Custom accessory dwelling units: detached backyard cottages, garage conversions, and basement suites, designed and built across Boise and the Treasure Valley.
Thinking about adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to your property? Jones Quality Remodeling designs and builds ADUs across Boise and the Treasure Valley (detached backyard cottages, garage conversions, above-garage units, and basement suites), and we handle the project from design through permitting to final build, under Idaho license RCE-41296.
An accessory dwelling unit is a self-contained second home on the same lot as your primary residence, with its own kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area. Homeowners build them for rental income, to house family, or to add long-term property value. Common types we build:
Idaho recently expanded homeowners' rights to build ADUs under Senate Bill 1354 (2026), and Boise's code is already among the more accommodating in the state. That said, zoning eligibility, size limits, setbacks, and permitting all vary by parcel, and the rules are actively changing at both the city and state level. We help you understand what's possible on your specific lot and manage the permitting so your project is built to code. Because this is a fast-moving area of regulation, we walk through the current specifics during a free consultation rather than quoting rules that may be a few months out of date by the time you read them.
Four things drive ADU eligibility on a given property: the zoning designation (which varies not just city to city but parcel to parcel within Boise), the lot size and existing coverage, setback requirements from property lines, and, for a detached unit, whether there's a practical path for a separate utility connection or a shared-service arrangement with the main house. A garage conversion or above-garage unit sidesteps some of these questions since it uses an existing footprint, which is part of why those two ADU types are often the fastest path for a homeowner who wants to move quickly.
We manage the whole project with one team: an initial consultation to assess your lot and goals, design and layout, permitting with the city, construction, and a final walkthrough. You get one point of contact from start to finish, rather than separately coordinating a designer, a permit expediter, and a builder.
An ADU is not the same project as a bedroom addition, even though both add square footage. A standard addition expands your primary living space and is permitted as part of the main house. An ADU is a legally distinct, self-contained dwelling (its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance), which means a separate set of zoning questions (occupancy limits, parking requirements, owner-occupancy rules in some jurisdictions) on top of the structural and building-code review a normal addition goes through. If you're not sure which one fits your goals, that's exactly what the initial consultation is for.
Of the four ADU types we build, garage conversions and above-garage units typically move fastest, because they use an existing structure and footprint rather than requiring new foundation work. A detached backyard cottage gives you the most design freedom but adds foundation, utility connection, and site-work steps that a garage conversion skips. We'll walk through which type actually fits your lot, your budget, and your timeline, rather than defaulting to the biggest or most expensive option.
Because we handle design, permitting, and construction as one team under one license (RCE-41296), you're not coordinating a separate architect, a permit expediter, and a builder who've never worked together before. That matters more on an ADU than on most projects, because ADU permitting in the Treasure Valley is still a relatively new and fast-changing process. Having one team that's tracking the current rules, rather than three separate parties each assuming someone else is, is what keeps the project from stalling in plan review.
If the goal is more space for the family already living in the house, a standard addition is usually the simpler path. If the goal is a separately rentable unit, a space for extended family that functions independently, or long-term flexibility to use the lot differently in the future, an ADU is built for that in a way a connected addition isn't. The two aren't interchangeable, and we'd rather help you land on the right one at the consultation than build the wrong structure well.
It comes down to the specific parcel: zoning, lot size, setbacks, and utility access all factor in. We review yours during a free consultation and tell you what's possible before you commit to anything.
Detached backyard units, garage conversions, above-garage units, and basement apartments.
Yes. Permitting is part of the project from design through final build, not a separate step you manage yourself.
Size limits vary by parcel and jurisdiction and are part of what's actively changing under Idaho's 2026 ADU law. We confirm the current limit for your specific lot during the consultation rather than quoting a single statewide number that may not apply to your property.
Short-term rental rules are typically separate from the zoning rules that govern whether you can build an ADU at all, and they vary by jurisdiction within the Treasure Valley. We'll point you toward what we know at the time of your consultation, but a short-term-rental-specific question is worth confirming directly with the city as part of your planning, since that policy area moves independently of the building code.
We build ADUs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Star, Kuna, Garden City, and surrounding communities. Ready to explore an ADU for your property? Contact us or call (208) 447-0766 for a free consultation.
Related: Home Additions | Whole House Remodeling
