Quote:
Originally Posted by west-town-brad
So I have a new construction masonry garage that is about 500 sq feet. If I were to add an ADU above I would have to figure out how to connect to the street sewer, water, and gas lines without busting through the house. I'd also need to figure out the zoning impacts of replacing the garage rooftop deck with an ADU, because I think the rooftop deck counts as required "rear yard" in some way. Not to mention the idea of having people living above 2 cars and how to deal with that in the construction of the ADU....
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I would probably skip gas and just do electric appliances and heat pump since the power is already right there in the alley. Your electrician will set the meter box and ComEd does the rest. The electric bill is your tenant's problem, not yours, but if that's a concern you can beef up the insulation so the HVAC isn't working so hard.
Water and sewer upgrades are costly items for any ADU, but you're correct that coach houses have the added wrinkle of digging a 5ft trench (or two) through your backyard.
I wouldn't worry too much about living over a car. The city has thousands of townhouses where people are in that exact situation. Tons of suburban houses have it too. Fire rating and soundproofing are both pretty simple.