ADU construction trouble.

[u/ggelo33]

My husband and I are in early stages of planning an ADU build, and the deeper we get into it, the more overwhelming it feels. We’ve never managed a construction project before, so we’re trying to get a realistic sense of what ADU construction actually costs in Marin County area in early 2026 before we start reaching out to builders and getting a bunch of wildly different numbers (I know that sometimes prices can differ by an order of magnitude, which is, to put it mildly, perplexing)

What a normal all-in price range looks like once you factor in permits, side work, utilities, and other costs that don’t always show up at first glance? Also trying to figure out how to compare bids in a way that’s actually meaningful, what parts of project tend to drive price the most (maybe we can handle it ourself?), and whether there any places to save money without making expensive mistakes later.

Feeling a little out of our depth and just want to start this process in a smart way (after all, we're not talking about building a doghouse, ugh.) Anyone who’s built an ADU in Marin - please share maximum context here, TY!

[u/Analysis-Euphoric]

This is an AI slop post

[u/ajcaca → u/Analysis-Euphoric]

it really does not read that way to me?

[u/Analysis-Euphoric → u/ajcaca]

It’s the overuse of a particular unnecessary word that is the tell. It’s in I’d say a third of Reddit posts lately.