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Building a Green Granny Pad

A Parent Pad that Saves Money— and Natural Resources

Create a cozy, convenient, eco-friendly dwelling for an aging parent by building a green granny pad.

Mother and son walking through green woods with the caption "Create an Eco-Friendly Place for Mom or Dad"Most people construct these compact backyard bungalows for seniors as a secondary dwelling on an adult child’s property. However, some families build a more manageable, downsized home for mom or dad on the parent’s property. Then the adult child and family move into the parent’s existing home.

Choosing to “double up” households on one property provides many advantages:

  • Proximity keeps families emotionally closer and more involved in each other’s lives.
  • Caregivers spend less time worrying— and less time commuting— when caring for parents.
  • Separate dwellings on the same property allow multigenerational interaction— yet with privacy for both households.
  • Both seniors and their grown children stress less about what would happen in an emergency.

Building a smaller second home saves money, too.

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) like prefab granny flats add value to the property. Families save thousands of dollars over paying for expensive in-home caregivers or shelling out exorbitant sums to senior care facilities.

Environmentally Friendly Construction

Once the decision to build an in-law cottage (also called a granny pad, a granny pod, an in-law apartment, a mother-in-law suite, or an elder cottage) is made, choosing how to build the structure comes next. (NOTE: First check with local building authorities for guidelines and restrictions in your area for ADUs or “prefab granny flats.”)

Deciding to build a “green” structure with sustainable, renewable resources not only makes sense for the planet, but also for the pocketbook. Most green building projects cost little more than traditional building— and reap great rewards in the long run. This thinking goes hand-in-hand with our prefab granny flats.

Infographic listing six reasons steel buildings are green buildingsBuilding with a pre-engineered steel building system, for example, is the essence of green building.

The U.S. Green Building Council calls steel framing “the logical and responsible choice for Green Building.”

The LEED (Leadership for Energy & Environmental Design) grants steel an automatic minimum default on its point system— the only building material so designated.

Steel Building Facts:

  • Steel is the most recycled material on Earth.
  • Only steel can be recycled countless time and still retain all its strength.
  • Recycled steel is actually cheaper to produce than steel from virgin materials.
  • Pre-engineered steel buildings assemble much faster than wood-framed structures.
  • Factory-produced steel buildings create very little waste.
  • Leftover steel is sold to the local scrap yard.
  • Steel buildings last decades longer— and hold their value better— than other building methods.
  • Steel is inorganic, so it avoids costly repairs for mold or termite damage.
  • Since termites cannot much on steel, expensive termite treatments are unnecessary.
  • As an inorganic material, steel does not outgas or contribute to poor indoor air quality.
  • The deeper wall of steel buildings allow for thicker insulation, significantly cutting heating and cooling costs.
  • Steel buildings do not have to look like barns. They can be finished with stucco, brick, stone, glass, colorful steel panels, or even wood, to blend seamlessly into the neighborhood.
  • Steel buildings require little maintenance.
  • Built-in resistance to damage from strong winds, heavy snows, lightning, earthquakes, and fire make steel buildings one of the safest structures available.
  • Most insurance companies offer big discounts for commercial-grade steel structures.
  • Steel buildings go up straight, tight, and true— and stay that way for the lifetime of the building.
  • Once the steel structure “retires,” the framing recycles once again into useful steel products.

RHINO steel buildings meet or exceed all current local building codes— guaranteed— for the lifetime of the structure.

Whether your next building project is a green granny pad, an eco-friendly mega warehouse, or anything in between, call RHINO. We have the system and the price that is right for all your building needs and can give you information on prefab granny flats.

Call 940.383.9566 to talk to a RHINO Metal Building Specialist now about our prefab granny flats.