PORT TOWNSEND — Homeowners need to consider the ability of their dwelling to accommodate growing older regardless of their age, according to the head of the Jefferson County Home Builders Association.
“If you plan to stay in your house for a long time, then it’s better to look ahead,” said Liz Coker, who is preparing for the annual Home & Garden Expo this Saturday.
“You need to look at your house and figure out what you can do this year and next year so you aren’t reacting to something that is brought on quickly.”
If homeowners don’t plan ahead, Coker said, it can cost them more money when needs become immediate.
The expo is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave.
About five of the 51 vendors will be showing products related to installing or retrofitting accessibility features in a new or existing home.
This can include walk-in showers, grab bars, ramps, faucet handles and windows that make the home usable for people with physical disabilities.
Coker said people building new houses should meet with their contractors in order to install wider doors, unrestricted access in at least one outside door, accessible bathrooms and special wiring.
Think lights are dim
“As people grow older, they may think that the lights in their home aren’t as bright,” she said.
“This has nothing to do with the lights; it is due to a gradual loss of vision that happens to everyone as they age.”
A contractor can build in wiring for lights along the stairs, even if the lights aren’t installed right away.
“If this is the house you plan to live in the rest of your life, you need to say that to your designer or your builder,” Coker said.
“You may not want those cute little one-two steps that go up to your doorway or a second floor because you can’t get a wheelchair around them.”
One plan is to design a house with the major living space all on one floor, moving extra bedrooms or offices upstairs.
Consultants helpful
Some innovations, like a heated floor, are expensive, but it doesn’t cost much to hire a consultant to determine what the home needs to become accessible, Coker said.
A consultant is helpful either for a new home or a retrofit, she said.
In either case, an accessible bathroom can be the most important part of the house.
“A lot of bathrooms look big, but there is no place for a person in a wheelchair to turn around,” she said.
“If you are unsure, you can invite a friend who is in a wheelchair to go into the bathroom and give it to you straight whether they can easily use it or not.”
A new shower with a smooth entry point and a specially designed drain can be part of a retrofit, she said, along with a flip-up seat that can hold 400 pounds.
“Everyone knows what a grab bar is, but they don’t put them in their home because they are ugly or they aren’t the right size,” Coker said.
“People add a grab bar and think it makes a bathroom accessible, but it doesn’t. You need to install something that fits your size and the needed angle because people have very different disabilities.”
Asked for more
Coker said she raised the visibility of accessibility products after several attendees at last year’s expo requested more information and services.
This year’s expo at Blue Heron has almost twice the space as Mountain View Commons, which has hosted the expo for two years.
Another advantage of Blue Heron is that it is Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, Coker said.
The expo is free and open to the public.
For more information, go to www.jeffcohomebuilders.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
