Sewer and slab
We started underground, locating the sewer and planning the waste-line routes before demolition, then cut the slab and driveway and poured a new level slab over the old garage floor.
Case study · Oxnard · 2022
Garage-to-ADU conversion.
Turning a garage into a separate living unit, starting with what was under the slab.
Project facts
- Location
- Oxnard, CA
- Completed
- 2022
- Project type
- Garage-to-ADU conversion with separate entrance
- Construction time
- 3 months
- Our role
- General contractor, including all finish trades
The project
The owners wanted to turn their garage into an accessory dwelling unit with its own separate entrance. A garage is built to park cars, not to live in, so most of what makes a conversion work happens before anything new goes up: finding the sewer, getting waste lines under the slab, leveling the floor and putting a real roof over the space.
The challenges
- Finding the sewer first. Before anything else, we located the existing sewer line and confirmed how deep it was, because that decides whether the new bathroom and kitchen can drain to it and how.
- Extensive demolition. The conversion required substantial demo, including removing the garage roof.
- Getting waste lines under the slab. The existing garage slab had to be cut to run the new sewer and waste lines.
- Cutting the driveway without scarring it. The existing driveway had to be cut as well, and the cut was laid out with the finished look of the property in mind.
- A sloped garage floor. Garage slabs are built to slope, so a new slab was poured over the existing one to give the ADU a level floor.
How we handled it
Underground first, then up.
Roof and structure
We reused the existing garage walls and built a new roof over them, then reroofed the entire main house along with the ADU so both roofs match. The electrical panel and water line were upgraded to serve the new unit.
Finishes
We handled all the finish trades ourselves: birch cabinets, quartz countertops, LVP flooring, a shower enclosure, six-panel interior doors and two-tone interior paint.
Project photos
From garage to a home of its own.
A self-contained ADU with a separate entrance, completed in three months inside the footprint of the old garage, with a level floor, a new roof that matches the newly reroofed main house, and upgraded electrical and water service.
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Thinking about converting your garage?
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