Access to the Outdoors
As I am writing this, most people have spent a good part of the last week digging out from 22” of snow, a rare occurrence in these parts. However by the time you are reading this article spring is right around the corner and you might have even seen the first robin of spring. Springtime makes most people want to get outside in the fresh air and enjoy the great outdoors after having spent a lot of time indoors over the winter. Getting outside can be a challenge for anyone with any type of mobility issues, and being able to access the outdoor spaces around your home is just as important as access inside the home for a better quality of life. Let’s take a look at what to look for in designing and building an accessible yard and garden. A walkway with a firm, solid surface, a slope of no more than 1 in 12 and preferably 1 in 20 leading to all areas of the outdoors that you wish to access is critical to access for all. This walkway can be concrete, pavers, stepping stones, or a wood walkway. If stepping stones are used, it is important that they are closely spaced or else the spaces between the stones can make it difficult for someone using a wheelchair, walker or cane to negotiate. A great way to make the outside accessible is to build a porch, deck, or patio that is on the same level as the adjacent floor in the house and install a door with an accessible threshold. This approach allows someone using a wheelchair or a walker to come directly outdoors from the house and enjoy the fresh air. Special care is needed at the doorway to properly flash the transition and allow for drainage if the deck or patio is not covered. A wonderful approach is to build a roof over the porch and maybe even screen it in to keep those pesky insects away. Many people consider their screened porch “their favorite room in the house”. If you enjoy flower or vegetable gardening, you might want to consider raised beds or hanging baskets. I am sure everybody has seen the upside down tomato plants that are advertised all over the place. The idea is to create accessible spaces that work for everyone. Raised beds can be built like tables with knee space underneath for wheelchair users. These beds can be built from treated lumber or from naturally rot resistant wood such as cedar or tropical hardwoods like Ipe. A trellis or pergola can provide shade as well as a support for many kinds of vines. If you enjoy the outdoors, don’t let the fact that you are not as mobile as you used to be deter you from enjoying the outdoors. The sky is the limit. You are only limited by your imagination. If you enjoy the outdoors and would like some help designing and building an accessible outdoor living space give us a call at 540-384-2064.
Virginia’s Livable Homes Tax Credit
The deadline to apply for the Livable Homes Tax Credit is February 28. If you purchased a new home or remodeled an existing home in 2013 and the new home or the remodeling involved accessibility features you could be eligible for a tax credit of up to $5,000 on your Virginia income taxes. If you qualify for the credit, don’t miss the deadline of February 28. If you purchased a new home in 2013 (either newly built or converted from a non residential use) and it meets the three features of Universal Visitability or incorporates three accessibility features and meets the requirements of an existing standard, you are eligible to take the $5,000 credit. The three features of Universal Visitability are 1) at least one zero step entry into the house, 2) an accessible bathroom on the same level as the zero step entry, and 3) doorways with at least 32” clear width and hallways and passageways with at least 36” clear width leading from the zero step entry to the bathroom and an eating area. If all of these three features are present, there are no further requirements. If you do not have all three of these, the home must incorporate three accessibility features and meet the requirements of an existing standard. Some examples of accessibility features are: Accessible route such as a ramp Zero step entry Lifts Elevators Zero step entrance 32” clear width doorways 36” clear width hallways Accessible switches, outlets, and controls Accessible bathrooms Accessible and usable kitchen facilities Grab bars Lever handles on doors and fixtures Sensory modifications The requirement that you meet an existing standard is a little murkier because there are several different standards that exist that could be referenced. I have found that the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), while not technically applicable to single family homes, will cover you if you are in compliance. If you have specific questions, get in touch with me and I’ll do my best to answer them for you. If you retrofitted or remodeled an existing home, the project must include at least one accessibility feature and meet the requirements of an existing standard. If sensory modifications have been provided, they must be structurally integrated into the home. Sensory modifications are anything that would assist sensory disabled people such as a doorbell that activated a strobe light for a person with hearing loss. Any device must be permanently attached to the home to qualify. The credit for retrofitting an existing home is also $5,000 but is limited to 50% of the cost of the project actually incurred by the taxpayer. Please note that any costs paid through Granting Freedom, the VA, VHDA, Department of Rehabilitative Services, or any other organization would not be eligible for the credit. For either new or existing homes, if the credit exceeds your tax liability, you may carry the credit forward for up to seven years, and if the amount of eligible credits exceeds one million dollars, each approved taxpayer will receive a pro rated amount of credit. Once you have submitted your application you will receive a tax credit certificate from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development by April 1. I hope this information is helpful. If you have questions please call me at (540) 384-2064 or email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. You can download a copy of the guidelines and application at www.dhcd.virginia.gov/LHTC.
The Peter Pan Dilemma
It has been two years now since the first baby boomer turned sixty five and during that time they have continued to do so at the rate of ten thousand per day. Baby boomers will continue turning sixty five at this rate for another eighteen years or so. By 2030 about twenty percent of Americans will be sixty five or older. In addition to this dynamic, we are living longer. The fastest growing demographic in the United States is the eighty five and older segment of the population. This “silver tsunami”, as it has been called, will impact every area of our lives. One of the most significant areas that this sea change in population will affect is housing. Many studies have been done about peoples housing preferences as they grow older. Most of these studies show that approximately ninety percent of respondents want to stay right where they are. However, most of them have not taken any steps to make this feasible or even possible. Most of us live in what has been described as “Peter Pan” housing, that is, housing built for people that will never grow up. From the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, our homes present obstacles for anyone with diminished mobility, manual dexterity, hearing, or eyesight. Let’s face it; our homes are designed for the mythological average, healthy, young person. It is not just elderly or disabled people who are impacted by peter pan housing. A couple with a newborn baby in a stroller or an athlete with a broken leg will struggle with the same obstacles as a person trying to navigate their home in a wheelchair. These obstacles include stairs, narrow doorways, doorknobs and faucet handles which can be difficult to grasp, countertops that are too high or too low, thresholds on doors, poor lighting, electrical switches and outlets that are hard to reach, lack of sturdy handholds to help prevent falls, slippery flooring, etc. The list goes on and on. If you have struggled with any of these issues, or tried to care for a loved one who has, you know what I’m talking about. The immediate solution to these dilemmas is to modify our homes to create living environments that will be safe, comfortable, and enjoyable to live in. The long tern answer is to build homes that incorporate these features to begin with. While renovating an existing home to make it usable can be a significant project, building these features into a home from the beginning can often result in an insignificant increase in time and expense. Always remember that any condition can only be considered a disability to the extent that one is unable to perform a particular function. If our homes, communities, and businesses allow someone using a wheelchair to access everything that a walking person can, there is no disability. If these ideas are intriguing to you and you would like to learn more, please visit us at the Roanoke Home and Garden Show at the RoanokeCivicCenter on January 10-12. I will be making presentations on this subject throughout the weekend and I would love to have the opportunity to meet you and answer any questions you might have. I would also welcome the opportunity to hear what subjects you would like to see addressed in Housing Matters in 2014. Please call me at (540) 384-2064 or visit my website at www.solidrockenterprises.com if you have questions. Thank you for reading Housing Matters and I wish all of you a very happy and healthy New Year.
Fall Protection in the Home
The Christmas season is upon us. All the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that we associate with the wonderful celebration of the birth of Christ fill most of us with warm feelings. We scurry around looking for just the right gift for that special someone. But what to get for the person who has everything? I am going to suggest a gift that keeps on giving. Give the gift of safety and peace of mind in the New Year and beyond. Most of us know an elderly person who has fallen or maybe we have fallen ourselves. What you may not know is that up to one third of Americans aged 65 and older fall each year. In fact falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. Often a fall begins a downward spiral of lack of confidence which leads to more falls. The financial toll for falls by older adults will increase as the population ages and may reach 54.9 billion by 2020. If you or a loved one is prone to falling, these are staggering statistics. To put it into perspective, every 15 seconds an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 29 minutes an older adult dies following a fall. So how do you prevent yourself or a loved one from becoming one of these statistics? Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc. is pleased to offer the Fall Protection Package. This package protects you from fall related injuries, particularly in the bathroom. We focus on the bathroom because many falls occur in the bathroom and the ones that do can be the most devastating. Falls are more likely to occur in the bathroom for several reasons. First of all, everything is more slippery when it is wet. Second we often go the bathroom during the night, when we are only partially awake. Third, if we do fall we grab whatever we can to steady ourselves and most of these items will not bear our weight. And fourth, surfaces in most bathrooms are very hard, leading to greater injury in a fall. The three components of the Fall Protection Package are a Safeway Step, grabcessories, and smart cell flooring. The Safeway Step is a tub cutout that lets you step into the tub much easier. Stepping over the tub wall gets increasingly difficult for many older Americans and many falls occur as people are getting in or out of the tub. The second component consists of strategically placed grab bars. Having a securely mounted grab bar can mean the difference between a momentary loss of balance and a devastating fall. We offer grab bars cleverly disguised as needed bathroom accessories. The final component of the Fall Protection Package is SmartCells® flooring. This revolutionary flooring product will reduce the impact of a fall by up to a factor of ten. The SmartCells® patented, dual-stiffness structure becomes softer under impact while at the same time providing stability for balance-impaired persons and care-givers. Available in different colors as well as drain through versions for use in a shower or tub, SmartCells® offer fall protection previously unavailable anywhere. If you have a loved one who is prone to falling, why not give them the gift of safety and peace of mind in the New Year? Call us at (540) 384-2064 for more details, and this year give them the gift that will truly make a difference in their lives. Thank you for reading Housing Matters and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year!
Be Thankful
Do you ever get discouraged? Of course, we all do. Things don’t go our way, we suffer aches and pains or serious health problems or people let us down. There are certainly lots of things going on the country to get discouraged about. With Thanksgiving coming up this month, how do we get ourselves in a thankful mood? I am reminded of the old hymn “Count your Blessings” written by Johnson Oatman, Jr. in 1897. Part of the song goes like this: When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. If we take the time to look we will soon find that we have more to be thankful for than to be discouraged about. One thing I am thankful for is our nation%