DIY Network

Personal Touch: When I'm 64! From "Blueprint for Home Building" episode DBHB-211

In the final segment of "Personal Touch" host Jeff Wilson examines your future housing plans with the adaptability of your home in mind. It could mean expanding your home for a growing family or the possible need to downsize at some time.

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It's never too early to think about how your new home may have to change as your physical needs change through the years. You and your builder should be thinking about these needs even at the blueprint stage.

When designing for a family, or anyone, the designer and architect should always keep in mind what the future needs are going to be.

As the homeowner, you need to think about how you'll utilize space as the years pass and your needs change. For example, if you live in a multi-layered home have you made sure that you can navigate from floor to floor, and are there bathroom facilities on each level? And are the doorways wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs or any other medical equipment?

If you're a young couple moving into your first home, if you're planning a family are extra bedrooms in the original plan? Taking adaptability into account, a growing number of builders are opting to use universal design, which is a building term that denotes construction that takes into consideration varying different levels of ability or disability!

The universal design includes the following:

• Grab bars in the bathroom (figure A).

• Cabinet heights that are accessible from a wheelchair.

• Hallways and doorways that are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, electric scooter or a walker.

• The avoidance of steps that aren't necessary (figure B).

Ease of accessibility to your home's entry is something to consider in the planning stages of your home's construction. For example, the plan for your home's new walkway that leads to the entrance to the house should rise gently so it could be used in the future by a family member who may require a wheelchair, walker or any kind of mobility aid.

Figure A

Figure B

	Figure C
	Figure D

Expansion Tips

In case you do need to expand your home sometime down the line, here are a few tips:

• One option of home planning would be to built it so it "grows" with your changing needs.

• When deciding where to place your house on the lot, you'll want to situate it so that there's enough space around the house so you can do expansions.

• If you're building a one-story house originally, make sure the foundation is the thickness -- or thicker than (figure C) -- what a one-story home requires because if you do decide to add on later and make it a two-story house, you'll have that option.

• Plan on converting "existing" spaces into rooms for future need. For example, a garage can also become rooms in themselves. They can have walls like a normal room, be lit like a normal room and remember that you can place many flooring options over concrete, including hardwood, vinyl, carpeting, etc.

To suit baby boomers there's a new trend to build larger home with the need to "downsize" in the future. For example, if you originally had a four-bedroom home to take care of your family and now you only need a couple of bedrooms, you could have a wall or two knocked out to create a huge master suite (figure D).

In closing, you may also want to consider building the master bedroom "downstairs" if you have a multi-level home. As you get older you'll be glad that you don't have to navigate stairs to get to your bedroom.

In the next episode (DBHB-212) Jeff discusses weatherproofing your home to ensure a low-maintenance future.

GUESTS :

Benjamin Clavan
Architect, AIA
E-mail: benjamic@earthink.net

Linda Brettler
Architect
Phone: 323-935-3999
E-mail: lindabrettler@sbcglobal.net

John Harmon
Licensed Contractor
Specialized Services
PO Box 1377
Sunset Beach, CA 90742-1377
Phone: 562-592-3831
E-mail: SpecEmail@aol.com

Pierre Abboud
Designer/Sales
We apologize no further information is available.

Skip Weahunt
Homeowner
E-mail: skip@ownerbuildercenter.com

Bob Miller
CMTS
E-mail: robertmillerpe@comcast.net

Jody Cukier Seigler
Interior Designer
951 North Bristol Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: 310-476-1286
E-mail: jodycs@yahoo.com

Igor Orlovsky
Contracting Consultant
E-mail: heyigor@sbcglobal.net

Pamela Volante
Interior Designer, Lighting Designer
Volante Planning and Design
269 S. Beverly Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Phone: 310-968-6505
E-mail: pamelavol@aol.com

Channing Swift
Contracting Superintendent
2047 Morley St.
Simi, CA 93065
Phone: 310-279-6865
E-mail: xrysto@adelphia.net

Glen Siegel
Director of Halo Marketing
Cooper Lighting
1174 Hwy 74 S.
Peachtree City, GA 30269
Phone: 770-486-5288
E-mail: gsiegel@cooperlighting.com

Dana Pucillo
Design Consultant
California Closets
1735 Stewart St., Suite A
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: 310.566-3280
E-mail: dpucillo@calclosets.com
Website: www.calclosets.com

Douglas Kerr
Contractor
E-mail: dougkerr@pacbell.net