The most valuable square footage in the Triangle might already be behind your house. Mabrey Construction designs and builds accessory dwelling units — backyard cottages, garage apartments, and full conversions — from the zoning check to the certificate of occupancy, on one fixed-scope contract with one accountable team.
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Typical ranges, not a quote or an offer to lend. Your number comes from a site visit.
An accessory dwelling unit is a second, self-contained home on your lot — a backyard cottage, a garage apartment, or a converted outbuilding with its own kitchen, bath, and entrance. In Durham and the Triangle, ADUs typically fall in the $80,000 to $300,000 range depending on size, site work, and finishes, and they earn their keep as rental income, a home office, or housing for family.
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Mabrey Construction confirms your lot's zoning and setbacks first, then designs and builds the unit through certificate of occupancy under one fixed-scope contract.
ADU rules are lot-specific. We confirm what your parcel allows — size, height, setbacks, parking — before you spend a dollar on design.
Kitchens, baths, storage, and light in a compact footprint take more design care, not less. The plan is documented and priced as a fixed scope.
One crew builds it, county inspections run on schedule, and the project ends with a certificate of occupancy — a legal, livable second address.
- A lot-specific zoning and setback review before any design work begins
- Detached cottages, garage apartments, and outbuilding conversions
- Full self-contained design: kitchen, bath, laundry, private entrance
- Utility routing and metering planned with the county, not around it
- Durham, Wake & Orange permitting through certificate of occupancy
- Rental-ready finishes chosen for durability, priced as itemized allowances
- Site work, drainage, and access integrated into the design from day one
- A fixed-scope contract and a documented schedule, start to occupancy
Does an ADU Fit Your Lot? Five Ways a Cottage Earns It.
If any of these sound familiar, start with the free zoning review. ADU rules are lot-specific — we confirm size, height, setbacks, and parking for your parcel before you spend a dollar on design.
Zoning First: The Rules Are Lot-Specific
- Rules read for YOUR parcel, not the county average
- Size, height, setbacks, and parking confirmed
- Yes / no / what-it-takes before design money
A Self-Contained Home, However Small
- Kitchen, bath, and private entrance to code
- HVAC sized for the footprint, not borrowed
- Small-space design fully documented first
Utilities: Planned With the County, Not Around It
- Shared vs separate metering decided early
- Trenching and routing priced in the scope
- Sewer capacity confirmed before design locks
Site Work: The Part Under the Cottage
- Grading and drainage engineered for two structures
- Foundation matched to the soil, not a kit spec
- Construction access planned, yard protected
The Certificate of Occupancy Is the Product
- Inspections sequenced through to CO
- Legal to occupy, legal to rent long-term
- The document that protects the investment
The Rental Math, Kept Honest
- Long-term rental legal in most jurisdictions
- Rules confirmed during the zoning review
- Built so every honest option stays open
Cannot find your answer? A real person is one call away, no pressure.
- A real person answers. No phone tree, no pressure to commit.
- Free consultation: scope, budget, and next steps in writing — before any contract.
- Straight answers on cost, permits, and financing, even when the answer is that the smaller project wins.
Most ADU projects fall in the $80,000 to $300,000 typical range — a garage conversion at the lower end, a detached new-build cottage with full site work toward the upper. Size, utilities, and finishes drive it; the site visit turns the range into your number in writing.
It depends on your zoning, lot size, and setbacks, and the rules differ between Durham, Wake, and Orange jurisdictions. That is why our process starts with a lot-specific zoning review — you get a clear yes, no, or what-it-takes before design begins.
In most Triangle jurisdictions a permitted, certificate-of-occupancy ADU can be rented long-term, and many owners build them exactly for that. We build to full occupancy standards either way, and we recommend confirming current rental rules for your jurisdiction as part of the zoning review.
A typical detached ADU runs four to eight months from design through certificate of occupancy, including permitting. Conversions of existing garages or outbuildings can run faster. The written schedule comes with the fixed-scope contract.
Start with a free consultation. A real builder calls you back, no pressure, ever.