allow. That's the front door on the far left.

This little house also has the kitchen squished into the far end: IMO it's kinda lost back there. You can see the whole thing at smallhousebliss.com. Apologies to them for taking screen shots. The other rooms might give you a sense of scale.

The floor plan for my house. Note: Because my house is netZero, 100% solar, and hyper-efficient, I have features that don't apply to yours. For instance, I have a mandatory 5x6 utility room that houses a huge water heater that runs off the heat pump, a CERV which manages the air exchange (this house audited as super tight!), and the solar panel. The house has 10" thick exterior walls.

The extra thick wall in the middle is also required. No corridors. The hallway extends the living room space.

The master only has room for a full bed, not a queen, since a queen is too long: you'd walk right into the bed as you entered. The 2nd bedroom will take a twin, and is the smallest allowable configuration in this State.

If I had more space, I'd have allocated it to the living room. Everywhere else I can make do. No vanity in bathroom so the sink can be approached by a walker.

The 2nd exterior door is mandatory in my state. I have to have egress windows in both bedrooms.

My front door does not open against a wall. The "mudroom" is behind it. It has no door; it's for hanging coats and taking off shoes.

My home uses helical piers, by the way, not a traditional foundation or pad. They are used in bridges and lighthouses (global warming, storm runoff, 'n' all), and are supposed to minimize damage in earthquakes (we don't have a history of those around here, but perhaps you do?).

Something else to think of... I installed extra conduit to the outside and purchased a larger-than-currently-needed electric panel so I can charge an electric car, if I want to later. I would be able to charge the car off solar.

You had it almost perfect and all you needed to do is make the bathroom smaller. That's it!

Now the closet in the second bedroom is useless except to store stuff on shelves. Or for maybe two or 3 shirts.

In the hallway I'd rather have one large closet that can be divided inside than two small useless ones.

Now where in the second bath do you plan to put the toilet and the sink?

I hope all that helps!

On your new plan, make the master bathroom 4 inches longer and the 2nd bathroom 4 inches scooched towards the 2nd bedroom. These are standard minimums (5x8 IIRC). The closet in the 2nd bedroom only needs to be 2 feet deep plus wall, so get an extra 4" from there, and maybe the rest will work out.

Good job on the kitchen! You've given your inhabitant a substantial amount more of cabinet space! Move the stove a little to the left, so you don't have it in that awkward corner. That corner is tricky because the handle on the stove sticks out.

cpartist....a closet might be required in the 2nd bedroom for it to qualify as a bedroom. Here it is.

Give the 2nd bathroom a window.

Thanks @cpartist & tangerinedoor for the suggestions.

Here you go, I hope I did not screw things up again :).

Again, thank you so much!!.

Sam Ad: You put the closet back in the kitchen and restored the tub to the 2nd bathroom?

Is it OK to have the entry door does not open against a wall?

Thanks,

@tangerinedoor

Yes, I could not find a place to put the closet so I put it back in the kitchen and restored to tub in the outside (bath #2)bathroom.

Please let me know you thought on that. I am in the learning process.

Thanks

You don't have to have any doors against a wall; it sometimes works better that way, sometimes not.

It sounds like you wanted a bath tub, not a shower, in Bathroom #2. If that's the case, the layout you have is prolly the best. Most people don't use tubs any more. That might be a good detail to research and decide later.

@tangerinedoor

Thanks!!. I kept the tub as an option in case there are small children that needs to take a shower with the help of the parents. So combination of a tub and shower will be a good idea.

In your bathroom is that bathtub or a shower? I guessing it is shower, otherwise, it will not be ADA friendly.

Thanks,

My bathroom is an ADA bathroom (full 5 feet diameter for wheelchair turnaround). It has a curbless shower 5x3 or so. The shower I got wasn't that expensive, by the way.

The biggest problem with a tub/shower is the risk of tripping (the biggest cause of accidents in a home). Not too many people actually use a tub these days.

However, I will say that, because it doesn't have a tub, my bathroom is technically described as 3/4, not full. I haven't ever met anyone who didn't like it, though! Lots of people want one.

@tangerinedoor

Thanks!!. Which curbless shower did you get? Can you share the link? I was not aware of curbless shower concept. I know that to make it curbless, you add put tile (1x1) and drain in the middle. I just learnt something new today. Thank you!!

Thanks,

Curbless showers can be designed many ways. I wanted a fancy one, but for budget reasons had to settle for one the builder managed to find. It's not exactly pretty, but absolutely fine. It came with grab bars, shower head, drain, and shower curtain bar pre-installed. I don't believe it took anything fancy to install it. It is NOT tile. It installs in one piece, like other kinds of showers. This is not fancy building; it's basic.

I can walk right into it. No curb to trip on.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the manufacturer name is. IIRC the whole shebang cost around $800, my price, not builder cost.

I substituted a rain shower head and hand-held so I have a little luxe... Loving it..

********

Related...

If you're looking at bathroom fixtures for age-in-place or ease of use, consider levers, not taps. Taps have to be twisted..this can be difficult for people with arthritis. One lever controls hot and cold water. Super easy. There are a lot of little things like this that won't add to your costs, but may make your "granny cottage" more user-friendly for all kinds of people.

@tangerinedoor

Thank you so much. I learned something new about the levers instead of taps. My father in law mentioned once that I should use lever for the bathroom doors knobs so it is easy to open if you hands are wet or have lotion. I followed his advice. Never thought about the fixtures.

Just curious, did you design your house or have an architecture do the layout? It seems that you thought about everything.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year

My shower is also curbless. We had it built by the builder and tile guy. Also the hand held shower bar is an ADA grab bar and we added blocking in the walls for more grab bars if needed.

@cpartist

Thanks. I noticed you are using levers for the shower instead of taps. You must thought about it. @tangerinedoor suggested to user lever instead of taps. Good thinking!!

By the way, Thank you for your feedback and suggestions through the thread. I do really appreciate it.

Happy New Year from California!!

Yep. Sam Ad, I'm crazy enough to try to think of everything! I learned basic concepts from my builder, visited some homes he had already built, and then went at it! His "designer" (cough, cough) did the drawings. I never imagined I could design a house....

The builder had never built a house quite like this, but he's loved the whole project.

I will say, though, that I had plenty of time for the learning curve. It took a few months to find a lot, there was a Govt shutdown, I knew my lot through 4 seasons, there were delays in getting prices, etc. I had about 1 1/2 years between when I dreamed up I could buy a house (less than rent) and final inspection.

Keep in mind, the home had to be built on a VERY low budget and it had to be appraisable for the cost of construction plus lot. Very difficult for a 700 square foot house. No appraisal, no house. Figuring out where to compromise and where not to (e.g. it had to have 2 bedrooms for appraisability) was one of the hardest things about the design.

If you'd like one, I can probably come up with a little list of adaptations I used for age-in-place that pretty much didn't cost anything over standard. Message me.

@cpartist

Thanks. I noticed you are using levers for the shower instead of taps. You must thought about it. @tangerinedoor suggested to user lever instead of taps. Good thinking!!

When my Mom was in her mid 50's she and my Dad sold their beloved colonial and bought a ranch house. My Mom loved colonials and at that time being in my late 20's I asked her why they were buying a ranch since it obviously wasn't her favorite style. She mentioned that she wasn't getting any younger and they wanted a house they could age into. They too added levers instead of door knobs, one flooring throughout, etc.

When Mom turned 72, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Because she had done as much as possible to make the house work in their "golden" years, she was able to live in the house until the last 6 months of her life.

After watching my Mom go downhill and then my Dad, I too tried to make our new build as ADA friendly as possible. Levers throughout although I love glass knobs. No change in flooring levels and with the exception of the bathrooms and friends' entry all floors are wood.

Hallways wide enough for a walker and a wheelchair. (The wheelchair actually tested out with a friend who needs one full time.)

Doorways that are 3' wide.

My master bath was designed so while we do have a separate toilet room, if it ever becomes a burden, it will be easy to change it so it's open and easier to use for someone with a disability.

Same with the tub. That area can become a sitting area or just extra room for maneuvering into the shower.

No threshold shower.

Blocking for grab bars in the shower and in each bathroom by the toilet.

Lots of windows.

A door from the master out to the backyard.

And because we're on a small lot and our guest room and my studio are upstairs, we built in an elevator.

By the way, Thank you for your feedback and suggestions through the thread. I do really appreciate it.

Happy New Year from California!!

You're very welcome. Happy New Year from Florida.

My list is almost the same as cpartist's, even to the doors and windows.

Also: lower the light switches; lower the upper kitchen cabinets; test the fridge to make sure you can see to the back of the freezer; knobs on front of stove, not back; c-shaped pulls on cabinets; extra sockets in kitchen in case MW needs to be countertop; pullouts in kitchen cabinets; extra wide stoop and front steps.

I'm still having trouble visualizing how you could get 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a roomy kitchen/living room in 800 square feet, when I know what I have for 700 square feet. Itty Bitty. I realize my walls are prolly thicker (10 inches), but still. And I did note the math on your plan!

@tangerinedoor

Do you think the layout for 800 square feet is not age in place friendly? I am planning on walk-in showers, no tubs in both bathrooms. The hallway is 3' wide and the doors are 30". Main entrance is 36".

Please advise.

Thanks,

Your design is VERY age-in-place friendly! I just can't figure out how you can squeeze that all into 800 feet, 'cos it sure looks like you got a whole lot more in than I could!

Layout the bathroom(s) and see how close you are to age-friendly in one of them. That's really the only place where I can foresee an issue. Put blocking in all four bathroom walls for the age-in-place bathroom so you can add grab bars later. Make sure there's a hand shower as well as overhead (mine simply toggles). Leave room for a wall grab bar beside the toilet. A suitable toilet would be "comfort-height".

Light over the shower to minimize tripping.I seem to have 3 lights in my bathroom: over the vanity, over the shower, and overhead.

I have a wall-mount sink in the bathroom so you can get close with a walker. Do NOT use a mini sink; they are unreachable with a walker/wheelchair.

To make the bathroom roomy, I had to use a barn door (no swing). I looooove my barn door (so does pretty much everyone who's seen it). When I'm here alone, I just leave it open. Great air circulation ('cos I have a CERV and heat pump), just like the rest of the house. If I had a master, I'd use the barn door on the master bathroom, and make that bathroom the accessible one.

In your design, I would also consider French doors facing the porch, and a lot of other windows besides. The house will look bigger inside, and sometimes people get house-bound and need a chance to see out, watch birds, etc.. My windows are gigantic. If I were chairbound or bedbound, I could see out, easily. I have almost nowhere to hang art, the windows are so big. In the summer, I might have to shade them with a sail; I dunno yet. People also put on those little modern metal awnings to shade the windows.

Before I forget, add a second exterior door if code requires it. My doors have big windows.

My interior doors are 36", but you might not have room?

Do you think the layout for 800 square feet is not age in place friendly? I am planning on walk-in showers, no tubs in both bathrooms. The hallway is 3' wide and the doors are 30". Main entrance is 36".

30" doors are not wide enough. 32" should be the minimum especially for aging in place.

Additionally, while I would definitely put in the hallway, make sure it's not a supporting wall so that if you ever need a wider hallway (42" is better), you can take out the wall between hall and living room.

I think you can buy doors for 33" (32" might be more expensive? whaddo I know?) standard.

FWIW walk-in shower is the same size as a standard tub. It makes the bathroom roomy-looking, though.

Be sure there's railing etc. on the front porch (even if you use hog wire); my grandfather tipped backwards from a chair off the porch 'cos he was too cheap to have a rail. Fatal.

Woah...doublecheck the dimensions of your bedrooms. Consideration that I wasn't noticing. On Bedroom #2 (master?), there's a closet the length of the room. (Nonetheless, it's crucial!) It will take up approximately 2 1/2 feet for depth. That's going to shrink the width of the room. Is it going to be wide enough for the size bed you want? AND for someone to walk around the bed? AND for someone else to tuck said person into bed? AND for the closet doors to open? AND for the occupants to get into the bathroom?

I have a canopy window over my bed, by the way, for privacy and so I can sit in bed and not be in a window. Like this:

Extension & Renovation in Watson, ACT · More Info

For scale, that's prolly a Queen bed.

I muddled over these issues for MONTHS. I kept the closet.

@tangerinedoor

Thanks!!. For the master bedroom, the closet is 2', so I have a room that is 11-0' x 12'-2 1/2". Please see attached image, I just placed queen size mattress 60”W x 80”L.

NOTE: I called the city, and they will increase the maximum size. The technician was not sure what is the exact number, but it will take effect on January 2020. I could use the extra area to make the hallway wider (42") and change all the doors to be 36" width. Also, increase one of the bathrooms to be ADA friendly.

Thanks,

HI, Did you decide to go with minisplits or central? I was told by my contractor that the costs will be about the same. I'm building a 800 sq ft adu in LA.

Hello,

I decided to postpone the project. The new code now allows 1200 sq. ft instead of 800 sq. ft. Based on my research, for 800sq mini splits was used. But if it was the same price as central, I would go central.

Please check the following. They always use mini split in their projects.

https://www.houzz.com/pro/sheltersolutions/shelter-solutions-llc-adu-specialist

Good luck

Hello everyone,

The city allows 1200 sq.ft instead of 800 sq.ft now. Any suggestions to make the layout that @myricarchitect did fit in 1200 sq.ft. Should I increase the width or the length or both. The whole goal is to have the split room layout, where the two bedrooms are far from each others.

Here is the latest layout for 800 sq. ft that @myricarchitect suggested last year.

Thanks for the feedback and help. I really appreciate it.

My first take is that there's not CLOSE to enough closet space. Get rid of the hallway: it's creating a lot of unusable space.

Are you still going with 800 sq feet?

Where are utilities like the hot water heater?

@tangerinedoor

- I have the hallway, to separate the living space from the sleeping area.

- I can do 1200 square feet (the law changed this year)

- Water heater will be outside or use tankless water heater.

Thanks!!

You might consider a "T" shaped home in lieu of a longer or wider box. The angle can help define your spaces without need for a "hallway" to separate them.

Instead of a dining room, you could have one of your two kitchen rows of countertops lower to be usable as a either a kitchen countertop or dining table and use the area around it as a hallway.

You could put your essential rooms in the center and each "end" of the "T" could be a large room for living room and two bedrooms.

Note: A " T" shape would mean more exterior wall, more potential for windows and, potentially, more heat/cool cost but it could also mean a couple of private patio or porch areas with a north/south center wing providing shade for one side for morning and for the other side for evening.

Whatever shape you build, pay attention to what area you are willing to have dark (north side in the northern hemisphere) (good side for your driveway/garage/carport ... windowless rooms ) and what side you want to have sunlight throughout the day or just morning or just afternoon. If you put most of your windows facing toward the all day sun (generally south in the northern hemisphere) , you could plant trees nearby for shade during summer that would drop their leaves in winter to let in the sunlight.

For your closet: Find your largest coat for the largest member of your family. Put it on a large hanger and then measure the full shoulder width of it on the hanger... and then add two inches -- that is how deep your hanging clothes closets need to be.

Are you limited in your roof choices?

Find out if "attic" space is considered measurable as part of your floor space.

https://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/16/14642882/silicon-valley-homes-colonial-revival

An unfinished attic could at least provide storage with headroom if not living space. If it can be closed off from the rest of the house, an attic may well be able to provide you with two sleeping lofts and then, in lieu of two bedrooms downstairs, you could add a bath and a half, more closet room and a dressing room for the children sleeping upstairs.

Have you started building yet?

Our last house ended up at about 1200 sf. Here's the floorplan, which has some similarities to yours.

Given that you have more space to work with, I'd take your design and make it longer so you can have a proper dining room and larger bedrooms. Where we did a pantry/basement stairs, you could put the laundry room. Then rotate the bathrooms so they both run the same way and you've got more closet space.

@suezbell Thanks for the suggestions. I have not started building yet, because the city keeps on changing the law. Before the limit was 800 sf. Now it is 1200 sf.

Regarding the attic, the height of the new ADU has to match the existing building and structure too (our existing is ranch style, so I can it make the ADU different style) with is 14 feet, so I can not use the attic as living space.

I could not get my head about the T layout thing, I will research layout with T shape.

I am trying to keep the structure as simple as possible, because it very expensive to build here (CA). This 1200 sf could reach $300k with just simple Gable system roof, without angles. There are so my rules about efficiency and going green thing that adds up easily to the cost.

Again, thank you for your feedback and help!!

Found a couple of enlargeable tables for you to consider among these interesting pieces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KQyswhIV7U

I see upthread a recommendation for a T-shaped home. I own a T-shaped 600 square foot, 2-bedroom home. I designed the interior myself. Yes, I had to eliminate the hallways to make the bedrooms happen to code, and T-shape is what I came up with (it won a design award, too).

Hallways are expensive because you have to pay for the square footage and they aren't usable space.

To separate the bedroom area from the living room area, and not have to do a T, yet still get the feel of spaciousness, instead of a fixed wall creating hallways, you could just use a large barn door. This would be a nice quirky feature for the home, too. With the barn door open, it would feel like the space behind it is added to the living room. With the barn door closed, you get bedroom privacy. That way, you're not closing space off inflexibly. If you had a lot of guests over for a party, for instance, you'd slide the barn door open, and there'd be more living room to move around in.

And, yes, I have a curbless shower. (no tub). It's not fancy, but it was also not expensive at all. It's very do-able on a budget (not much more expensive than a fiberglass shower-tub).

@tangerinedoor Thanks for the suggestion. How do you put the barn door if the bedrooms doors open to the living space? A photo of sketch will be awesome. Thanks and Happy New Year!!