Accessible Housing

For most people, a home is more than a building: it is a state of mind, an expression of personality, the one place where it is possible simply to be. The types of homes in which people live reflect their tastes and priorities. Deciding to change that home, whether through remodeling or relocation, is a major decision. Finding the right house or apartment requires attention to a myriad of details: price range, location, aesthetics, overall floor space, the number of bedrooms, and more. People with disabilities face the same considerations, but as important as they are, they are overshadowed by the need for housing to be accessible: housing that enables people with disabilities to live their lives as independently as possible.

Accessible housing comes by many names: handicapped housing, barrier-free housing, universal design, building for a lifetime, and so on. We have adopted the term accessible housing.

The simple truth of this idea is that buildings and outdoor spaces we live and work in have been designed for people who have full use of all limbs and all five senses. Unfortunately, over 43 million Americans do not fall into this category.

With the growing public awareness of the importance of accessibility, the barriers are beginning to vanish. However, there is more to an accessible home than wider doors and hallways and a couple of grab bars. While these features are essential elements of an accessible design, there are many more features that can be integrated into a house to enhance the productivity of a disabled resident.

A barrier-free exterior is just as important as a barrier-free interior. We make sure that the site we build on is suitable for an accessible house. It is important that people are mobile outside as well as inside. In kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and laundry room, we incorporate many special features that make the room totally functional for people with disabilities.

The Design Elements
An accessible home does not have to look institutional. Accessible Home Builders builds attractive, single story homes designed by nationally recognized architects and home designers that are fully accessible. To illustrate this point: The exterior and interior features are practical yet stylish. Your new home will be designed so that adaptations can be made easily - and inexpensively - either as its residents age or need special modifications as a result of physical limitations from an illness such as arthritis or built completely barrier free for individuals with cerebral palsy or other disability.

Around the House

When you enter an Accessible Home Builders home it is what you don’t notice that creates the aesthetic appeal of the home. Stylish assistive devices are integrated into the home rather than using institutional styles.

The exterior doors are aesthetically pleasing, but more importantly, they are designed with safety in mind. In an emergency situation, they provide direct and quick access out of the house with zero thresholds and adequate width.

· All homes are built with an open floorplan to allow for a feeling of spaciousness and quick and easy access to all of the homes amenities.

· The wide doorways 36 inches, throughout the house are cased in wood. Aesthetically, this adds a more finished look. Practically speaking, wood is more durable than sheet rock. Wide, wood trim is not as likely to get damaged over the years as sheet rock.

· Hall areas are four feet wide.

· The roof trusses for the bedrooms are designed in the event someone needs to add an overhead lift to help themselves or another family member out of bed.

· In lieu of movable furniture, the designers added built-in cabinetry, such as built-in drawers on either side of the gas fireplace and built-in bookcases above them. This provides greater "circulation" space, or space to move around in.

· The windows feature optional cranks with large handles that are easy to grasp making the cranking motion easier on the hands and wrists.

· This horizontal band around the room features recessed cove lighting. Such lighting is designed to minimize glare, handle higher wattage light bulbs and work well with dimmers. It's ideal for people with impaired vision, or for those who are planning to build their final home.

The engineered or solid wood floors throughout the house have a better commercial-wear rating (as opposed to a residential rating). As a result, they're low maintenance. All you need is a damp mop to clean them, no wax or refinishing needed - and they're sturdy enough to handle wheelchair traffic.

Please link to the Accessible Home Builders site for information on making your home more accessible.