Building New Homes with an Eye on Accessibility
Recently, I helped a friend move into a brand-new house. Moving is an exciting and stressful time, and I will admit having a little house envy. A new build is a blank slate, with all the latest building technology and appliances. New homes also provide an opportunity that way too many builders miss.
My friend is of a certain age and has some physical limitations. Yet neither of the two bathrooms in her new, built-for-her home is fully accessible. A walk-in shower would be a major improvement over the traditional tub.
After watching both my great-grandmother and grandmother forced to move out of their lovely Victorian home due to lack of accessibility, my parents bit the bullet and did a major remodel and addition designed to age with them. But a remodel is hugely expensive and out of reach for most homeowners.
This brings me to my main question—why aren’t we building our new homes to be accessible?
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not include any requirements for private homes, so this isn’t about applications of the law. However, the practicalities of designing homes in which we can easily age (or recover from injury) seem like they would outweigh the lack of regulatory inducement.
Many of the features that make a home functional for people with disabilities and older adults are useful to everyone. No-step, covered entryways make it easier to bring in the groceries, push a stroller, or use that cute little foldable wagon to haul camping gear out to the car.
Lever handles on doors are a necessity for someone with arthritis but are also handy when your hands are full or if you’ve just put on lotion.
Designing appliances and surfaces that are usable from either a sitting or standing position can encourage children to be safer and more independent.
Walk-in showers with a seat and hand-held shower head are a huge benefit for anyone who is recovering from illness, injury, or surgery, in addition to feeling luxurious.
And even if the initial homeowner doesn’t need accessibility features, the resale value of a fully accessible home shouldn’t be ignored.
Of course, I am a stalwart advocate for inclusion and ensuring that people with disabilities or other limitations can live successfully in our neighborhoods and communities. But I am also a huge fan of doing what makes sense.
Building new homes with an eye on accessibility just makes sense from a practical, social, and economic perspective. Even the modest increase in the initial cost of materials is more than recuperated by the increased resale value and the possibility of staying in your own home for years longer than you would be without a few accessibility tweaks.
Most of us aren’t in a position to build a new home. In fact, our homes, whether rented or owned, are reliant on the decisions of developers, contractors, and owner builders before us. For that reason, this is an important community conversation as we look to our futures and living conditions.