Adaptable Design - Custom Homes
The functions of a custom house don't change: we eat, sleep and spend our private and sometimes business lives in them. What does change over time is our lifestyle and needs. An architect can assist in this process of considering all the key factors.
Your custom home should be designed with a home architect to help accomodate and adapt to whatever lifestyle changes and activities need to be accomodated. Whether you are operating a business, watching grandchildren or caring for a disabled family member, it is desirable if one can age in place.
Construct the custom house so that future architectural modifications can be carried out at minimum cost. The following are some of the methods that can be used to achieve the objectives of 'Adaptable' housing.
HOME DESIGN CRITERIA - EXTERNALLY
When you site your custom home on the block, consider possible future additions.
- •For convenience and safety an adaptable home should provide adequate car parking space with cover to at least one space.
- •Avoid bends in driveways where cars are required to reverse and areas of limited vision, especially where cars move out onto the street.
- •Carports and garages should have a minimum internal width and ceiling height and an internal length. This permits a wheelchair user access and use of a vehicle. •Carport supporting posts should not obstruct the opening of car doors.
- •Outdoor parking spaces should have a minimum size with provision for width enlargement. Parking spaces should not have a surface slope in any direction.
- •Minimise the need for ramps and steps especially to the main entrance by integrating the house with the site. •Building access should be as level as possible. This can usually be achieved by gently sloping elevated walkways.
INTERNALLY - CUSTOM HOMES
- •Plan the layout of the custom house so that the size of each area allows for multiple usage. Room sizes are critical to the success of an adaptable house and they can vary considerably, depending on the size and layout of furniture.
- •One level living should be possible in a mutilple story home, with wheelchair access to all levels if needed.
- •Allow for wheelchair circulation space adjacent to all doors. This space varies depending on the swing of the door and the direction a wheelchair approaches the door.
- •Corridors between areas of the house should be kept as short as possible and have a minimum clear width .
- •Minimum doorway openings are recommended, measured between the face of the open door and the opposite door frame.
- •Consider increasing the clear doorway opening above these minimum sizes, particularly for external doors.
- •Always allow for a minimum unobstructed area, free of furniture in at least one bedroom and between opposing base cupboards in the laundry and kitchen.
Barrier Free Design in Custom Homes
DESIGNING FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
- •Elderly or disabled people may be at greater risk of accidents in the home. Minimise the number of steps or level changes to reduce the risk of falls. Where steps are unavoidable the riser height should be consistent.
- •Pathways should be solid, level and well lit.
- •Define steps and the edges of paths using contrast and include handrails in the design.
- •Storage spaces at waist height are more user friendly than those requiring bending or stretching to access.
- •Install smoke detectors and emergency lights in bedrooms, hallways and main living areas.
- •Put a light switch and telephone near the bed.
- •Make exterior finishes maintenance free. For items that must be serviced occaisionally, make access safe and simple.
- •Install grab handles for showers and baths.
BATHROOM AND TOILET
To simplify a possible future modification make the wall between tub and toilet a removable partition with no electrical, plumbing or load bearing function.
- •Tile and waterproof the entire floor, grading it toward the shower floor drain. No step should be installed in the shower entry.
- •Securely screw-fix structural plywood to the wall framing of the shower recess, bath and toilet, before fixing the finished wall sheets. This is to allow for the fixing of future grab-rails and other fittings in any location. Record this information on the plans for the future purchaser.
- •All such fixtures must be securely fixed to the plywood with suitable screws or purpose-made anchors.
- •The use of a “p” trap to the toilet allows for more flexibility and changes in placement of the toilet for wheelchair users. Waster is flushed through the wall rather than the floor.
- •Tile the whole floor and relocating the toilet will not require retiling the floor.
- •Install a mirror in the bathroom that can be used by persons either seated or standing. This can be achieved by either tilting the mirror to suit a seated user or by extending the mirror down to the basin.
- •Wall hung basins and “p” traps make wheelchair access easier.
KITCHEN
- •Install floor coverings first, to the walls of the room and then put in the cupboards.
- •Construct cupboards so that sections below the counter top can be easily removed to provide leg space for a person in a wheelchair and provide for height-adjustment in at least one area for food preparation.
- •If an adjustable counter top is not practical, incorporate a pull-out counter into a cupboard at the required height.
OTHER
- •During construction, include channels in the walls to make addition or relocation of new phones, cables etc easy in the future.
- •Wherever possible, install adjustable shelving and pull-out baskets that can be accessed from a seated position. This form of storage should be used throughout the house.
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