Notes on ADU trends, contractor hiring, and the parts of the process homeowners ask about most, written for California homeowners rather than for other contractors.
This blog is separate from our Research Center on purpose: the Research Center is our stable reference material — permits, cost factors, comparisons, glossary — while this blog covers more timely topics, hiring mistakes we see repeated, and questions that come up often in real homeowner conversations. Both sections follow the same rule — no fabricated statistics, no invented reviews, and no claims we cannot stand behind.
New posts get added as real, substantive topics come up — we would rather publish a handful of genuinely useful posts than pad this section with filler content just to look active. If there is a specific ADU topic you would like to see covered here, let us know.
If you are looking for reference material rather than commentary, our Research Center is the better starting point — it covers the stable fundamentals (permits, cost factors, terminology, comparisons) that do not change often, while this blog covers the more conversational, timely side of ADU planning.
Whichever section you start with, the goal is the same: give you enough real understanding of the ADU process that your first conversation with a matched contractor is productive, not a crash course.
What you will find here
Expect posts on real trends we are seeing in ADU demand across the regions we cover, honest breakdowns of the mistakes that cause the most homeowner frustration during hiring, and clarifications of terminology that gets used loosely elsewhere online, like the difference between a JADU and a full ADU. We will not publish a post just to hit a schedule — each one exists because it answers a real question we have heard from homeowners.
Read in any order
These posts are not sequential — read whichever title matches the question you actually have right now. If you finish one and still have questions specific to your property, that is exactly what a licensed contractor conversation is for, and requesting a match costs nothing, takes only a few minutes, and never requires payment information of any kind up front.
What's Shaping ADU Demand in California Right Now
Rental income, multigenerational housing, and a friendlier statewide permit framework are all part of why ADU demand keeps climbing.
Mistakes Homeowners Make When Hiring an ADU Contractor
Most costly ADU mistakes happen before construction even starts — during the contractor selection process itself.
JADU vs ADU: What's the Real Difference?
JADUs and ADUs follow different size limits and rules, even though homeowners often use the terms interchangeably.
Ready to start your ADU project?
Request a match with a licensed contractor in our network.