Not every garage conversion is an ADU — and that distinction is the whole point of this page. Converting a garage into a spare room or home office is a remodel. Converting it into a legally independent unit with its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance is a change of use, and it has to satisfy your city or county’s accessory dwelling unit ordinance, not just the building code’s minimum-habitability rules. That second bar is higher, and it’s the one we specialize in clearing.

We treat a garage-to-ADU conversion as its own project type because the garage’s existing footprint, location on the lot, and relationship to the main house all shape what’s legally possible before a single design decision gets made. An attached garage and a detached garage aren’t just different construction problems — they can fall under different sections of the same ADU ordinance.

If the goal is a unit someone can actually live in independently — a parent, an adult child, a tenant — this is the version of “garage conversion” that gets you there, done right the first time instead of retrofitted into compliance after the fact.

An attached garage that shares a wall with the house often has a more direct path to becoming part of the home’s living space, since it’s already tied into the structure. A detached garage converting into a legally independent accessory unit has to separately satisfy whatever setback, lot-coverage, and placement rules your jurisdiction applies to detached accessory structures — the same rules that would govern a brand-new detached ADU. We check which category your specific garage falls into before assuming either path is available.

A garage conversion can run off the main house’s electrical panel and water heater, or it can get its own sub-panel and dedicated water heater — the right call depends on whether the space will ever be rented, how much additional electrical load it needs, and what your specific ADU ordinance requires for independent metering. We walk through this trade-off with you rather than defaulting to whichever is cheaper on day one.

• Attached vs. Detached Classification — Detached garages face separate setback/placement compliance, which can add design and permitting steps attached conversions skip.
• Entrance & Egress Reconfiguration — Adding a new exterior door and walkway is a different scope than a conversion that already has usable access.
• Utility Separation — A dedicated sub-panel and water heater cost more than tying into existing service, but matter more if renting is the goal.
• Plumbing Scope — A full kitchenette and bathroom are the single biggest line-item swing versus a space with no independent plumbing.
• Jurisdiction & ADU Ordinance Complexity — Some cities/counties require more documentation, more review rounds, or specific ordinance compliance beyond baseline permitting.
• Finish Level — Whether the unit is finished to match a recently renovated main house or built to a simpler, rental-durable standard.