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Garage-to-ADU Conversion for Family Living

Brentwood, California

SCOPE: Where two cars used to park, there’s now a full kitchen, a full bath, a bedroom, and a living room. Carol planned this accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for family use, fitting every room inside the existing two-car garage footprint. The biggest challenge was underfoot: the garage slab sat well below the house, and it was staying put. So the crew built up, framing and insulating a new floor about 14 inches higher so the ADU sits level with the main residence. A garage floor is cold concrete. This one isn’t.

This garage conversion included new framing, windows, doors, and trim; insulation in the walls, ceiling, floor, and rafters; a fire-rated 5/8-inch Type X drywall ceiling; new plumbing and sewer connections; a gas tankless water heater; an upgraded electrical panel; ductless mini-split heating and cooling; a new kitchen and bathroom; LVP flooring throughout; stucco and siding work to match the existing home; and fence and gate modifications for the new ADU entry. Carey Bros. handled permits, project management, site protection, supervision, and cleanup from start to finish.

FEATURES: Carol treated the kitchen as a real everyday kitchen, not a kitchenette: quartz countertops, an undermount sink with a pull-down faucet, a 24-inch gas range under a 24-inch microwave hood, a garbage disposal, and a refrigerator plumbed for an ice maker. In the living room, a ceiling fan with an integrated light and dimmer-controlled lighting let you set the mood for the evening, and a wall-mounted mini-split handles the temperature. Carol gave the bedroom its own mini-split cassette, so each room can be set independently. The bathroom is built for comfort and safety, with a four-piece shower unit, a built-in bench, and a wall-mounted handheld shower head, so you can sit and rinse. A pressure-balance valve keeps the water temperature steady when someone flushes elsewhere, a humidity-sensing exhaust fan vents straight outdoors, and a hardwired smoke and CO detector keeps watch overhead. It’s a whole home for family, built inside a space that used to hold the cars.

Fixture & Finish:

  • Manufactured kitchen cabinetry with cabinet hardware
  • 4-inch quartz backsplash
  • Dedicated electrical circuits for kitchen appliances
  • Bathroom vanity with undermount lavatory sink
  • Single-handle lavatory faucet
  • Water-saving 1.28-gallon-per-flush two-piece toilet
  • Center-drain shower with water-efficient plumbing fixtures
  • LVP flooring throughout the ADU
  • Gas tankless water heater
  • Upgraded electrical service panel with GFCI/AFCI protection
  • New lighting and outlets throughout
  • Exterior circuit for the mini-split condenser
  • Fire-rated 5/8-inch Type X drywall ceiling
  • New attic and crawl-space access

Designer: Carol Carey

Lead Craftsman: James Carey

ADU living area with leather sofa and wall-mounted TV, view through to the kitchen and exterior entry door.
Kitchen with white shaker cabinets, butcher-block counter, gas range with over-the-range microwave, top-mount refrigerator, and a family photo gallery wall by the entry door.
ADU kitchen and living area with gray shaker cabinets, top-mount refrigerator, ceiling fans, and marble-look quartz backsplash.
Hall between the bedroom and bath, with mirrored bifold closet doors on the right and the bath entry on the left showing navy shaker vanity and toilet.
ADU bath overview: navy vanity, 1.28 GPF two-piece toilet, and four-piece shower unit with sliding glass door.
ADU bath with navy shaker vanity, undermount lav sink, three-globe chrome sconce, and 1.28 GPF two-piece toilet.
ADU bedroom with brushed-nickel ceiling fan and LVP flooring, open doorway to the ensuite bath with a navy shaker vanity.
ADU living area with leather sofa, ceiling fan, frosted-glass laundry closet doors on the left, and a fiddle-leaf fig by the window.
ADU living area with leather sofa, ceiling fan, frosted-glass laundry closet doors on the left, and a fiddle-leaf fig by the window.
Kitchen wall detail: 24-inch gas range, over-the-range microwave hood, undermount sink with chrome pull-down faucet, and marble-look quartz backsplash.
Compact ADU kitchen with gray shaker cabinets, 24-inch gas range, over-the-range microwave hood, undermount sink, and marble-look quartz backsplash.
Open-plan ADU living and kitchen area with leather sofa, wall-mounted TV, mini-split, and doorway to the bedroom on the right.
Vanity detail: navy shaker cabinet with undermount sink, single-handle chrome lav faucet, and framed mirror.
Vanity detail with chrome gooseneck faucet, undermount sink, and GFCI-protected wall outlet.
Four-piece shower unit with sliding glass door, wall-mounted handheld shower head on a slide bar, grab bar, and teak shower mat over the center drain.

Before & After

Before After
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