Indoor/outdoor Backyard Appartment

**Overview**
My home is in Burlingame, California. I’d like to transform my detached two car garage into an indoor/outdoor apartment. I want this apartment to be able to operate either as a guest quarters, a unit for a nanny, or an extra living space for my family. The living quarters needs to include a place for sleeping, a kitchenette, and a bathroom with a shower.
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​​The living quarters needs to be contained within the dimensions of my existing 2-car garage to pass zoning codes. I also need to maintain one parking spot with dimension of 10’ wide x 18’ deep x 7’ high. Building code allows me to place windows and doors anywhere on the structure but
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​​I’d like to open-up the two sides that do not abut my property line as much as possible. I’m thinking we reduce the two car garage door to a single door located on the left side of the garage when you face it. I’d then like to replace the right side of where the existing garage door is with a door and windows into the living quarters. I’d then like to open the right-hand side of the building, with windows and doors, to give easy fluid access to the yard.
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​​Please redesign the entire interior of the garage. You do not need to maintain the existing office or lofts but I do want some storage space. Please also redesign the yard to include a patio for outdoor dinning.

**Details on existing structure — a 2-car garage**

There is an existing structure in the back left corner of my 50’ wide x 115’ deep lot. This structure is a detached 2-car garage that is 21’ wide x 25’ 6” deep x 12’ high outer walls with a 15 degree sloped roof (hopefully this all sounds right, I’m trying to read the plans that I attached, which are hard to decipher).

There are two attic/loft platforms in the 2-car garage, which I labeled as high-loft (124.5” of the ground) and lower-loft (90” off the ground) in my measurements at the end of this brief. These two lofts do not need to be maintained as they currently exist but I wanted to let you know of their existence in case keeping either of them, or both of them, would make the most economic sense rather than rebuilding them (e.g., rebuilding the lower-loft a foot higher may not be worth the cost in terms of the additional value to the space that it would add) .

**Requirements for conversion of structure to dwelling unit**
I would like to convert this 2-car garage into an accessory dwelling unit. An accessory dwelling unit needs to have A) a place to sleep with a closet, B) a kitchenette, and C) a bathroom. I’m open to either a 1-bedroom design, which I think would be best for the privacy of a sleeping occupant, or to a studio (e.g., an open bedroom area). My preference is for a 1-bedroom design but I realize this may be difficult to do with all the other requirements and constraints.
– Maintain the left-hand side of the garage as an enclosed parking space. The city of Burlingame defines a covered-parking spot as having minimum dimensions of 10’ wide x 18’ deep x 7’ high. If possible, I would like a door between the living space and the parking space (maybe a pocket door to save on space). Also, since the parking space only needs to be 7’ high, I think there’ space for a sleeping loft above the enclosed parking space. I’d love for you to get creative here. Perhaps a boat ladder from the ground floor up to an enlosed sleeping loft. I also like the idea of being able to close the loft (e.g., four walls and door), for sound insulation. Since the left-side of the accessory building is a neighbors yard, I don’t want windows on the exterior wall. Maybe this loft could have windows that open to the rest of the living space?
– Reduce the two-car garage door to a single car door on the left-hand side of the garage when facing it. This single car-garage door might be nice as a sliding barn door.

**Nice to have features to the unit are the following:**
– Add an entrance the dwelling unit to the right half of the front of the garage (where the existing garage door is in the photos)
– Open the right-hand wall of the accessory unit to my yard with doors, windows, and maybe another garage door. I want this dwelling unit to feel as indoor/outdoor as possible. To this end, I’d like to open the wall that abuts my garden as much as possible to make for easy flow between the indoors and outdoors. I posted a picture in the ideabook section of a unit with a kitchen island and a transparent half-garage door, which opens to the outdoors. I was thinking a similar type of design could be possible for this dwelling unit. I’d like the yard to function as additional square footage. One way we could do this is to add a ground level patio on the outdoor side of the kitchen island that would function as the dining area. This way the interior space could be reserved for living, sleeping, and bathing.
– An attic/loft space for storage. I want to prioritize the comfort and openness of the living space, but, considering the height of the building, and all the crap I have, I’ll need some storage space above the unit.

**Some design suggestions**
Maybe the front-right quarter (or more) of the unit (when viewed from the driveway) can have a ceiling that goes all the way up to the roof of the building. The back partion of the building could then have a narrow bathroom with shower tucked behind the parking space and a small bedroom in the back right corner (approximately where the office currently is). If I’m able to convert the space above the parking space into a sleeping loft then the bedroom becomes optional. We would then have the flexibility to not include this bedroom or to include it as a small bedroom/office, one just big enough for a single bed and a small closet or a desk and a bookshelf.

I’m dreaming big for this little space. You’re the expert though. Don’t feel that you have to fullfill my amateur vision. I want a space that “works”. A space that’s great for living in.

**Comments on foundation and plumbing**
Water and sewer will need to be brought out to this apartment. The existing foundation is a solid slab of poured concrete.

**Comments on construction cost **
I’d like to keep to a reasonable budget but still nice. By this I mean I want good construction but I do not need the highest end finishes. I’m thinking an Ikea kitchen with a polished concrete countertop or something of the sort. At the end of the day, this is an accessory dwelling unit, not my main house. I want it to be comfortable, to feel well done, but I don’t need it to be top of the line.

**Comment on the idea book**
* The bathroom pictured in the idea book is nicer than I need. Perhaps cost can be contained by going with slate tiles on the floor and then only tiling the walls of the shower area. I included that photo to capture the bathroom layout, which I think will work best in the back left corner of my garage.
* The island with the transparent garage door is something I’d like to achieve. I do not need my kitchen island to be as custom as the one pictured but I do like the placement of the island abutting the transparent garage door, allowing me to open up the whole wall to the outdoors.
* the other two pictures of living spaces opened to the outdoors should not be taken literally but instead as references for the type of open and light-filled feeling I’m going for.
* the picture of the garage door and front-door is to give some sense for how I’m thinking of re-doing the front of my garage by reducing the two car door to a one car door that feels more like a barn door.
* The photo of the brown wooden garage doors is another option I like for how the front of my garage can be redone. Possible just two of those doors rather than all three.
* the lofted bed is my reference point of what could be done above the enclosed parking spot on the left-hand side

**Comments on yard**
I’d like to reduce the amount of hardtop in my yard (e.g., the cement behind my house and the stone hardtop covering the back section of my yard). Maybe the solution is something like taking out most of the existing hardtop, including the part of the drive way that goes to the right-hand side of my garage (which will be replaced with an entrance to the dwelling unit). Put in a walkway to the entrance of the new unit and a ground level “porch” with seating outside of the dwelling unit.

**Garage Location on Property:**
The 2-car detached garage, the unit to be converted, is on the back left corner of my property. The left-hand wall of the garage and the back-wall of the garage sit on my property line. The front of the garage faces my driveway and part of the back of the house. The right wall abuts my backyard. This can all be seen on the Plot Plan photo I posted.

**Current structural contents of garage**
– 2-car garage door
– side-door
– low-loft for storage
– high-loft for storage
– small office in back right corner

**Measurements**

Garage distance from back of house – The plane that the front wall of the garage sits on is 17’ 11” 15/16 behind the plane that the back wall of my house sits on. The garage is offset to the left side of my house with a driveway running up to the 2-car garage door. You can see this in my photos and posted plot plan.

Garage exterior:
– – depth –
– – width –
– – height –

Garage interior:
– – depth – 24’01”5/16
– – width – 19’03”3/8
– – heights –
– – – – outer walls height – 10’04”1/4
– – – – floor to inside of roof peak – 13’08”9/16
– – – – floor to bottom of low loft – 7’06” 1/16
– – – – floor to bottom of high loft – 10’04”1/4

Low loft dimensions: (note: can be moved, removed, or changed in design)
– – depth – 176”
– – width – 232”
– – height –

High loft dimensions: (note: can be moved, removed, or changed in design)
– – depth –
– – width –
– – height –
– – location –

Office: (note: can be removed in design)
– – depth –
– – width –
– – height –
– – location –

Garage door: (note: design should reduce to 1-car door)
– – width –
– – height –
– – location – centered on front wall of garage

Side-door: (note: can be removed or moved in design)
– – width –
– – height –
– – location –

** Comment on exterior wall cross-section**
There is a picture of the cross-section I’ve uploaded to the docs. The picture is very hard to read so I’ll try to reproduce the measurements here. Here’s what I can make out:
A. Stucco exterior – 3 coats over stucco wire and 1 layer ___ inner
B. 5/8″ gypsum board
C. 3/8″ CDR Plywood (I think this says 3/8″ but it could be 5/8″)
D. 2x4x16 (maybe?? this is almost impossible to read)
E. 5/8″ Gypsum board

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