Episode 113
Transform Your Backyard: The Rise of Stylish ADUs
The principal focus of this podcast episode is the exploration of sustainable living through the innovative concept of container homes and additional dwelling units (ADUs). As humanity has sought shelter from the elements since time immemorial, the evolution of housing has led us to consider more environmentally conscious alternatives. In our discussion, we engage with Ed Reyes from Backyard Living ADU, who elucidates the myriad benefits of transforming backyards into functional and aesthetically pleasing living spaces. We also address common misconceptions regarding ADUs, including their impact on property values and the complexity of their construction. Throughout the episode, we aim to provide our audience with insightful information that empowers them to make informed decisions regarding sustainable housing solutions.
Takeaways:
- Throughout history, humanity has consistently sought refuge from the elements through various forms of shelter.
- The evolution of housing has transitioned from primitive structures to contemporary designs, highlighting significant advancements in construction.
- The contemporary emphasis on sustainability persists, urging individuals to adopt environmentally friendly living practices and solutions.
- Container homes represent a novel approach to housing, offering both ecological benefits and unique architectural possibilities for modern living.
- A common misconception is that additional dwelling units (ADUs) detract from property value, whereas they can actually enhance it by increasing usable living space.
- Understanding zoning laws and property regulations is crucial when considering the installation of an ADU on your property to ensure compliance.
Links referenced in this episode:
- idealhomeimimprovementaz.com
- stardustbuilding.org
- backyardlivingadu.com
- iFoam.com
- steve@boxcaruniverse.com
- mrelectric.com/phoenix-metro
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Backyard Living ADU
- Ideal Home Improvement
- Legacy Custom Homes AZ
- Stardust Building Supplies
- Mr. Electric of Phoenix-Metro
- IFoam
Transcript
Since the dawn of time, mankind has searched for ways to shelter themselves from the elements.
Speaker A:Over the centuries, these shelters have evolved from bamboo huts to concrete towers.
Speaker A:The last few years, there's been a push to save the planet.
Speaker A:Are you ready to embark on a more sustainable lifestyle?
Speaker A:Look no further.
Speaker A:You're about to enter the adventures of container home living.
Speaker A:And now, contractor, radio and TV personality, and your host for Boxcar Universe, Steve Dubel.
Speaker A:Hi, I'm Steve Dubell, host of Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:And here's what's coming up on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:Ed Reyes from Backyard Living ADU is here with us.
Speaker A:His company actually turns backyards into functional, stylish living spaces.
Speaker A:Now, whether you need a guest house rental unit or a private retreat, or if you're interested in adding value to your property and adding spaces for your family or have a rental, vrbo, Backyard Living ADU is your answer.
Speaker A:All that and more on this week of Boxcar Universe, your home for remodeling and renovating your world.
Speaker A:And we want to welcome all of you to Boxcar Universe today.
Speaker A:We have a very special guest today, and, you know, as all our listeners who follow Boxcar Universe, we have talked a lot about container homes and container ADUs and all types of traditional housing as well.
Speaker A:But, you know, it seems that the craze of ADUs are actually sweeping the country because we talk about population explosion, things that communities need in the city, and there are just things that are very.
Speaker A:Housing is just very well needed in a lot of different respects.
Speaker A:Now, before we get started today, I just want to take out a couple of myths of adus that people may have heard.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Now, myth number one is, the myth is adus decrease property value.
Speaker A:Now, adus can actually increase your property value as they add your valuable living square footage or potential rental income to your property.
Speaker A:Myth number two, they are easy and cheap to build.
Speaker A:Well, not really.
Speaker A:And I've heard a lot of people that want to do something like that.
Speaker A:And, you know, before the, the, the skills and this particular type of building has become mainstream, people, people basically used to go to a shed company and get a large shed and try and transform it into what we call an adu, or in some terms call it a casita.
Speaker A:So they are technically the quality ones are not easy or cheap to build because the same type of quality materials and things that you expect in a normal home go into an adu.
Speaker A:And I just want to share one more with you before we get into our discussion with Ed.
Speaker A:Myth number three, you can build an ADU anywhere.
Speaker A:Well, that's not necessarily true and we're going to get into that because just because you have a large piece of property or even if you don't, but you have room to put a 4 or 500 square foot ADU on your property, the ERA City Guidelines and things that you need to adhere to before you can actually go and put something like that on your property.
Speaker A:So I want to just lead with a little bit of that because some people may have myths and I know we've covered in the past.
Speaker A:You know, when I talk about solar, a lot of people have, you know, misconceptions about solar because they've had bad experiences and these things.
Speaker A:What we try and do is here give you, you know, exactly honest information that you could use to make honest and good decisions about what you'd like to do for your, you know, as we say, your, your home, your castle or your man cave for that matter.
Speaker A:And ADUS could make quite a nice man cave if you, if you so choose to it which it could be designed.
Speaker A:And Ed and I are going to be talking about that here shortly.
Speaker A:But at this time I want to welcome Ed Reyes into the conversation from Backyard Living adu.
Speaker A:Ed, thank you so much for being on Box Car Universe.
Speaker B:Thank you for the invitation.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, it's.
Speaker A:We had some great conversations this week about you know, your company and the things that you do and the people that you ca.
Speaker A:The customers that you cater to.
Speaker A:But why don't we start and tell our listeners a little bit about you know, you and the history of your company and the people that are involved in it.
Speaker B:Thank you, Kos.
Speaker B:Well, Backyard Living ADU is legal corporation established probably around six months ago and my partner Dimitri Gills and myself get together in order to create what we call an ADU shop who basically we work different type of space Adus or what do they call casitas and we provide service in general to any part of the in the state and you know, we have a set of designs so we create base in you know, the international residential code and accommodating, you know, some of the zoning perspectives or requirements for depending of the jurisdiction.
Speaker B:So it's a very interesting subject especially in these times when you know, the state of Arizona is beginning to be one of the most visit and probably a lot of people wants to move here because the weather.
Speaker B: ,: Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I remember years ago when we were talking about, you know, people were interested in putting different types in building with container homes or, you know, shipping containers that when you approach the city, the city, you know, may have looked at the plans and again, they didn't have the knowledge of what was needed to approve because that type of building they were not accustomed to or I believe that they weren't trained into reviewing plans of that nature.
Speaker A:And that's why a lot of, I mean, I remember going back about three, four years ago, a friend of mine was working with a client in Scottsdale and they would not even approve using, you know, the shipping container for, you know, she wanted to build a garage and a double, actually a multi container home.
Speaker A:But again, without the engineering of the modifications to the container, they just, they just nixed it.
Speaker A:They said, no, no way, sorry, you know, and so that idea using the container was, was just, you know, just didn't happen.
Speaker A:And I think that's what people understand.
Speaker A:You know, they, they, some of the people that want to do DIYs, they go out and buy, they buy a container and they just start cutting it up, you know, put a window here, put a door here.
Speaker A:But they didn't understand that it needs to have an engineer stamp on it to know that it's structurally strong.
Speaker A:Because containers are not structurally strong when you start cutting them up.
Speaker B: use, I would say began around: Speaker B: s, beginning the: Speaker B:Like everything in the architecture business, a lot of people has to understand and even to today's day, it's hard to manage that little part that whatever you do and modify who is fabricated for a specific thing and you modified it, it require the use of an engineer, a structural engineer in order to guarantee the same integrity like you use for container to transfer products.
Speaker B:It's just different perspectives have different solutions.
Speaker B:But at the end, the equation is going to have the same answer you need.
Speaker B:And if you modify a product who was created for a specific thing, you need to have a professional guaranteeing that integrity is going to be the same when you converted something for storage to livable conditions.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And that's exactly right.
Speaker A:You need to be able to go back and just like traditional homes or the ADUs that you built where they require inspections, they have to have inspections so that they the homeowner knows when he gets the keys that everything was built according to code, structure is good, there aren't any issues.
Speaker A:Hopefully if the inspector caught everything and it'll be good to go and give them peace of mind that they have a sturdy structure that they can actually live in and thrive and it'll last them for many years.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, from the city perspective, I will say the traditional construction is being, you know, it has been modified depending on what the codes of the actual or the.
Speaker B: If we look in, you know,: Speaker B:But that being submitted to studies from the International Council with studying materials, the new creation of new usable objects and materials in order to create and build things.
Speaker B:But it will be, I would say, an evolution to moving forward to simplify construction.
Speaker B:In a way, we as designers, the whole idea just to create something as simple as possible and reliable for the wet, for the actual weather, weather conditions is going to be always a challenge because if we look in, you know, living in areas where the snow is a heavy object or in the dry conditions like Arizona or in Florida with hurricanes or California with earthquakes is, you know, it's a challenge thing would require an understanding and at the same time, the desire to build in an appropriate simple living conditions for durability, not just for, we'll say cachet to look nice, but durability and above all, security.
Speaker B:Because a lot of people don't talk about this, but when you build something and you obtain permits, the idea to get illegal is because you guarantee through the process applying the existing codes to that structure will be in conditions to not harm or kill anybody.
Speaker B:And unfortunately we've been seeing, you know, in past years building structures who collapse because the lack of, I would say applying the you know, the actual codes.
Speaker B:And logically, you know, we have to understand time.
Speaker B:You know, it can be a factor in that.
Speaker B:But sometimes, you know, you have an structure for 50, 60 years and you do not provide the maintenance needed.
Speaker B:That structure can reduce to 60, 75% timeline expectancy and durability.
Speaker B:So it's just.
Speaker B:I don't think it's a difficult part.
Speaker B:It's just a simple thing to follow the rules and understand what you're doing.
Speaker B:Because unfortunately, you need to understand the code, you need to understand how to apply it.
Speaker B:You need to understand the basic concept or architecture construction.
Speaker B:And, you know, education and experience has a big play in that part.
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:And logically, you, you.
Speaker B:A lot of people say, well, it's no need sometimes.
Speaker B:But you.
Speaker B:You need to hear people who has been in the business for 20, 25, 30 years, you know, like, they are building all types of constructions, you know, that people like Frank Lloyd Wright is, you know, the buildings still stand.
Speaker B:Some of the buildings still stand in Calatrava with, you know, his bridges and Gary with his modem designs.
Speaker B:So I think it's important always to understand what is what you want to build and how to make it functional.
Speaker B:Because a lot of people say, well, you know, I want to build this.
Speaker B:Yeah, you can build anything.
Speaker B:You can build the Twin Towers and the rear of your property.
Speaker B:But do you have, number one, the space?
Speaker B:Do you have the basic requirements from a zoning perspective or.
Speaker B:And again, do you have the money to do something like that?
Speaker B:You have to be understandable.
Speaker B:So the concept of the casitas in these modern times, I think came to replace the expensive way to build and livable.
Speaker B:That's what I will say.
Speaker B:More popular sizes is between 450 to 600 being the 500.
Speaker B:The actual, I would say for parents, family members who wants to live alone and all college students, or bringing my parents to live with me in the rear of the property, and I put in a small ADU there in order to.
Speaker B:They can be close to me.
Speaker B:I think if you know what you're doing, you can come up with really, really nice space planning situations for these type of ideas.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:We're going to take a short break.
Speaker A:When we come back, we're going to have more information with Ed and his great company.
Speaker A:We're going to talk a little bit about some of the designs that he has and the different models that he has, which I'm sure based on all the information that I have seen, I think he has a model for every need.
Speaker A:I really do every size, shape and for everything that is needed if you want to put one on your property.
Speaker A:So I want everybody to hang tight.
Speaker A:We'll be right back in your Listening to Boxcar Universe looking to transform your space.
Speaker A:With over 30 years of construction experience and featured on radio and TV, Ideal Home Improvement and Legacy Custom Homes AZ does it all from repairs, remodeling and restorations to new builds, container homes and container pools.
Speaker A:Plus cutting edge solar systems to help homeowners save money on their utility bills.
Speaker A:Hi, I'm Steve Dubell.
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Speaker A:For more info, visit stardustbuilding.org all right, we are back and you are listening to Boxcar Universe and we are here with Ed Reyes From Backyard Living ADU, and we are talking about obviously ADUs or as we like to say, Additional dwelling units or some of the vernacular casitas, however you are familiar with it.
Speaker A:But that's what we're talking about for a lot of different applications.
Speaker A:But we want to start getting into some of the designs that Ed has because he's on his website.
Speaker A:He has got a lot of different models, not just from an exterior standpoint, obviously, but some of the interior things that you could have in it.
Speaker A:Now, Ed, before we get into like the different sizes and stuff, tell our listeners a little bit about the model that's at your office in the warehouse.
Speaker A:Because I think when you walk, when I walked in there, it surely didn't seem like it was 400 square feet.
Speaker A:I told somebody that I spoke to last night about, you know, the model is 400 square feet.
Speaker A:And they said to me, just 400 square feet.
Speaker A:I said, yeah, no, you can't look at it like that.
Speaker A:You have to walk in the building and experience and see it's bigger than what 400 square feet sounds like.
Speaker B:Yeah, the original design for the model was 500 square footage.
Speaker B:Unfortunately, the warehouse itself, the space available for that, would not allow us to create and reduce the passing areas around the ADU so we modified it to the point what actually is 400 square footage ADU and it has a full kitchen in an L shaped kitchen.
Speaker B:What do we call small living conditions and what we can say the minimum standard size for a bedroom who usually under code is 70, but we get it a little bigger than that.
Speaker B:I think was 81 square footage with the practical bathroom and walk in closet will include, you know, a laundry, you know, stackable washer and dryer.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I mean, and you think of all those things from a regular house, it's just like you wonder well how do they, how could they possible fit?
Speaker A:I think the one thing that, that really to me made it really stand out is, you know, think you've got all this.
Speaker A:The space that you do have has to be used very in smart ways.
Speaker A:But when I saw the walk in closet, I'm like, okay, so this, this was designed really well because you think of a 400 square foot house or you know, an ADU and it has a walk in closet.
Speaker A:There's got to be something that I'm not the normal person isn't thinking, right.
Speaker A:Because it's like how could you put a walk in closet in a space of 400 square feet that's so small.
Speaker A:But it's really, it's well designed and it's good to be able to, it's functional.
Speaker A:And I think that's what's another important thing.
Speaker A:Designing with the idea to have it functional no matter what the size of it's 400, 500, 650 or 750, whatever it is.
Speaker A:You know, I think that's very, very important.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I, you know, is a lot of, we will say people look three things in any type of architecture, construction or design.
Speaker B:One is the kitchen, second is the bathroom.
Speaker B:And number three is always the closet.
Speaker B:You know, is the closet enough 24 inches deep by 5ft long enough for whatever I have standardly?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But if you want something practical and you can play with the space, not going to the minimum, but playing with the space and create some type of environmental conditions too, you can feel comfortable and free.
Speaker B:I think it's a challenge and require a lot of imagination.
Speaker B:And you just set yourself in the center of the space and start projecting in your mind how this wall is going to affecting me when I turn right, turn left, walk front or walk back.
Speaker B:I think is, you know, a lot of things has to do with experience.
Speaker B:You know, sometimes not all designs are good, but at the same time you have to understand how minimum requirements against the code will Help you in order to do that.
Speaker B:And you're always going to have an extra couple feet, you know, to play with it.
Speaker B:So you know, I think is if you enjoy what you do, you can come up with really good ideas.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean that's again I think, you know, the American, the American ingenuity in any kind of profession.
Speaker A:I think when there's a need for something, Americans always seem to find a way to make it happen.
Speaker A:If you need something, well, let's figure out how to do it.
Speaker A:And they just, they just don't give up.
Speaker A:You know, if you need something that, that's, that's that big, well let's see, what do you need?
Speaker A:And the home also obviously in the kitchen has a small island so you have a place to obviously eat in the kitchen.
Speaker A:So that's something that's, that's very good.
Speaker A:And I think that 400 square foot ADU is probably just perfect for one or two people depending on you know, who wants to live there.
Speaker A:Because you've got the space, you got the bedroom.
Speaker A:You know, if it's a husband and wife, I mean that one bedroom is perfect.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I can tell you with all honesty, we working right now in 350 square footage studio who will be spacious and accommodating probably for a single person and can be, you know, my mother in law, can be my father in law or my son or my daughter who wants to be an independent not leaving the house but living in the back 300 square feet.
Speaker A:Having their own space.
Speaker B:Yeah, having their own space.
Speaker B:You know, once again it's just playing with the, with the ideas and reflecting yourself in the creation is always helps different people like different things.
Speaker B:Our job as a designer, how we mentioned yesterday is to understand number one and hear what the customer want in order to, you can reflect that in your mind and then in a piece of paper in order to come out with some type of design.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Now with just talking about some other things they think about in, in a 350 or 400 square foot ADU, what type of heating and air conditioning are you using?
Speaker A:Are you using traditional unit or are you going to use mini splits or what's your, what's your you know, unit of choice?
Speaker B:Well, you know when you go with 354 and 5, the additional idea to use AC will be always the mini split.
Speaker B:You don't need to have 10, 5, 6 ton.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:A big, you know, equipment who in a way gonna affect the looks from outside and inside.
Speaker B:I think, you know, technology is get us to a point with some things can be small, inefficient, you don't need to one of those 500, 600, 700 units added and attach it to the ceiling or you know, between the roof and the ceiling.
Speaker B:But it's basically, you know, depending on what the owner wants, you know, how cold you want to be in the middle of the summer or how you have to be in the, we can call it mild winter here in Arizona.
Speaker B:So unless you live in, you know, in I would say New York State or Bermond or you know, in a places with 6 inches of snow will be your nightmare.
Speaker B:I think, you know, it's every technology in these times is allow you to do and play with it.
Speaker B:And the whole idea again is just to if you have a product who can provide you enough efficiency for play with the space, it's better.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think that's so important.
Speaker A:Especially you know, a lot of people, they turn around and I want to impress upon every all our listeners that you know, we're living in obviously 20, 25 now and you have to put out of your mind the fact that, okay, we have the most technologically advanced equipment to date.
Speaker A:Okay, when you go back 30, 40 years, like when we were talking about when solar first, you know, came on the scene back in the 70s and we had all these big things and solar was just in its infancy, it hadn't really refined yet.
Speaker A:So people have this old mindset of like oh my God is the technology isn't quite there yet because you know it hasn't progressed far enough and it's like.
Speaker A:And they won't buy anything.
Speaker A:They're like okay, well we're not there yet.
Speaker A:And I'm like, I feel like telling them, I feel like shaking them and turn around and say okay, so how many years have to pass before you're going to say I think it's good technology now and we're going to use it.
Speaker A:Many splits have come along.
Speaker A:I have to tell you when I built my custom home years ago, we're going back like 15, about 15, actually more 15, 17 years now.
Speaker A: And I had a separate: Speaker A:And I used a mini split in there because obviously I wasn't going to drag air conditioning from the house unit because it was too much space to do.
Speaker A:That mini split worked perfectly.
Speaker A:It didn't draw a lot of energy at all.
Speaker A:It had one unit on the inside and it covered 750 square feet which was half the garage and it was perfect.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And now they have it where, you know, depending on the walls and stuff, you can actually have some type of ductwork going and still use one unit.
Speaker A:So it's so important to be able to use and understand that the technology is in there.
Speaker A:And like you do and like I do in our work as we try and educate the customer.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Because that's the only real way.
Speaker A:And we have to try and make them understand that, you know, they may not know the ins and outs and how everything works.
Speaker A:They don't really have to.
Speaker A:They just have to know that this particular unit, like a mini split, this is how it works.
Speaker A:It actually can give you heat and give you air conditioning.
Speaker A:It doesn't draw a lot of power.
Speaker A:It's not intrusive.
Speaker A:It's the units on the wall, the little units outside, and it works.
Speaker A:And all you have to do.
Speaker A:Like everything else we talked about in the first segment, when you buy a house, you know, you get only equipment about the house, but nobody.
Speaker A:And they may give you information about the units and the equipment in the house, but they don't give you a manual on maintenance.
Speaker A:And that's the important thing that we need to share with people.
Speaker A:You need to know, would you drive your car for 100,000 miles without getting any maintenance?
Speaker A:I don't think so.
Speaker A:So, you know, that same mindset has to be put towards anything that you live in.
Speaker A:And I think, I think that's, that's what we're trying to impress upon people.
Speaker A:No matter whether it's a, a full, full blown five, 7,000 square foot house or 400 square foot ADU.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, in, in resuming in that little part, I can tell you, you know, an additional dwelling unit is not necessarily to be detached.
Speaker B:You know, the concept itself is just applying to, in a lot of people now that are doing, you know, like converting their garage in a small storage, they have it in the back, or converting your carport to livable.
Speaker B:So you can put an ADU in these spaces.
Speaker B: hese spaces can be, you know,: Speaker B:You know, you can grab hondy pochette and put it in the back of your property.
Speaker B:And if you know what you're doing and you have some type of ideal projection, you can put it together and create it a nice space.
Speaker B:You know, I've been in places when you have, I would say 225 square footage and you can, you know, have a nice time in There not to live, not to live, logically, because it's too small.
Speaker B:But, you know, the average I would say is between 425 to 525.
Speaker B:But the optimal to livable conditions will be 500 depending on what, just what will be the use, you know, and again, logically, the amount of people who's going to live There, you know, 500 can leave, you know, can be two persons, depending how you explain or how do you play with the space?
Speaker B:You can have a small office convert to a room.
Speaker B:You can have your kid there.
Speaker B:And so but if you are a family before, definitely you need two rooms.
Speaker A:Definitely you need some more space.
Speaker B:You need some more space.
Speaker B: t's what the big designs like: Speaker B:And once again, you know, depending on what type of property you have, if he is, you know, like an acre, you don't have to worry about the space, but you still have some issues about where located.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because you don't want to have a house 40ft away from the property line in the front.
Speaker B:In an ADU, when you have to walk, I would say 10 minutes in the dark, it's just to get to there in the back.
Speaker A:You don't want to, you know, you.
Speaker B:Don'T want to do that.
Speaker B:So, no, I think, you know, functionality is very important and creation will be the same.
Speaker B:The second part, absolutely.
Speaker A:All right, we're going to take a short break.
Speaker A:When we come back, we're going to be talking with Ed a little more about some of the uses of ADUs and how it can help the community and some things that we're going to be able to be reaching out to city of Phoenix and some other municipalities in and around Phoenix and how we can help the veteran homeless, veteran communities as well as other needs from other nonprofits that need housing help.
Speaker A:So I want everybody to stay tuned.
Speaker A:We've got more information coming your way right here on Boxcar Universe.
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Speaker A:All right, we are back and you're listening to Boxcar Universe and we are here with Ed Reyes from Backyard Living adu And Ed, you know, I think we should, you know, with some of the stuff that we've covered, I think we could make a new classification and maybe start, start something.
Speaker A:Maybe a, maybe a side hustle of ADU Education 101.
Speaker A:What do you think?
Speaker A:Ah, yeah, I think we could do that.
Speaker B:It's important because, you know the, the old fashioned part when everybody says, well you know, I like to do this but I don't know how to do it and I need, I need to go to the city.
Speaker B:Sometimes you get with the, a little obstacle to say, well, you know what, in order to, I can explain you that without getting compromised and in, you know, and responsibilities in the city part, you need to hire a professional.
Speaker B:But that's the end of the conversations right there, I think.
Speaker B:You know, like it's always good to, if you're going to talk to a professional related to a specific project you have, it's always good to understand, you know, number one, what do you want, how do you want to, how do you gonna, you know, use that?
Speaker B:Because that will help us designers like us to reflect and give you the appropriate information.
Speaker B:Information.
Speaker B:But sometimes you can Google it but it's not going to be clear enough.
Speaker A:I just want to interject because I know you're absolutely right because you need to go to a reliable source and granted there are so many people and I've seen this happen before in.
Speaker A:It actually is horror shows.
Speaker A:When people think they want to learn how to do something at their home and they Google it or they go to YouTube and they see these YouTube videos there that just, these people are just like, they're horror shows.
Speaker A:They shouldn't, I mean they're making themselves look stupid by going on there and showing people, well, I could do this, this and this and all of a sudden you get halfway through it and you realize the professional like me looks at it and say this guy is headed towards a train wreck.
Speaker A:You know, so try and always go to a good source so that this way you're going to get the right information.
Speaker A:Because obviously time is money and if you go back and you get bad information and then all of a sudden you start following that information, you find out down the road that you don't have, you know, you wasted all this money, then you may not have enough to do it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think, you know, like when, when people said why you don't Google it?
Speaker B:I think you know, the expression will be more extends like Google a professional person who is dedicated to doing a specific thing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Because if you're going to do an electrician to pull, you know, your gas, you don't need an electrician, you need a plumber in it.
Speaker B:When somebody says, oh, why do I need a plumber?
Speaker B:I'm not putting a bathroom.
Speaker B:Well, you know what it is a section in the plumbing profession who is dedicated to gas.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:It's not just going to connect the water.
Speaker B:No, I'm going to connect the gas.
Speaker B:And you want to make sure the person who you hire to do a work like this is not going to leave something, what in the middle of the night you're going to blow the house or it blow up, you know, the, I don't know, some piping who is going to flow your house.
Speaker B:It's the same thing with the electricians and the arc and the guy who's going to build the wall, who put the windows, you know, to install the kitchen, even you know, the tv.
Speaker B:Who's you're going to put in the, in the wall to enjoy it when you go back from work.
Speaker B:It's just, you know, it's important to do the due diligence.
Speaker B:Number one.
Speaker B:I think you know, Google is a good, it's a good a place to start.
Speaker B:But you know, do a little more and just Google it and get the first you come.
Speaker B:I think you know, when pick up two or three call them, ask a simple questions and hear the answer.
Speaker B:Because some people will give you what you want to hear.
Speaker B:But when somebody just says no, you know what I think the way supposed to be is like that because this, you need to hear that.
Speaker B:Because sometimes a customer likes to hear something what is easy to understand because it's going to be cheap.
Speaker B:And in this business, when dead or life situations can be create based in something, you need to have the support of people who can understand and know what they do.
Speaker B:Make sure you know the freedom of hiding anybody is always in this country present.
Speaker B:But make sure you know, if it's a corporation, is this legal in the state?
Speaker B:Do he has enough license?
Speaker B:Do he has insurance?
Speaker B:Do he going to give me a shake hands and give it $10,000 and see it in three months or he's going to put a contract together and explain it to me.
Speaker B:I think, you know, like if you're interested in doing it right, just do the due diligence number one.
Speaker B:And number two, just hear what everybody wants to say.
Speaker B:Hear the answers put as difficult questions you have.
Speaker B:But if the person who you are talking knows what he's doing, the answer will be very simple and straight.
Speaker B:It will not go around.
Speaker A:No, you're absolutely right.
Speaker A:I mean you have to be able to go back and say yeah, you could Google it.
Speaker A:But make sure that when you Google it you have to do your due diligence speaking with them because and there's nothing to wrong ask them for, you know, you know, a common couple of common questions.
Speaker A:Well, how long have you been doing it?
Speaker A:Do you have any referrals?
Speaker A:Do you have liability insurance?
Speaker A:Because that's like talking about the plumber and gas like, you know, and I use the analogy as well in construction.
Speaker A:Turn around.
Speaker A:Like you said, don't let your landscaper do your roof.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:Just because he may have a, a pack of roofing shingles on his, on his landscape truck.
Speaker A:You know, if you're one, you have to think of the liability factor in it because if that landscaper goes up on your roof and fixes some loose shingles and falls off the roof, guess who's going to pay for it?
Speaker A:Yes, you will.
Speaker A:And not the landscaper.
Speaker A:So you have to be careful on who you allow on your property to come in and do the things that you did you want to have done.
Speaker A:But some of the things that, you know, we had talked about this week about, you know, the, the population in Phoenix and some of the needs that for different organizations that need this type of ADU housing which is so very important.
Speaker A:I mean I know we work with and had on the show in the past 401c3 called Family Promise.
Speaker A:And what they do is they are working with a container home builder and they're building six container home communities around the valley for basically homeless moms with kids.
Speaker A:And they're not just putting roofs over their house and over their heads and feeding them, but they're also helping their basically straighten out their lives and making them Know that just because they're homeless doesn't mean they're worthless.
Speaker A:Everybody is worth something and it's important to have that feeling of worth in them to be able to pick their head up and move forward in life and be able to know that I'm important and I deserve this and I'm going to go after it and do that.
Speaker A:So we have.
Speaker A:They're building container communities around where these people go through their process in their program.
Speaker A:So they're constantly turning people over every like 60, 90 days.
Speaker A:But it's organizations and things like that that need types of ADU housing like you build not just for those people but for homeless veterans which is a passion of mine that I want to be able to call all our investors and we're going to be having some information on the Boxcar Universe website here probably in the next two weeks about if people that are interested in joining our vision to be able to do non traditional types of housing like a container community or small ADUs to house veterans that need that type of hand up that we're going to encourage and be looking for those people to partner with us.
Speaker B:Yeah I think in the process and understanding and why not the creation to find solutions for specific needs in the community organizations like the American Institute of Architects or institutions like American International Builder Designers.
Speaker B:What I am proud to say I'm member of both for the last 15 years is dedicating trained professionals and recognized professionals who are in the real business.
Speaker B:Because anybody can do quite four lines.
Speaker B:But making that four lines mean something requires some type of training and understanding.
Speaker B:So it's organizations like this one who provide us the opportunity to serve somehow with your ideas and specialties to the community itself is if you may I say this.
Speaker B:It's not everything about money.
Speaker B:It's about finding solutions to create something who the community will use to better themselves.
Speaker B:Yeah America is the greatest country in the world where dreams can come true.
Speaker B:But nothing is free.
Speaker B:You have to work on it.
Speaker B:I think when you have an idea and you think about the rest of the people who don't have the privilege of the opportunities to get out from a specific situation what put us months or sometimes years behind.
Speaker B:I think it's important just to understand professionals like us in general constructor and architecture design we always looking for solutions not to benefit ourselves, it's to benefit our community.
Speaker B:Because one way or another one we all part of the community.
Speaker B:We all suffer when they suffer and we all pay the consequence if we not projecting ideas appropriate for the specific situations.
Speaker A:Yeah, no I mean, that's so right.
Speaker A:And that's one of the things that I think more businesses should be thinking about besides the, as they say, the almighty dollar, because it's how you can make a difference in your community.
Speaker A:And nobody's saying that you should make money, but you should be able to make money and be part, an integral part for people come to you for solutions to their problems.
Speaker A:Because government can't solve the homeless problem.
Speaker A:I agree with, you know, we have to help and create these tools to be able to get to the point where we can actually do that in and have answers and solutions to the problems that do exist.
Speaker A:And once we do and we start working on them, we should constantly pay it forward because we're only going to be on this planet for so long.
Speaker A:But these problems may take longer than we are here for.
Speaker A:So we want to be able to make sure that the people that we train and help are be able to carry our vision forward.
Speaker A:To be able to do that.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think, you know, like, yeah, it is good when somebody says, well, you know, the government will help me in my bad times.
Speaker B:But I think, you know, it's your responsibility to find a solution.
Speaker B:And if you find a way to create something or provide something to a specific person to get it out of the situation, what is causing, you know, the satisfaction is in both ways, you know, for the person who you're helping in, for your yourself, you're in, I think, you know, if you're a professional or you're a millionaire or somebody with a good idea and you want to help, why not, you know exactly what he's saying.
Speaker B:Not everything is about money.
Speaker B:It's everything to, you know, create solution because money is just part of the solution.
Speaker B:But it's not the principal issue.
Speaker A:It's not the driving force.
Speaker B:It's the driving force.
Speaker B:But when you apply everything you have and a good idea, I think the mighty dollar will be coming alone as soon as you just do it.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yes, that's exactly right.
Speaker A:That's exactly right.
Speaker A:All right, we're going to take our last break here and then we're going to come back and we're going to be talking a little bit about some of the questions in the consultation that you, as the consumer looking for an adu, are going to be asking.
Speaker A:And then we're going to give you all the information you need to contact Ed and Backyard Living ADU right here in the Valley of the Sun.
Speaker A:So don't go away.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We'll be right back.
Speaker A:You're Listening to Boxcar Universe.
Speaker C:Hi, I'm Sean with Mr.
Speaker C:Electric and I have a tip to help make your life better.
Speaker C:One important reminder is to call a qualified electrician when you have frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers.
Speaker C:When a circuit breaker trips or a fuse blows, it's indicating that you have a problem with some other part of the circuit.
Speaker C:If your breaker trips more than once, you should have a qualified electrician come out and take a look at it.
Speaker C:Contrary to what may be acceptable, you really shouldn't try to continuously try to reset the breaker because there may be a problem somewhere else down the circuit and you could be causing a fire hazard.
Speaker C:There could be a loose connection or some other form of problem on the circuit and every time you reset the circuit breaker, it could be causing a spark at the other end.
Speaker C:We recommend having a qualified electrician come out and check on the condition of the circuit and make sure that the circuit does not have any problems and it could just be a bad breaker also.
Speaker C:But you definitely want to have a qualified electrician check that out.
Speaker C:To have someone come out from our team may only take a portion of a day, but it could potentially save you a lot of money for your life.
Speaker C:And that's just another way Mr.
Speaker C:Electric has the power to make your life.
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Speaker A:All right, we are back and you are listening to Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:And as I had said earlier, we're here with Ed Reyes from Backyard Living adu.
Speaker A:And you know, we've covered a lot of ground here today, Ed, but you know, there's some things that I just want to go review with you on some of the things that you, you know, you go through on your consultation when somebody gives you a call and said, hey, I, I want, like, I always love to do this, you know, I always play Joe homeowner.
Speaker A:So Ed, here I am.
Speaker A:I have a, I have a piece of property I need.
Speaker A:I want to build an ADU on my property.
Speaker A:Where do I go?
Speaker B:Well, you Know, one of the questions, you know, we always get is that basically, okay, what do I need to do, do, what do we need to get?
Speaker B:Or how do we get the beginning?
Speaker B:I think, you know, like, in my professional opinion, I think, you know, one of the first things you need to do is, is just to find and understand what type of property you have.
Speaker B:That will be one of the questions we have in the consultation is provide us with the information on the property, because when we find out what type of Sony you will have, that will give us a very good idea to what we can put in there.
Speaker B:Second will be, you know, where is located.
Speaker B:Because in some areas, like Maricopa county, when they have properties with a lot of, I would say, deformities on the property, like ditches and all that, and hill size and all that, sometimes applying the designs is a little challenge and sometimes it's costly too, because if you have to modify the area in order to make it work, it is something you need to do.
Speaker B:But like I said before, everything has a solution.
Speaker B:It's just how do you apply it?
Speaker B:That will be the difference.
Speaker A:True.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, that's so important, especially if you go out and it was like, you know, thinking about the hills and stuff.
Speaker A:If, if you really want it in this one spot on your property, well, then maybe, you know, you need to have somebody come out and grade the area.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And get it to the point where it is.
Speaker A:The other thing too is you gotta consider, you know, how.
Speaker A:How are you going to have, you know, where do you envision, you know, the plumbing?
Speaker A:How are you going to have plumbing in the house?
Speaker A:Where are you going to bring the water from?
Speaker A:You know, are you going to.
Speaker A:Where are you going to get the electric from?
Speaker A:Or is it going to be powered?
Speaker A:Solar powered?
Speaker A:I mean, all these little different factors.
Speaker A:You have to take those utilities that are going to be in this.
Speaker A:In this adu.
Speaker A:How are you going to bring all that to where you want to put it on the property?
Speaker A:And I think a lot of times people kind of like, that's like on the, on the, on the second shelf, so to speak, because it's not that important.
Speaker A:All I know is I want an adu.
Speaker A:Well, yeah, well, how are you going to get all this other stuff over there?
Speaker A:You know, and it's important and depending on where you want, could be expensive.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: ved by the city of Phoenix in: Speaker B: If you live in: Speaker B:And adding that ADU that having that extra address in your property will allow you.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, allow you to have an additional electrical service.
Speaker B:Unfortunate for sewer and water is not at this present moment a solution for it.
Speaker B:But it is my understanding some jurisdictions in Arizona are working and find, I would say, a solution for that.
Speaker B:Because if you're going to have your son or your daughter living independently, you want at the same time give it some type of space.
Speaker B:The responsibility says, okay, now you don't live under my rule, pay your own light.
Speaker B:You have it in there.
Speaker B:And this is the good thing.
Speaker B:The solutions the law provide and the accessibility logically require coordination and all that.
Speaker B:But in order to create an additional dwelling unit, ADU casita in the rear of your property, in the rear or the side or your property, I think, you know, like came with questions.
Speaker B:What's so important to address from the beginning, not at the end.
Speaker B:Because when you sign the contract to design in a specific idea or dream, you have their responsibility.
Speaker B:What we get is to deliver what basin you have in mind with the appropriate, appropriate solution based on the code and the ordinance of the property location for that specific jurisdiction.
Speaker B:Each city has their own rules.
Speaker B:In some places they require a little more in comparison to the other ones.
Speaker B:But it's always, how do I say it before?
Speaker B:It's always to do due diligence.
Speaker B:And we as professionals have the responsibility and obligation to provide the answers, the real answers, not excuses.
Speaker B:Because unfortunately in this business, like many others, we have people what they just more important concentrated in the money and not in the solution and perspective to the benefit of the future or the actual client.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's, it's.
Speaker A:You've got to ask all those, all those questions and there.
Speaker A:And again, you know, you got to believe that, you know, you need to know everything that you could possibly know about the reasons why they, the consumer wants to have it.
Speaker A:You know, how many people are going to live there, how much space do they need?
Speaker A:You know, do they need a 400 square foot or do they need a bigger unit?
Speaker A:You know, what about the size?
Speaker A:And then you can get into, you know, here's the designs that you have, which ones do you like based on your need.
Speaker A:And then go through all that so that you've got a checklist all the way down.
Speaker A:So this way you know exactly what, what they're looking for and Then obviously that could be your blueprint to start a design.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you know, we have to understand, you know, it's not a basic concept in design is, you know, it's basically what you need.
Speaker B:You know, you can have a U shaped kitchen, an L shaped kitchen and what do they call a big kitchen with, you know, with a counter with four, three, two, six chairs.
Speaker B:But do I have the space, do I have the need for having a big kitchen?
Speaker B:You can have a linear kitchen, you know, with the essential and can be designed accordingly to your needs.
Speaker B:And I think, you know, it's so important, that's so important when you meet somebody with the idea to create or obtain or fabricate something in your property, ask the questions, don't be afraid.
Speaker B:Because you will realize if the person you are talking about has the sincerity to answer the questions, simple and direct.
Speaker B:And that is the difference with the scammers to a real professionals, because a professional will have the time to answer you with the reality.
Speaker B:Because if you want to have something extravagant, but we know by fact you will not going to be able to build it.
Speaker B:Why wasting your time with dreams when it's not going to be.
Speaker B:You want something practical, I think, you know, if you know what you're doing, you can answer the question.
Speaker B:So to all the people who hear us, you know, and curious about, ask the question, don't be afraid.
Speaker B:And if you're not satisfied, just ask somebody else again until you find the real person who will be able to tell you exactly how things get done.
Speaker B:Not exactly what you want to hear.
Speaker B:Because the reality is this can be done.
Speaker B:Yes, you know, in an architecture perspective you can do a lot of things, but is that a lot of things can be practical?
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:You know, so ask the question, don't be afraid.
Speaker B:Real professionals will give you real information and they will understand from the beginning you will find out if they are, are who they are or they're just passing by.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Tell our listeners before we wrap up, what's the price range on some of these sizes that we've been talking about?
Speaker B:Well, you know, if we're looking, you know, between I'm going to take, you know, 400 and 500, you know what, that's the standard, if we can call it like that.
Speaker B:You know, depending on the finishings, you planning to add to 400 or 500, the average can be between, I was saying 120 to 150, depending on what the finishes are.
Speaker B:And that is based, you know, in the construction prices.
Speaker B:The actual construction Prices.
Speaker B:But again, it's just, you know, like depending on what, you know, if you want all glass, yeah, we can do that.
Speaker B:But if you want, you know, traditional, we can do that either.
Speaker B:So a lot of has to do with the materials and the finishes you require in order.
Speaker B:You want marmalade floor or you want wood or you want, you know, vinyl.
Speaker B:You want, you know, a specific type of bathrooms.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know, tiles.
Speaker B:Materials to build an ADU can be wood block or what they call new materials, you know, age Lego materials, phone materials with reinforcing.
Speaker B:Logically, you have to understand when you're experimenting with materials non traditional materials the International Coal Console require to provide because they're going to ask you in the permitting process.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:You know, the certification of that specific materials.
Speaker B:If you don't have it, please don't waste your time and money and doing something what is not.
Speaker A:Now, does that pricing include the design work and or the permit?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:In Backyard Living Edu we all the prices we provide to the customer including, you know, permitting, design, permitting and the whole process all the way to.
Speaker B:You can just turn the key.
Speaker B:And don't forget to invite us to the barbecue.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I have a barbecue.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:We want to be able to do that.
Speaker A:Okay, so tell our listeners how they can take and call you and get started and then plan the barbecue.
Speaker B: we have an Office located in: Speaker B:So you're welcome to come Monday to Friday between 8:30 to 4pm or 5 if you wish.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:Tell us you want to come to us, you want to bring your ideas and we will glad to sit with you free of time for 15 minutes to understand what you want and we're providing you an answer.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:And as for Eddie O Dimitri and we will be ready to answer your questions and show you right there through the system using you know, the tools we we use for projecting what you want, the solution to your desired idea.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And make sure that you check out Ed's website, backyardlivingadu.com you'll be able to see the fine work and pictures and floor plans and all the information about his great company.
Speaker A:And Ed, thank you so much for taking time out to be on the show.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:First time, but not the last.
Speaker A:And we look forward to working with you and getting the word out with everything that you do and making some contact with some of those city of Phoenix officials.
Speaker A:It's going to be interesting.
Speaker B:It's going to be very interesting.
Speaker B:And I like to thank you and you know, in name of the team of Backyard Living Edu for inviting us to share this information.
Speaker B:And you know, we are available Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 and Saturdays by appointment only and the location and phone number we provide.
Speaker A:Great, great.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:And thanks for all our listeners for listening to Boxcar Units.
Speaker A:Remember, we are your source for cutting edge information on remodeling container homes, container pools.
Speaker A:So let us build and design whatever structure that you need because we cover so much.
Speaker A:And don't forget if you want to put it into your utility bills and stop flushing your money down the toilet for every time you get your utility bill every month.
Speaker A:And a lot of people are going to be feeling a lot of pain this summer.
Speaker A:And we know, especially here in Arizona when temperatures push up towards 115 or higher, I think it's time to take a look at solar and we can help you with that as well.
Speaker A:And let's all live the sustainable lifestyle.
Speaker A:But you can email me@steveoxcaruniverse.com and remember, Boxcar Universe can be heard weekly on any podcast player.
Speaker A:And always remember, let us remodel and renovate your world.
Speaker A:Have a great weekend.
Speaker B:You're a great American.
Speaker B:I love you.
Speaker B:Sam.
