Common Mistakes to Avoid When Building an ADU
Building an ADU sounds simple when you first hear about it. Just a smaller unit in the backyard, maybe rent it out, maybe use it for family. Done. That’s how people picture it. Reality is… a bit messier. Especially if you’re dealing with an ADU in Santa Rosa , where rules, site conditions, and small details can quietly mess up your whole plan if you’re not careful. Most problems don’t show up at the start. They creep in later, when fixing them gets expensive. Rushing the Planning Stage Like It’s No Big Deal People underestimate this part all the time. They think planning is just drawing something up and getting started. It’s not. This is where you figure out everything—layout, size, how it connects to the main house, where light comes from, how someone actually lives in it day to day. Skip this or rush it, and you’ll feel it later. Mid-project changes, weird design compromises, wasted space. It’s frustrating. And yeah, costly too. Spending more time here feels slow, but it actually sav...