Accessible Home Design
"Accessibility" as it is in the design of buildings, a concept that most of us are a bit familiar. The required Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA") that most buildings will be designed by the public for easy use by people with many types of disabilities. We've all seen accessible parking, ramps, washrooms and retail stores, airports and office buildings.
Homes, should also be included design features and products that are easierUse by people of all ages and abilities. This design is a concept called "universal". For most people, but the image of an accessible home is one of fluorescent lights, wheelchair ramps, and white porcelain sanitary fittings – more like a clinic than a house.
But a home is not as accessible to all. In fact, many design features and fixtures that are good for accessibility suitable for almost everybody. Accessible design is often simplygood design – a well-integrated accessible home design a house Usability can and should extend through more than just one phase of family life.
Start In The Kitchen
A house more accessible is not particularly difficult or expensive. You could even some universal design principles at work in the kitchen now.
"Side-by-side refrigerators are more usable by a person in a wheelchair – other than a unit with the freezer on top.Retrieve within the refrigerator, sliding eliminates the need to achieve all the way on the back of what you want.
A very common debilitating disease associated with aging is less physical force that can make cooking into a big pot difficult when there are repealed fill into and out of the sink with water. Instead of a standard kitchen faucet, install a "gooseneck" allows spout, lift the pot without having to be filled in the sink. And place of the neighborhood, hobthat the pot can be easily slipped over the countertop to the burner – no lifting required.
The latest dish design is the "drawer" type, as described by Fisher & Paykel and KitchenAid. Drawer Dishwasher not so much bend over to load and unload, and because it requires no door in the way they are easier to use from a seated position.
Stay at home
As the aging American population, and escalating housing prices, many homeownerstries in their apartments for longer stays. Too often, however, single-family homes are being developed especially for young families and rapidly obsolete when they no longer have the comfort and security that need senior citizens can provide. It is an unfortunate consequence of a "one-home" mentality – but that's a topic for a future article!
Make a few simple design changes to almost every home assist in a better position to changing lifestyles, such as usability and security issues of importance. One of theThe easiest way is to install the blocking for grab bars at appropriate places in the bathtub when the house is built. This simple and inexpensive structural improvements for the future installation of grab bars, which offer increased security in the showers, bathtubs, toilets and uses.
Another change is easy with "lever-style door-hardware – popular for their beauty and ease of use, but also a prerequisite for people with reduced strength or reduced mobility. Widening of the doors aextend a few centimeters may include the useful life of the house. Standard thirty-inch doors are not wide enough for wheelchair users and can be difficult for anyone with difficulty walking. A thirty-six inch wide door solves both problems and is the moving of furniture much easier.
Ups and Downs
Stairs are the biggest obstacle for any home accessible. As a rule, must be a fully accessible home all on one level – no stairs, step-downs, or even doorsteps. But aone-level house is more expensive than a Europe of two-story and can result in a larger property demand.
A better solution is a residential elevator. Sound expensive? The cost for a one-level house on a large amount in comparison with a lift a very reasonable cost. There are only about sixty square meters on the floor plan, and allows easy access to the first floor, second floor and the basement. Even better, just have to be the elevator shaft is now installed – not the actual elevator systemsmust be in place until it is needed, perhaps many years down the road.
Easier than you think
In most cases, access or universal design is not much more than just good design sense and the desire to make all the houses available – and is not that a worthwhile goal for any home, regardless of the current inhabitants? Our houses are sometimes a little way – we can lower it by making them more functional for a wide range of homeownerswith and without disabilities. We all benefit from the concept that people stay in their homes longer helps.
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