How long have you lived in Kirkwood and what led to your decision to build an ADU?
(Carol) We have lived here for 11 years. It’s been good but the house was built in the 60s and it's pretty small. We wanted a little more space for a variety of uses like guests, office space, and a place that made it easier to bring friends together. For our family, it felt like a better solution to have a separate space rather than add on to the house.
(Dean) We looked at tiny homes and shipping container homes first, but they were just too tiny and it wasn’t going to work for us, and that’s when we saw that this area was zoned for ADUs. We started talking about it, and then we saw you all at the Kirkwood Spring Fling, and that was when the ball started rolling.
The 'East Lake' Studio / 1 bath is 308 sft. It's a shame they didn't go with a more bold color choice :)
Why did you decide to work with ATL ADU CO rather than take a DIY approach or work with another builder?
(Carol) We just started to read about everything that was entailed in building an ADU, and I couldn’t fathom managing all of the details and people involved in everything. It’s not just building the building, it’s connecting the utilities, or the tree study, for example, was way more involved than we realized.
(Dean) We had so much trouble with permits just for putting a storage shed in the backyard, so I knew I didn’t want to deal with that again with the ADU. And ATL ADU was the only design-build, "manage the whole process" option, so that was appealing to us because we knew we weren’t going to be able to manage the project ourselves.
(Carol) That was definitely the right call having finished the process now!
Carol utilizes a desk that is also a Murphy Bed.
How was your experience during construction?
(Carol) Smooth. The timeline was basically right on from the original estimate. The communication was great from the very beginning and all the way throughout. There were a couple times that we noticed a problem and it was easy to reach out by text and it got resolved right away.
(Dean) It wasn't as disruptive as I thought it was going to be. And in terms of noise we didn’t have any issues. The only noisy day was foundation pouring and there’s no way to make that quiet. I worked in a building that was being renovated once and that was horrific. This was fine, most of the time we didn’t have to think about it because it was all being managed.
(Carol) That’s another benefit of doing a separate ADU rather than an addition - we didn’t have to leave our house, we just continued life as normal during the construction process.
Critical root zones and critical kid zones were all preserved with the 'yellow brick road' of construction access. This deep lot is another example of the ample space Atlanta has to support ADU development.
How do you utilize your ADU currently?
(Carol) Right away I started to use it as my office space when I work from home, and it is a major upgrade! We’re also planning to use it for guests, we have both a Murphy bed and sofa bed in here so we can sleep four, which will be great when family comes to town. And we envision having friends over and it’s an easy place to gather away from the everyday clutter of our lives.
Seats 8 and sleeps 4. Not bad for 308 sft.
What would you say to others who are considering building an ADU?
(Carol) I think there is no downside. We love this neighborhood and we love that the ADU has given us the extra space we need without having to consider a move. We wouldn’t be able to afford to buy in this neighborhood if we were to move. All the way around it has been a positive experience!
Their refrigerator arrived the next day and the stacked washer/dryer is plumbed and wired for if/when they would like to add it. Scroll for more photos.
If we can help you build an ADU like this, and you're in the Atlanta area, we'd love to chat!
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