The Triplex We Built for Ourselves (East LA)

Quick facts: New construction triplex, 2,250 SF, 3 units | Unincorporated East LA County | Bought June 2018, built December 2018 to July 2019 | $300,000 construction, owner-builder

This was the first property we ever bought, so it’s the project where we’ve been every kind of client: owner, architect, and builder. The plan was to remodel the existing 1,700 SF duplex, but the more we opened it up, the worse it looked; termites and water had gotten there long before we did. So we designed a 2,250 SF triplex in its place: a 3-bed unit, a 1-bed unit, and a 2-bed unit we lived in ourselves for a year.

Because we were designing for our own daily life, the units got everything we push for in client projects: windows on multiple walls for cross-ventilation, vaulted ceilings, a covered deck upstairs, an office and a gym room on the first floor, and laundry tucked under the stairs.

Here’s the part that made us better architects for our investor clients: every month of permitting was a mortgage payment on a house we couldn’t live in. We submitted plans in August 2018, walked them through the county in person, and had approval in three months. Construction ran December 2018 to July 2019, owner-builder: we managed the subs, bought the materials ourselves, and brought it in at $300,000. That’s 2019 pricing, so expect more today; we’ll publish the full budget breakdown on the blog.

Today two units house long-term tenants and the third rents seasonally. When we tell clients a small unit can carry real weight for a family’s finances, this building is what we’re pointing at.