After recognizing an urgent need in our hometown (Asheville, NC) for additional housing within the city limits, we decided to step up to the plate and meet that demand. With a vacancy rate of less than 1%, most people hoping to make a living in Asheville are forced outside of town, where prices are more favorable. In light of this, Asheville City has made it easier than ever to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) in backyards of existing properties. Homeowners can add a single family unit to their backyards that is up to 70% the size of their primary home, maxing out at 800 SF.
With 100% of our focus on helping solve our city’s housing crisis, Wishbone Tiny Homes seeks to be the primary provider of ADU’s in Asheville. We believe our local roots and tiny home design and construction experience position us well to fulfill this role. So, for the time being, we are limiting our involvement with Tiny Homes On Wheels (THOW’s) to DIY Consulting, which we love to do.
Currently we have two ADU models, and are working on a third, based on 400 SF, 600 SF, and 800 SF sizes. Our ~400 SF model, The Murdock, can be seen here. Today, we want to introduce you to or 600 SF model, known as The Fulton, and share the process of building it:
The Fulton is a 2-story, 600 SF home with 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, set on a 12’x26′ foundation. A 2-level deck adds approximately 200 SF of livable space. In its current form, we are stick building it out of 2×6 Southern Yellow Pine. Future iterations will include kit packages that will enable more homeowners to build more quickly.
Day 1: Clearing our lot and prepping for the foundation. This particular lot is empty, other than a carport and shed, but will have another home added later on. We are locating The Fulton at the rear of the property to anticipate its future application as an ADU.
Below is a shot of the Superior Walls crane and installation. We opted for a Superior Walls foundation due to our desire to keep the mechanicals and storage items dry and conditioned, as well as the low impact on the site and speed of the installation.
Once the walls arrived on site, it took approximately 1 hour to set, plumb, and level the foundation! Compare that to a typical CMU foundation, which requires concrete footings and masons, and can add weeks to the project timeline.
Stay tuned folks, we will be sharing images and stories throughout the process. Thanks for reading!
-Wishbone