Talking on another site…
I was on a website and suggestions for handicapped housing features
were requested. A lot of them were in my ebook. Here is a summary of the posts.
Lots of requests were repeats so I just listed them once. There were a few that I hadn't included in my "Creating Your Forever Home." So here's what I gathered.
From the e-book itself
"The House Itself or Rooms, Rooms and More Rooms
□ One accessible barrier-free level with all of these on
first floor
□ Living Room
□ Master Bedroom
□ Closets
□ Barrier-free Bathroom- open concept for master bedroom combo
ADA Compliant or
large enough to transform
□ Laundry Room□ Kitchen-ADA compliant for wheel chair usage
□ Pantry-ADA compliant adjustable shelves
□ Dining Room
□ 2nd Bedroom
□ 2nd Bathroom
□ Home Office or Hobby Room
□ ADA Access to 2nd or 3rd Floor or Basement if available
Have
written a blog, free e-book on subject.
In addition to the ADA standards, floor should not have any threshold barriers
between rooms. Brighter lighting. Height adjustable cabinets, shelving, and tables,
extra grab rails worked into design in hallways, Landing zone spaces at
all doorways and space to stand or roll wheel chair beside entries to all
rooms. Lower cabinets should have roll out drawers. Eliminate as many doors as
possible." Carolyn Overcash
Each
person has unique disabilities or methods of dealing with those disabilities. Customizability is important. Borrow or rent a wheelchair, walker, and crutches for a
day. Try doing your normal activities with each of these.Except for the wheelchair we've tried them at my house. My home is not completely ready. a motorized wheelchair with leg outstretched in the bathroom or bedroom or entrances is still not possible. Modifications would be necessary and I'm pretty certain the bathroom just doesn't have the space at 5 feet by 11 feet. Walker, Yes, Crutches, Yes, Wheelchair, no.
Here’s the answers visitors to the site gave:
Ranch style house, unless you have an
elevator (stair lifts require extra transfers)
A large
garage to accommodate ramp and handicap accessible van--wider & taller
spaced design
Barrier free entrance preferred-a no step
porch & entrance
In addition to any needed ramp, ADA steps for
walker
–more shallow and wide, deeper for walker to
fit on (Good for cane and crutch user)
An accessible path to the driveway/sidewalk
Audible and visual
alarm/intercom system with video
Audible and visual
doorbell
Entry into the home with a push of a remote
to open the doors
WiFi enabled locks
Exterior doors with automatic openers by
pushing a button, keypad, or by voice.
Open
floor plan–open pathways in rooms
Wider doorways- 36-42 inches minimum
Eliminate hallways if possible
Wide hallways 42-48”
minimum, note 60” is minimum for a wheelchair turn around
Light switches lower and wall plugs higher to
be available to wheel chair persons-ADA
No
carpet
or else Commercial type Low pile carpet
Eliminate throw rugs-
they are dangerous
Eliminate
carpets-tangle in front wheels of wheel chairs,
wheel chairs tear up carpet, wheel
chairs harder to push,
more wear and tear on carpets, carpets wear down batteries quicker
Hard
wood floors-scratch resistant
Tile
floors (non slip if difficulty walking)
Large accessible
bathroom with ample space to move wheelchair around and access toilet
Note:
Try out accessible bathroom layouts to see which works best for you
Completely water proof- bathroom
Roll in shower stall
Drainage in floor
Shower water regulator
in the middle of the bath wall
Shower head- you can
adjust water temperature & water regulation
Shower seat (movable
for best placement)
Two handheld shower heads, one for standing up
and one beside the shower bench
Adjustable built in showerheads
Non-slip tile
A large bench for changing
Adjustable height sink
Ability to roll wheel chair under
sink
Faucets & handles available to wheel
chair users (at side of sink or Knee access to turn on water)
Non-slippery Hand
rails/grab bars –ADA+
Walk-in tub if you must have a tub
Larger bedroom
Larger closets with wheelchair access, wider
doors & movable area
Adjustable
shelves in closets, pull downs are nice but pricey
Adjustable rods in closets, pull downs are
nice but pricey
Shorter
drawers with “D” handle, arm/hand strength may be less
Hoyer lift framed ceiling support
availability in at least one bedroom and adjacent bathroom
Preferred
-Hoyer lift framed ceiling support in whole house-
to
be able to install a Hoyer lift track
throughout the house.
Adjustable bed
ADA Kitchen
Upper cabinets need to
be lower, better yet remote pull down
Electric height adjust
sink and stove cook top
Wheel chair can roll
under sink, cook top, prep counter
Island microwave
Organize/Layout Space
so fridge, drawers can be open when seated
Side door opening oven
Lower countertops have
wheel chair access
Adjustable/variable
height counters
Lots of floor cabinets
with lazy-susans , pull out shelves and drawers
Pull out shelve/drawers
Windows that crank or
roll out since it is hard to lift them up from a seated position
Accessible laundry
rooms w/ lower front loading appliances and controls
that can be reached from a
seated position
Extra lighting in laundry area, tong hook for tong
Wall studs placed so
grab bars can be placed where needed/necessary
Drawer dishwasher
Pocket doors or lever
handles on existing doors
Enough room to easily
turn corners.
Appliance controls
that are reachable when seated
SureHand lifts to
transfer with tracks in the bedroom to the bathroom or to another part of the
house.
A saltwater swimming pool for rehab
Eco friendly building
materials that do not need off-gassing
Padded corners
Walk-out/Roll out
basement
Paved or smooth paths
and walkways in yard or low pile turf or grass (no gravel)
Appliances such as
lights, thermostat, fans, controlled by phone app or remote.
