Cottage Concept
Our cottages will be constructed in two 8’ – 6” wide, 24’ long modules by students in high school building and construction classes. The cottages will be constructed using traditional wood frame construction techniques and materials so that the skills the students learn will be transferrable to careers in the residential building industry. Our students will be learning project management, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, painting and HVAC skills.
The modules will be transported to home sites on trucks where they will be joined together as a permanent dwelling on a permanent foundation, indistinguishable from traditional site-built homes. We expect that our first two cottages will be installed as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs or ‘Granny Flats’) on existing home sites.
Our construction plans are for a generic cottage with an unspecified location. Each cottage may need to be modified slightly to reflect the unique requirements of each home site once the installation site is identified. Our cottage has been designed to comply with state and local building codes, including California Building Energy Efficiency Standards (i.e. Title 24).
Planning & Development Services (PDS) of the County of San Diego has reviewed our architectural and engineering plans for compliance with California and San Diego County building codes. Plan approval by PDS will allow us to build cottages at our participating schools with the assurance that our cottages will comply with State and County building codes and can be installed in unincorporated areas of the County.
The cottage exterior (e.g. window and door styles, siding/stucco, roofing materials, awnings, color schemes, etc.) can be customized for each cottage.
PDS will perform inspections of our cottages on campus during construction. Once the installation site has been identified, site plans will be submitted to PDS for approval. PDS will inspect all site work (civil works, foundation, drainage, utility connections, etc.) and complete all inspections required for final approval prior to occupancy.
Completed Cottages
Our first cottage was built at San Marcos High School and installed as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) at a Wounded Warrior Homes residence in Vista, CA. Wounded Warrior Homes helps veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our ADU will provide an additional bedroom for this transitional group home and will help veterans prepare to leave the group home environment. Veterans will live in our ADU for a few months to experience living alone before moving out to a permanent home in the ‘civilian’ world. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for our first cottage was held on March 24, 2022
