Before moving into their new home in American Fork, Ted and Christie Elder were relegated to carrying their handicapped son up and down stairs.
"We had a trilevel home before this home, and it was not facilitated for our son" Christie Elder said. "That is why we chose to go with a rambler style, to have everything on a main level. We built this home to facilitate him."The Elders took a regular house plan and, with the help of their builder, widened hallways, enlarged family areas and made formal areas smaller.
"The main-level doors are 3 feet wide, the hall width is 51/2 feet from wall to wall and in the main bathroom we made a longer counter instead of having two sinks so a wheelchair could be moved under it," Christie Elder said.
Although their home is handicapped accessible, the 1,500- square-foot rambler has given them real freedom of movement, and the Elders say they would build the same way again, even if they didn't need the accessibility.
Because of new federal and state codes, more and more construction companies, architects, health-care, plumbing and home accessories businesses are catering to the needs of the handicapped. There are more options for new home designs, and ideas for remodeling existing homes are also more prevalent.
"In any design, regardless if it's geared toward the handicapped, it is prudent to get the most efficient design," said Salt Lake architect Harold Woodruff. "This isn't a new thing (handicapped accessibility), but there is a new focus on it and emphasis."
For example, for the first time ever the Utah Valley Homebuilders Association Parade of Homes featured a Springville home, the La Casa Allegre, built for wheelchair accessibility. The home includes wide doorways and minimal halls. It also won a special award for the bathroom design, which included a wheelchair-accessible shower.
Making a home wheelchair accessible means more than just putting down a ramp and adding a bar grip next to the commode. Levered door handles instead of knobs, raised electrical outlets, special smoke detectors, cabinetry and plumbing fixtures, halls, doors and family areas built for turnaround mobility and much more help make a home more livable for the handicapped.
Woodruff said widening and enlarging areas can cost extra. "The house itself tends to get bigger because you have more space; there is a cost increase, usually from 10 to 20 percent," Woodruff said.
James McAlexander of Landmark Designs, Eugene, Ore. (home designs are featured each Sunday in the Deseret News), said that although his company has designed several homes for the handicapped, too many folks cause themselves extra worries and costs while trying to meet their accessibility needs.
"There is too much ado made about making designs for handicapped accessibility," he said. "Almost any design of home I can make handicapped accessible. The major design problem is with the bathrooms. Homes are easy to modify and no more expensive than other homes."