[studinchair]

we are finally ready to start thinking about building a house and how do you know about all the products and making sure you do all the right things. i'm so worried that soon as i biuld it ther will be something that would have made everything so much easier.

i was wondering if their was anybody else that has went through the prrcess or going throuh it.....

thanks
gary

[alyssa]

Although I didn't start from scratch with a new house I had one renovated. Pretty much all of the inside was gutted and rebulit. Six and a half months ago I moved in, and everything turned out great.
In this case the internet can be your best friend. Do lots of research, ask lots of questions, talk to product vendors. Be involved in the process as much as you can.
Good luck =]

This post has been edited by alyssa: 06 July 2007 - 04:25 AM

[Tim13]

I had a house custom built in '95, it turned out great and i lived in it for nearly ten years. It was such a PITA working with the builder, I'd never have a home custom built again, I've heard that from a lot of others too so it wasn't just my disability that made it difficult.
The place I'm in now was just a normal house that i bought and it is much better and only took a few mods to make it perfect for me.

good luck

[edlee]

I had my existing home extended and partially refitted to accomodate me. It seems to have worked out pretty well, so far ( finished last Oct.).

I would reccomend staying very involved with the process, through out.

Small things, like how low they place the sink ( as low as possible ) , which side of the toilet you transfer from, Sliding shelves in the cabinets, lower light switches, higher outlets.

There are a thousand little things that go unnoticed by ABs, but will help you get thru the day.

Don't forget the kitchen. Toe room under cabinets to allow you to access the countertop, Knee room under the sink is a good idea,too, if it fits your design.

My advise would be to try to keep your design simple, so that changes needed later ( there will be some!!) will not be as difficult. More open, fewer walls.

Get a copy of the building codes for your area or the national building codes. There will be section on accessability. That will give you a good place to start.

I hope I helped.
ed

[McRobb]

[font=Comic Sans Ms][size=3]
We remodeled most of our home in the last 2 1/2 years to allow it to function for me when in my wheelchair. My husband is a contractor and does mostly new home construction - he built this home for us 28 years ago. We talked about starting over with a new house but learned very quickly that to function in a wheelchair, it takes more room, not less.

Therefore, we did lots of things that have already been mentioned in the above replys. We also added a ramp addition that allowed me to use my power chair to go to 4 levels of a 5-level, split level home. Before the ramps were done, I was confined to one level and we had turned our living room into a bed and bathroom for me.

One thing I did in my kitchen - put in a cook top that allowed me to wheel in under the thing to be able to cook and see what I was doing. Did the same thing with my sink and got a side-by-side refridgerator with ice and water in the door and lots of storage in the door. That thing alone has been a real help for me. We also built me a large work table with recessed legs that allows me to pull up to it anywhere and use it as a work surface. It is great.

Stay with your carpenter and make them do things the way that you need them done - if they fight doing that, get rid of the guy and get someone who can do it so that it will work best for you. Good luck and there are all kinds of new products out there that can help you out - look for them and do what you can do.