Accessory buildings and ADUs that enhance your life

  • Do you need more space, but don’t want to (or can’t) increase the size of your home?
  • Unused/wasted space in your garden or back yard?
  • Need to find space for aging parents or in laws?

Accessory buildings are a growing trend for homeowners, creating cost-effective separate spaces outside the home for work and hobbies, including studios, home offices, workshops, garages, gyms, garden rooms, and more.

And they are also creating new homes for senior family members including:

At K&M Construction, we’ve built more accessory and ADU buildings in the last two years than ever before. We design smart, energy efficient ADUs that effortlessly match your home’s design style, or that stand alone and make a statement! ADU’s are now a major area of expertise for us, as our skilled team can design, manage and construct a wide range of buildings, from start to finish.

At K&M Construction, we don’t just build houses, ADUs and garden suites. We create new homes and spaces for you and your family, to your specifications and requirements. To discuss any new accessory building, just contact us.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) for you and your family

Building an ADU in your backyard has never been easier. These smart, stand-alone modern buildings provide hassle-free, comfortable accommodation whether for guests, younger family visits, returning adult children, or as an ideal downsizing solution for aging parents. ADUs include a kitchen, bathroom facilities and sleeping areas, and are connected to utilities and sewerage .

With K&M Construction, each ADU is designed for your specific space, requirements and setting. With energy efficiency at their core, ADUs offer affordable, adaptable and accessible spaces that will enhance your life and build property value too. Rent it out for additional income, or just use it for yourself!

Often referred to as secondary suites, in-law suites offer a whole new way to enjoy multigenerational living. Rather than moving your aging parents or in-laws into your home, you can build their own separate, modern home in your garden. Constructed to the highest specifications and energy efficient standards, an in-law suite gives independence, privacy and separation, yet literally just a few steps away from family.

Granny suites are essentially in-law suites designed with easy, step free ground floor access and other features for aging parents with decreasing mobility. You can convert a basement into a granny flat, but we find that most parents want as much natural light and garden views as possible! Granny suites are a highly cost-effective solution for families who want to keep an eye on elderly parents and provide emotional and physical support if and when required.

Ideal for: Aging parents when their existing home is too difficult to manage, who don’t want the expense and high maintenance charges of retirement community or homes, and want to be close to family.

Create a whole new home in your back yard with a laneway house or coach house with its own private entrance. Laneway houses and coach houses are a great way to maximise your garden / back yard space and perhaps to earn rental income.
(For more details, see our Laneway House and Coach House FAQs below.)

Our expert team will help you every step of the way, first ensuring that your new project meets the provincial and municipal rules and requirements, some of which are specific to laneway houses. Only then do we deliver a design that meets all *your* criteria!

Ideal for: Private accommodation for young adults, rental tenants, guests, visiting family, and caregivers.

Are you putting up spare beds or sleeping on the sofa when parents, family and friends come to stay? A secondary suite gives your guests their own accommodation for overnight or longer stays, including their own bedroom/s and bathroom, living area and a kitchen if required. So you can all enjoy being together, and then having a good night’s sleep too!

Ideal for: Visiting friends and family who don’t live locally, grandparent visits, adult children during university spring breaks/reading weeks and holidays, etc.

Create a unique place to live for long and short term rental, or as a holiday let for seasonal visitors. Each ADU is completely self-contained, so they can come and go as they please, with minimal disturbance to you.

Ideal for: Homeowners looking to boost their income. There is a strong demand for short and long term rentals in the Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener/Waterloo, and Guelph-Eramosa areas. The presence of Guelph University means constant strong demand for rentals from both faculty and students.

Want an experienced local contracting company to manage your next building project?

We specialize in full design-build services from initial design to final delivery.

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Garages, workshops and (ADUs) and other accessory buildings

When you want more space, but don’t need living accommodation, accessory buildings give you more space to enjoy your life. We can also design and build the perfect place to chill, work out, relax, run your business, craft, play music, paint, etc, including:

  • Custom-designed garages and workshops for year-round enjoyment of your favourite hobbies involving vehicles, tools, bikes, boats, etc.
  • Sun-soaked garden rooms for relaxing summers
  • Fully insulated garden home offices

Adding a secondary unit to your home inevitably increases its resale value and appeal too.

Ideal for: Active, busy people with space-filling hobbies and no room in the main house to store anything!

Looking for an experienced local contracting company contracting company to build you an amazing ADU, great garage or wonderful workshop?

Relax and let us manage every aspect as part of our comprehensive design-build service, ensuring a quality build and full legal status.

Nothing! The Ontario government prefer the term ARU, or Additional Residential Unit. Different name, same type of building!
“Additional residential units are private, self-contained residential units with a kitchen, bathroom facilities and sleeping areas within detached, semi-detached or row houses (for example, in a basement), in ancillary structures and stand-alone structures.

Additional residential units are often referred to by other names, such as

  • second or basement suites or units
  • accessory dwelling units
  • secondary detached dwelling units
  • granny flats
  • coach houses
  • tiny homes
  • laneway suites/houses

Municipal zoning by-laws will set out which of these can be counted as an additional residential unit.”

A laneway house (or laneway suite) is a self-contained dwelling that is separate to your home and has direct access to a public laneway rather than to the street or down the side of your existing home. Contact us to discuss whether your existing home or backyard is suitable for a laneway house – we are always happy to help

A coach house is a separate ADU built in your back yard. Coach houses sit behind the main house, with access to/from the main street down the side of the main house. Coach houses best suit square lots of land with an existing driveway.

Generally, a garden suite is an ADU that is offset from the main house, so it has its own view of the street. Coach houses sit directly behind the existing house.

For more details click here to see the Ontario guide.

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