from the Austin American-Statesman Homes Section - Sunday, November 1, 1998

More buyers want access to easy - to - use - homes
by Robin Gallaher Branch
Special Sections Writer

Because of the aging of America's population and because of the trauma associated with a possible debilitating injury, more and more people approach their builders with questions about accessible housing.

"I call it accessible-friendly housing," says Lucy Taus Katz, who with her husband Joel, owns Katz Builders, Inc. She became interested in accessible housing issues when she volunteered in the mid-'60's at Wilford Hall Hospital in San Antonio. In the ensuing years, she has remained up-to-date on issues surrounding those with mobility, auditory, visual or other impairments.

Before building a home, Katz recommends thinking through several possibilities. Consider, for instance, what might happen if you broke your leg and the doctor confined you to a wheel chair for a while.

What you used to take for granted - your mobility and the freedom to move easily at will from place to place - now requires both inordinate energy and considerable planning on your part and the part of others. Beside the pain, inconvenience and expense associated with such an injury, suddenly, climbing steps, reaching cabinets, using the bathroom and getting into the car become incredible obstacles. Dressing, taking a shower, and doing other activities associated with daily living likewise present problems you probably never faced before.

Think through yet another scenario. What if a beloved grandmother comes for a visit? Frail and wobbly in body, but spunky in spirit, she uses a walker and wants to take part in the family's doings. These same issues - steps, cabinets, the bathroom - challenge her and concern you.

Citing statistics saying that forty million Americans suffer from some form of disability, Lucy Katz adds, "We encourage clients to plan ahead. People just can't live for the moment. They have to think of the future".

Consequently, thoughtful, prudent people who shy away from doomsday predictions nonetheless desire to act responsibly regarding possible future concerns for themselves and their families. They seek to build accordingly.

The Katzes, who build between six and eight home a year, encourage clients to consider possibilities of mobility changes and changes in their physical needs and abilities as they age. Their clients often want a home for their present needs, yet one that will seque nicely into their retirement years. In other words, these clients look for this to be the last home they will build and buy.

For example, two clients, both doctors, designed and built their home in 1997 with the wife's elderly parents in mind. The downstairs suite already has doorway, hall and bath facilities with accessible standards in place. Further-more, the kitchen is grand-mother-friendly because of the pull-out drawers for pots and pans.

But this family did more. Anticipating a time when the grandparents cannot climb the stairs to the game room, a frequent family hangout, the Katzes suggested blocking in space in the foundation for an elevator. The doctors agreed. An elevator's working parts need more room than an average foundation allows, something accomplished by lowering the part of the foundation where the elevator will go. It's relatively easy and only nominally more expensive to block out space for such a request during the foundation process, but difficult and costly to do it once the carpet is down. Currently, the space holds a good sized closet.

"When their parents can't climb the stairs, they can put in an elevator so the grandparent can still join the family activities upstairs," Lucy Katz says.

Another Katz client in Dripping Springs thoroughly researched accessibility issues. "We don't have any children, but we have both sets of parents who come over all the time. We all get along great. They're very active now, but we want to be prepared," the woman explains.

She asked the Katzes for widened doorways, a hugh, friendly and accessible kitchen, and no barriers like steps or levels within or without the single story home.

Accessibility covers multiple issues, Lucy Katz explains. For instance, light may be associated with both aging and disabilities. Sometimes there is too much light; sometimes the room is too dark. For those who have trouble judging distance, putting a stripe at the end of counters in the bathroom and kitchen helps, Lucy Katz says. Lowering light switches and raising plug outlets permits someone in a wheelchair to use them.

Flooring represents a crucial issue. Suddenly thresholds - even the ridge between carpet and kitchen flooring - become important. Hard surfaces offer fewer mobility and transit difficulties.

When thinking about flooring think hard and smooth - marble, tile, wood and scored concrete - for best surfaces. Of the four that present fewest obstacles to people in wheelchairs and walkers, Lucy Katz recommends scored concrete flooring.

The kitchen becomes friendly, workable and accessible for all with various modifications. A wide, open and wheelchair - accessible kitchen like the one in Dripping Springs enables a person in a wheelchair to participate in cooking or to continue being self-sufficient.

"Put lots of drawers in the kitchen instead of cabinets," Lucy Katz says. Citing her own kitchen as an example, she vows finding pots, pans and lids presents fewer difficulties in any kitchen with drawers that pull out into a lighted space. In addition to taking advantage of an awkward corner space, a Lazy Susan allows a wheelchair-bound person to get at supplies, she believes. Besides drawers, consider raising the dishwasher so that a seated person can load it. A lower sink space on an island enables a child or someone in a wheelchair to participate in the cooking and cleaning processes, she says.

Another accessible-friendly measure calls for lowering a microwave to a comfortable counter top height or a height just below the counter top. Lucy Katz, who stands a petite five feet three inches tall, wishes the microwave in her kitchen were not above the oven.

If a person in a wheelchair wants to work at the kitchen sink, the stuff usually under it - cleaning aids, detergent, etc. - needs to be arranged on a mobile, removable cabinet. Pulling out the cabinet and setting it aside allows someone in a wheelchair to roll up under the sink and do whatever needs to be done at the water source. The roll out cabinet's top can serve as a cutting board, Lucy Katz adds.

Some homes, however, may require raised sinks in both the kitchen and baths. Height may be a factor because a person with a back injury might prefer a sink at a higher level in order to avoid bending down.

"Faucets and door handles throughout the house need to be levers and not knobs, Lucy Katz advises.

From a builder's perspective, the task of accommodating accessibility during the building phase can be easy or difficult, Joel B. Katz says.

If the house already has square footage to spare, enlarging a hallway, bath or room may be absorbed. "But what is significant is if a room like the powder bath has to be enlarged for a wheelchair. Depending on where the powder bath is positioned, this can have a significant snowball effect throughout the house," he says.

Richard Huffman of Huffman Homes, Inc., specializes in accessible homes from $40,000.00 to $190,000. He builds six to ten homes a year. In all his homes, he blocks in the reinforcement necessary to make a home accessible.

First, minimum door width becomes two feet six inches - space enough for a wheelchair to travel through.

Second, he eliminates floor or ground barriers where possible.

Third, Huffman reinforces bathroom walls so that grab bars can be attached around a toilet and tub. When finished, the walls look like any other walls, but they're ready for support bars if needed.

Fourth, Huffman also installs an electrical switch panel within easy reach for someone in a wheelchair.

Huffman says these four guidelines, the current ones stipulated under the city's accessible standard, must be met by any builder using city or federal money. Although his company does not use city of federal financing, he still follows them because he thinks making homes accessible denotes good common sense.

"These guidelines are fairly simple and don't significantly alter the cost when they are put in at the building stage," Huffman says.