Vaulted cabin living room with reclaimed timber beams, a globe pendant and tall windows onto the woods

ADUs & guest houses · Sumner County & Greater NashvilleAccessory Dwelling Units & Guest Houses a second, smaller home on your property

Backyard cottages, cabins, in-law suites and guest houses built from the foundation up, with the kitchen, bath, sleeping space and utilities that make them livable, for properties across Sumner County and Greater Nashville.

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BBB Accredited A+ rating · zero complaints
Licensed & Insured TN Contractor License #79477
25+ Years in the Trades Led by owner Jonathon Wilkinson
5.0 Client Rating 16 verified reviews on HomeAdvisor
Locally Owned Cottontown · Sumner County, TN

Cabin kitchen with ochre cabinets, a farmhouse sink, glazed tile, open wood shelves and a pale blue retro refrigerator

A house in miniature

An ADU is a complete home on a fraction of the footprint

An accessory dwelling unit is a second, smaller living space on the same lot as a main house. It might be a detached cottage in the backyard, a cabin at the edge of a wooded property, an apartment above a garage, or a suite attached to the house with its own entrance. People build them to keep a parent close by, to give a grown child a place of their own or to host visitors, and some use them as a home office, a studio or somewhere to downsize into later.

Small does not mean simple. An ADU needs nearly everything a full house needs: a foundation, framing, a roof, insulation, windows and doors, a kitchen, a bathroom, heating and cooling, and connections for water, sewer or septic, and power. Because the footprint is small, every decision carries more weight. A vaulted ceiling, a sleeping loft and tall windows can make a modest building feel generous, which is exactly what the JACCO cabin project on this page does.

The rules come first. Whether an ADU is allowed, how large it can be, where it can sit and whether it can include a full kitchen are set by local zoning, and the answer in unincorporated Sumner County is not necessarily the answer in Franklin, Brentwood or Metro Nashville. Utilities matter just as much, especially on rural lots served by a well and septic system. JACCO looks at these questions before you commit to a design, then prices the build through the same written bid as any other project. If an attached suite suits your lot better, it is planned as a home addition instead.

What’s included

What goes into an ADU

An ADU scope reads like the scope for a small house. These are the pieces most projects involve, from site work through the last piece of trim.

Zoning and site feasibility check
Slab, crawlspace or pier foundations
Framing, roofing and exterior finishes
Vaulted ceilings and sleeping lofts
Compact kitchens that still cook properly
A full bathroom with a walk-in shower
Heating and cooling, including ductless systems
Water, sewer or septic, and power connections
Windows, doors and insulation
Hardwood floors, trim and built-ins

Recent work

Inside a JACCO cabin project

A small footprint can still hold a real kitchen and a place to sleep. These photos come from a JACCO cabin with a farmhouse sink, glazed tile, ductless heating and cooling, and a sleeping loft.

Fireclay farmhouse sink with a brushed gold faucet and glazed tile backsplash under a wall of windows

Wades Branch Cabins

Sleeping loft with a handcrafted wood railing, hardwood floors and a diamond window

Wades Branch Cabins

Cabin kitchen corner with a ductless mini-split, cooktop, farmhouse sink, glazed tile and live-edge wood shelf

Wades Branch Cabins

View the full project gallery

Why JACCO

How JACCO builds an ADU

Feasibility before design

Zoning, setbacks, utilities and access decide what can be built, so we look at them first. You learn what your lot allows before investing in a design, and the bid reflects real site conditions, including a well or septic system where one applies.

Every square foot planned

In a small building, storage, door swings and furniture placement are settled on paper. Vaulted ceilings, lofts, built-ins and well-placed windows make the space live larger than its footprint, and we plan them with you from the start.

One builder from footing to trim

Site work, framing, roofing, mechanical systems, cabinetry and trim run on one schedule under one contract. Jonathon came up in the trade working for a family that built homes start to finish, and an ADU calls on every stage of that experience.

How a JACCO project runs

Bid, schedule, build, punch list, close.

See the full process

Stage 1Bid
Site visit, measurements and a written bid tied to a clear scope of work.
Stages 2 and 3Schedule · Build
Selections settled, materials lined up, a detailed schedule, and a protected, clean home while we build.
Stages 4 and 5Punch list · Close
We walk the finished work with you and close the project when every item on the list is done.

Are ADUs allowed on our property?

It depends on where you live. Each city and county sets its own rules on whether accessory dwellings are permitted, how large they can be, how far they must sit from property lines, and whether they can include a full kitchen or be rented out. HOA covenants can add restrictions of their own. JACCO checks the requirements for your address early, before you commit to a design, and tells you plainly what we find.

Should our ADU be detached or attached?

A detached cottage gives more privacy and more freedom in placement, but it needs its own foundation, roof and utility runs. An attached suite or a conversion of existing space shares walls and systems with the house, which can simplify the utilities. The right answer depends on the lot, the local rules and how the space will be used, and when both are realistic we can price them side by side.

How do utilities reach a backyard cottage?

Water, power and sewer or septic all have to be brought to the new building, and the trenching is often a larger share of the cost than people expect. On public sewer, the ADU usually ties into the existing line. On septic, the system’s capacity needs to be checked and may have to be expanded. The main electrical panel may also need an upgrade. We assess all of this during the bid.

Can an ADU have a full kitchen and bathroom?

Physically, yes, and most homeowners plan for both. Whether a full kitchen is permitted is a zoning question in some places, so we confirm it for your property before design work begins. In a small building, compact appliances, a galley or L-shaped layout and a walk-in shower instead of a tub let both rooms work comfortably without crowding the living space.

Can you convert a garage or barn into an ADU?

Often, yes, if the structure is sound and the rules allow a dwelling there. A conversion still needs insulation, a proper floor, plumbing, heating and cooling, safe egress and other details a garage or barn was never built with, so it is less of a shortcut than it first appears. We assess the existing building and the zoning first, then price the conversion, alongside a new build if that comparison helps.