Why Did This Plymouth Family Build an ADU Instead of Putting Their Father in a Nursing Home?

By Buz Artiano, BuildX | March 2026

Watch: Why This Family Chose BuildX Instead of a Nursing Home

If someone you love is struggling to live alone, but you hate the idea of assisted living, so many people are in your same boat and are trying to find a solution as well. Thousands of people every year in Massachusetts go through this same thing. Your parent needs help with the everyday stuff, but they don't need 24/7 professional medical care. Assisted living is crazy expensive and it takes away any shred of independence someone has. But if you move them further away you'll spend hours driving back and forth when you could be at home with your own family and children. There's got to be a better option.

My name is Buz Artiano, and I am the founder of BuildX. We've built dozens of ADU projects across Massachusetts, mostly around the South Shore and Plymouth County areas. We are the only team you need, we handle design, permitting, and construction. So we see every phase of a project from the first site visit up until you move in. We deal with septic constraints, zoning issues, and the state's new ADU laws. When families come to us because a parent or grandparent needs a safe place to live nearby, we understand that the conversation is not really about the size of the place they live, it's more about just keeping family close.

Adam and Keely Farrell are BuildX clients. We built their two-bedroom, 900-square-foot detached ADU in Plymouth for Keely's stepfather, Scott. Scott wasn't able to live at home all alone anymore, but he absolutely didn't want to go to an assisted living place. So the Farrells looked into all kinds of options, but they just kept hitting a dead end. Until they heard about ADUs and called BuildX. We had their ADU all completed in less than 100 days. Now Scott lives right next to his family, on their property, but in his own home and with his independence.

Of course we want to share stories about people who had a great experience with us, but we're sharing the Farrells' story because it's important to know that they really did their homework. They actually interviewed six builders before they chose us. So their opinion on why they chose an ADU over assisted living is more useful to you than anything we could say about ourselves.

Why Did the Farrells Choose an ADU Over Assisted Living?

The answer for their choice is about being close. Scott needed daily support. Keely puts his medication out for him every morning, fixes his meals and then checks on him during the day. So if Scott lived in a separate apartment or condo that was even ten minutes away, every time Keely went to see him it would take an hour or more of time from her own children. Keely said that missing a meal with her family just to drive down the road and back wasn't a choice that was acceptable for her.

Assisted living was not medically necessary because Scott is not at the point where he needs to be in a nursing home. He is like many other older adults who are not really able to live completely independently but are not sick enough to require being put in an institution for care. Every idea that the Farrells came up with had a stumbling block. Condos had stairs Scott could not climb up and down safely. Apartments were too far away. Retirement communities would mean that Scott had to give up his independence and live in an unfamiliar place that he might not feel comfortable in.

The ADU was the solution to every one of those problems. Scott has a single-story home that doesn't have stairs, his own kitchen, a bedroom with a sliding door out to a back deck, and the comfort of having his own belongings around him. He is just steps from his stepdaughter's home. As Adam described it, they wanted somewhere close where Scott would also have his own house.

Watch: Why We Chose an ADU Instead of a Retirement Home | BuildX Testimonial

What Does the Sandwich Generation Have to Do with ADUs?

If you're raising kids while also taking care of your parents, you already know what the Farrells are talking about. Adam said that they're in this difficult part of their lives where they're raising children and caring for elderly parents at the same time. The ADU was the only thing that could make that possible without completely disrupting their lives.

Millions of people in America are in this exact same situation. You can't stop being a parent to your kids because you're caring for parents as well. The usual options mean you either have to drive back and forth every day to check on your parents, or you have to uproot everything in order to move closer to them. An ADU on your own property is the answer. Your parents are close enough to check on between taking care of your own kids and keeping your household going, but they have their own private home and they get to stay independent.

If you're trying to decide if you should move parents into your guest room or start looking for an assisted living facility, the Farrells know how you feel, they were in the same spot. The ADU was the only option that worked for everyone in their family, including Scott.

How Does an ADU Let an Aging Parent Keep Their Independence?

One of the most powerful things Keely said about their ADU was that she can tell her stepfather that this is the reason they built it for him, it's why he's there and not in assisted living, and he's not a burden.

That says a lot more to us than any floor plan or price sheet even could. When aging adults move in with family, so many of them feel guilty about being a burden on their loved ones. But moving to assisted living can make them feel abandoned and alone. An ADU on the family property gives them a home of their own that happens to be right next door to the rest of the family.

Scott is able to relax and do whatever he wants with his life. Adam said he sees him sitting in his chair on the back deck at all hours, even at night. He has his own kitchen, which Keely told us is even better than the one in the main house. He has all of his things and comfortable furniture. He gets to be independent, but right near his family.

We put bedroom sliders on the back wall whenever possible. It gives the person living there some privacy from the main house, and that way the living space faces toward natural light. On lots with a lot of trees, it makes it feel like a private retreat rather than a guest house. We do that because we've built enough of these to see where people are really spending their time. When Adam mentioned Scott sitting on the back deck every evening, that's exactly what we were hoping for.

How Did the Farrells Find the Right Builder for Their ADU?

For starters, they didn't hire the first builder they talked to. They interviewed six different builders before choosing BuildX. Their vetting process offers a practical blueprint for any family considering this decision.

Adam first heard about ADUs when the Massachusetts by-right law passed and information about it started showing up online. Right around the same time he saw a BuildX sign at Plymouth's first ever ADU project. So they gave us a call, but they also started asking people they knew in Plymouth about Buz and BuildX. They were told that Buz treats his employees well and does things the right way. Keely reached out to her own friends and they also mentioned Buz and his quality of work.

Adam said BuildX had great communication, plenty of ADU experience, and reasonable prices compared to the other builders they talked to. Keely also told us that other builders didn't check all of their boxes, but fortunately Buz did. He was willing to answer every question they had, big or small.

If you've been talking to builders, but you just don't feel like any of them are exactly what you're looking for, you're not the only ones, the Farrells felt like that too. They dealt with it by asking people they knew, checking completed work, and finding someone who answered the phone the same day they called with a problem.

What Was the Build Experience Like from Start to Finish?

We told the Farrells the project would take 100 days, but it didn't even take that long. When a family is helping care for a parent every day, how fast the construction went was important.

The Farrells said that there were three things that made us stand out from others they talked to. First, the design process used 3D models and we did it over Zoom. Keely and Adam could ask Buz to move walls, change layouts around, and make all kinds of other changes live while they were on the call. When Adam went through the finished ADU, he said it looked just like the 3D model he showed them, maybe even exactly.

Second, we always stayed in communication. If the Farrells had any worries or concerns that made them feel like the project couldn't move forward, we talked to them and handled it the same day. We would be right there on the phone or over Zoom to work it out with them.

Third, the team pushed back when the Farrells had ideas that wouldn't work. Adam said he really appreciated that. Sometimes they would want to do something and the BuildX team would have to tell them it wasn't a good idea and explain why. The Farrells had never built a house before, so having someone with experience say no, and tell them why, was something they said they really appreciated. That honesty is part of what the design-build model is supposed to give you. One team, accountable for every decision from design through construction.

At the end of the project, the BuildX team helped Scott move into the ADU. Adam told us that was above and beyond what he would have ever expected.

Is an ADU the Right Choice for Every Family with an Aging Parent?

No. An ADU works when the aging family member needs help with daily stuff but they don't need 24/7 medical care. If your parent has advanced dementia, needs regular nursing, or needs more supervision than the family can provide, a skilled nursing facility or memory care place could actually be the safer and better option.

An ADU also requires that your property can support it. There are a lot of things to consider like lot size, setback requirements, septic capacity, and your town bylaws. We carefully look into every one of those things before we quote a project, because the first thing you need to know is whether your property will even work to build on or not.

The Farrells' situation was pretty specific. Scott needed help with every day stuff, but he didn't need a nursing home or 24/7 care. He wanted his independence, but the family wanted him close. The property in Plymouth had the space and the infrastructure to support a detached ADU. When all of the right conditions line up, an ADU can be an amazing solution for a family. But if the conditions aren't right, we'll tell you that right upfront.

Your Family Deserves to Explore Every Option

The Farrells built an ADU because every other option felt wrong. Assisted living took away the independence Scott needed and wanted. Condos were too far away, and a guest room wouldn't give him a fully livable space of his own. The ADU gave Scott his own home, gave Keely the ability to care for him without giving up any time with her kids, and gave the entire family a solution that worked on every level. When Keely told Scott he was absolutely not a burden, that's exactly how the right solution should feel for anyone.

If your family is facing a similar decision, the first step is finding out whether your property can support an ADU.