A garage apartment puts a complete, self contained living unit above parking: full kitchen, a private bedroom or a studio layout, full bath, and in most of these a washer and dryer inside the unit. Eleven plans from 576 to 1,085 square feet of living space, studio through two bedroom. People build them for rental income, for a parent or an adult child who needs their own front door, or as a guest suite that does not tie up a bedroom in the main house.
This is the decision most buyers spend the longest on. An exterior staircase costs less to build and keeps the apartment completely separate from the garage below. An enclosed interior staircase is weather protected and more private, which tenants tend to prefer for year round living. The Winthrop 35 is drawn both ways, the same plan at the same price, so you can compare them directly. What you are allowed to build is decided locally: ADU rules change by city and sometimes by parcel, and they govern size, height, setbacks, parking and whether the unit can be rented at all. Talk to your planning department before you buy, because those limits will narrow this list faster than anything on this page will.
Every plan is a licensed construction set drawn to 2021 IRC guidelines, licensed for one build, with no engineering stamp. Your building department will ask for supplemental documents that no plan set includes; the FAQ lists them. A $75 study set credits in full toward the construction set within twelve months, and modifications are quoted at no charge.
