Parade of Homes featuring the best of new homes in Manitoba, Canada
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1481503
VISITABLE HOMES ARE NOT THE SAME AS ACCESSIBLE HOMES, WHICH HAVE MORE SPECIFIC FEATURES FOR PEOPLE WHO USE A WHEELCHAIR OR LIVE WITH A DISABILITY. • CONSIDER FINISHES While specific finishes aren't required in visitable homes, little extras provide added benefits. Inexpensive options include levers on doors instead of knobs, and single-lever or hands-free kitchen and bathroom faucets. Soloway also suggests choosing slip-resistant flooring. Hardwood would be fine, but tile can be slippery when wet so check its finish. • PLAN AHEAD If you want to age in place, incorporate some features at the start of the build to avoid costly future adaptations. Have your builder install supports behind a bathroom wall so grab bars can be attached later on. Consider a walk-in shower instead of a shower-bathtub combination. And think about whether that shower will have a curb or not. "If you want a zero-threshold shower, that entails dropping your floor joists. You can't just build a zero-threshold shower on top of an existing floor. You have to cut open your floor and slope your joists down," Soloway says. "That would be less costly to do while you're building a house rather than adding it in during a renovation." Rocker-style light switches are good choices, and light switches can be located a bit lower on a wall, while electrical outlets can be placed higher. In a two-storey home that doesn't have a main- floor bedroom, plan ahead for an elevator or a staircase lift. Vertically stacking closets on the main and upper floors creates a space that could later house an elevator shaft. And building a wider staircase with supports in the wall makes it easier to accommodate a lift. "There is a cost associated with most changes when you're going outside the cookie-cutter so there's going to be a little bit of cost with making a house visitable, but the benefits of taking on the little bit of expense now far outweighs the expense of converting a non- visitable house in the future," Soloway says. "If you want to age in place, the visitable house isn't considered fully accessible. But if the need arises, the renovations are easier and possible. It can also make your home more appealing for resale." Hearth Homes hasn't seen as much demand for visitable homes as it has for multi-generational houses, which also have user-friendly features for senior parents, such as a main-floor bedroom. "There's a lot of talk about the aging population," Soloway says. "I think as the population continues to age, the awareness of those benefits is going to spread and then the demand will grow." POH Parade of Homes FALL 2022 33