My main whinge is the lack of architects who understand the simple phrase handicap access - even many of the floorplans that I rummage through online that claim to be handicap accessible aren’t for people in wheelchairs [in general]
I see bathrooms that do not have the space for a person to park the chair and transfer to either the toilet or to a shower seat. I see bedrooms that are not big enough for anything larger than a double bed if someone needs to transfer on and off a chair, let alone have room for side tables, dressers and wardrobes [or whatever bedroom furniture desired] and kitchens that do not have adequate storage when you eliminate the undercounter cabinets to allow for wheelchair users, and above counter cabinetry that can not be accessed by someone not able to stand up to reach the shelves. And we won’t even try discussing apartments that have been “made handicap accessible”. Doors that are too narrow, sills and thresholds, tiny bathrooms and bedrooms.
I swear, when we move to California, and have our house built, my freaking master bedroom is going to be at least 30x30, and my bathroom will be the same. I may be able to fit all my clothes into a single military seabag [or footlocker] but I am going to be able to freaking use my wheelchair with impunity! :mad:
Oh, great, just what I’d need…a bigger bathroom to clean.:rolleyes: Just kidding. I know if you have the money to buy or build such a house, you probably have money to hire someone to clean. I’d rather keep things simpler, but that’s me, toilet brush in hand.
What I do have a problem with is the house that another poster referred to, the bloated monstrosity built on lots meant for modest little bungalows. A McMansion that bellies up to its neighbors can ruin the aesthetics of an otherwise pleasant neighborhood. Is this an Eighties thing, too–the idea that you only focus on the home’s interior and to hell with the neighbors and neighborhood?
I’m house hunting right now, and from what I can tell the enromous master bathrooms started to appear at the end of the 1970’s/start of the 1980’s. Walk-in closets seem to coincidentally appear about that same time.
Around here, $600,000 gets you about 4,000-6,500 square feet, granite and hardwoods, 5 BR, multiple fireplaces, etc., etc. with a pool, in a gated community.
Someone mentioned big kitchens- these are actually useful. If you cook for a lot of people, a big kitchen is invalueable because not only does it make it easier to prepare a lot of food, but you also have the space to have multiple people working at the same time.
You might want to find an architect that has actually been done work for disabled people or find a standard floor plan for disabled access. My closet is huge, but I don’t know if it will work for wheelchair access. There is a sharp left right after you walk though the door.
I have been looking online at floorplans. We decided to design our own.
See, even though a chair is not 5 feet wide, rough guidelines for ergonomics state to allow 5 feet for a wheelchair, to allow for manuvering. Properly, the classic 3plop bathroom that is normally 5x7 sink toilet tub/shower in the end making a rectangle needs to effectively be 7 feet x 14, roughly or 3 foot sink base with knee space, 3 foot for the toilet to allow for grab bars, 5 feet of empty space to allow chair parking then the 3 foot wide shower stall with handicapped seat and grab bars. Realistically? You get total crap for designs. [essentially to see if it is handicapped accessible, draw a 5 foot diameter circle in a space to see if it is roomy enough to get a chair easily around/past. Doors need to be 4 feet wide, sliding doors rock as you don’t need to maneuver the swing past the chair, or use a grabber to push the door open.. Kitchen design is twitchy, you need knee space under counters, and they are proportioned differently as sitting in a chair you are not the same working height as someone standing. Deep pile carpet sucks for chairs, thresholds are speedbumps on the road of life, or at least moving around. Honestly, it would be fantastic to start a program for architects to take them through different houses with a cane, on crutches and in a wheelchair. Make them live for a week in each.]
Actually, I have been considering going back to school for architecture … sigh
When I used to rent apartments, we had four or five units designed to be handicapped accessible. They may not have perfectly met all of the standards Aruvqan cites (in particular, I think you mostly got 4’ clearance rather than 5’), but the bathrooms were larger, there were counters with kneespace in the living room, etc. What I always found interesting was that these units were more popular with everyone. “Oh, I can sit down in the shower! The bigger bathroom is so nice. Look, a place to sit at the kitchen counter! I love these wider doors.” The only thing the non-disabled found odd was the lower placement of light switches and door knobs (put there so they’d be easier to reach from a wheel chair). We always had waiting lists on those units even when there weren’t any disabled people who wanted them.
It honestly made me wonder why we didn’t just build every unit to those specs even if the other 90 units required you to walk up stairs.
Did they also have higher-placed toilet fixtures? I don’t mind disabled-accessible places myself except for the fact my legs can go numb (quicker) on a handicapped toilet.
There is an idea called universal design, in which architecture and other stuff is designed to be accessible by both disabled and non-disabled people. Some things, like lever handles on doors instead of doorknobs, can be really useful, when, say, your hands are full. And of course elevators instead of stairs are really useful when you have to bring furniture upstairs. So ideally, all architecture will move in that direction eventually.
My first house I had a huge master bath with, in addition to the shower, 2 stainless whirlpools for ice and heat. My wife was appalled, when she first saw it. My eldest is now a pro athlete, and thinks its the greatest idea ever. Even though I’m long retired from sports, I still wish I had them. I enjoyed having the space in there, and wouldnt mind having something a little bigger than I have now.
Oh GAWD, I hate door levers! We had those in Germany. Babies learn to open doors a LOT sooner, and those door handles reach out and ATTACK the soft, fleshy parts of your body when you aren’t careful. I think everybody had nasty bruises on the forearm area from being jabbed by door handles.
We called coming home to the US, “Returning to the Land of Round Doorknobs.”
~VOW
Until it comes time to heat and cool it. Making things worse, many of these homes have very high ceilings, so all the heat goes up there. Solution? Install some ceiling fans to create a wind chill!
I Have a 700 sq. foot condo (which is large for mid-city DC) and I gasp every time I see my January and February electric bill - averaging about $90. Heating some of these palatial homes must cost $300 a month.