Tacoma Garage Conversion Project: Old Garage to Brand New DADU - Tacoma, WA
If you’ve been following along with our blog, then you already know that Tacoma has implemented a new simplified and streamlined permitting process in 2019 that allows any single family home in the city to build one additional mother-in-law apartment, tiny house or ADU / DADU (detached accessory dwelling unit) on their property. Before these new ADU and DADU rules were approved back in 2019 you would have to apply for an expensive and time consuming variance and zoning change in order to get a building permit for one of these structures, and there was no guarantee that you would be allowed to actually build it at the end of the long process. Thankfully, with the new planning rules, Tacoma has made it possible to build a new DADU or ADU on your property with much less headache (read more about Tacoma tiny home, ADU, DADU pricing and regulations here). What we at Wilder Outdoor Spaces think is awesome is that the city’s new rules also make it much easier to convert an existing garage to a house or apartment, which brings us to this blog today.
As soon as the new DADU / ADU rules were implemented in 2019 we began searching for a new property with a decent sized garage that we could design and convert into a DADU. In the summer of 2019 we found the perfect property one block off of Proctor Street in Central Tacoma, and after a long and tedious sale our offer was eventually accepted. Our first step in the process was remodeling the main house, which you can see you here. Once we finished that up, we began planning, designing and permitting for the garage conversion.
The front of the garage conversion before construction.
The front of the garage conversion after construction.
Overall, it took about 8-10 weeks from start to finish to have our permit in hand, and we began construction in February 2020. As you all know, in March of 2020 the world was introduced to Covid 19 and our DADU project was put on hold for several months as we grappled with how to move forward in the new pandemic landscape. Eventually, we slowly resumed work on the project after construction was opened back up, and the project was completed in the summer of 2020. Taking our first garage conversion project through the permitting and inspection process under the new rules, we have learned a ton of helpful information that we are now able to pass on to the folks that we work with. In addition, we’ve outlined a couple of the most common questions we’ve been asked below. We’ve included a series of photos below showing the completed unit for you to check out. If you’re located in Tacoma and interested in having your garage converted into a home for you to live or to rent for additional income, please visit the contact page here and fill out a request to setup a consultation with us.
I want to convert my garage to a DADU, how long will it take?
For most projects, the design and permitting process will take a minimum of 8-10 weeks. The construction will take roughly 12-16 weeks. In total we’re looking at ball park time frame of 20-26 weeks, from down payment to final inspection.
How much does a garage conversion cost in Tacoma?
This is the most common question we receive, and is the hardest to answer because all conversion projects vary so much in size, scale, materials and budget. That said, we realize it’s very important to set realistic expectations of costs so our clients can budget properly so we have created some ball park ranges below to help.
200 - 600 sq ft unit = $50,000 - $100,000
600 - 1000 sq ft unit = $75,000 - $150,000
1000 - 2000 sq ft unit = $100,000 - $250,000
If you’re located in Tacoma and you’re interested in having your garage converted into a home, please visit the contact page here and fill out a request to setup a consultation with us.