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I now have my own domain and I invite you to visit my new site at 'www.askgaryada.com' for continuing information on accessible home design and the latest on the ADA and more that affects all of us and our families in the disabled community. I will from time to time post here as well but the main part ofg my efforts will be directed to my new site. So come and join me there and I look forward to meeting you there.

The Great Outdoors Part 5

Parking and Entrances

As you can see from the illustration at the right, an accessible driveway is flat and level. Also there are no sudden changes in elevation from one area to another. The driveway is also wider than a one- car driveway by approximately another car width. This allows extra space on the right side of the vehicle for loading and unloading disabled passengers. The walkway from the driveway to the front entrance is wider than a normal sidewalk. To allow for accessibility, the front entrance needs to have a width of 48”. Also, there is not a change in elevation when you reach the porch. The transition from the walkway to the porch is flat and smooth. The porch has a slight angle to it. If you look closely you can see that it slopes from the front door to the flower bed. This create the zero threshold we discussed in an earlier post. The threshold itself is less than 1/2” high. There is one area that, for now, cannot be dealt with and that is the transition from the street to the driveway. In recent years this has begun to change, with curved, sloping curbs, but it still presents a challenge in some subdivisions. It is always a good idea, if possible, to create a landing pad at the curb. This is an area of concrete connecting the curb to the sidewalk or walkway to the front entrance. This provides a solid surface for unloading disabled visitors to your home as well as a solid path to your door. Until next time, breathe peace and God's Love.........................

The Great Outdoors Part 4

Outdoor Kitchen

When the term “outdoor kitchen” is used it can mean anything from a tabletop charcoal grill to a custom built outdoor kitchen setup. For the purpose of this discussion, we will talk about the latter. As with the indoor kitchen, counter top height is restricted to 32” anywhere it is expected that a disable person might use it. So, a prep area that is 32” high should be provided in the cooking and clean up areas to allow easy access. The toe kick should be modified to 9” x 6” and knee space should be provided underneath the cooking and sink areas. It might be necessary to lower the grill surface to 32” to accommodate a wheelchair user as well. The picture to the right illustrates a typical outdoor kitchen. As you can see, the current elevation would make this kitchen difficult to negotiate in a wheelchair. Breath Peace and God's Love.................................

The Great Outdoors Part 3

Pools

Pools can provide the opportunity for exercise for the physically challenged. It is important to provide safe access around the pool. We also need to provide specialized equipment to assist in moving the physically challenged from wheelchairs to the pool and back to their wheelchairs again. The hard scape around the pool needs to be a solid and surface free of changes in elevation to provide the needed stability. The depth of the shallow end of the pool needs two be less than 3 feet. Flotation devices should to be provided to aid the handicapped in flotation. The edge of pool should be slightly elevated to prevent wheelchairs from rolling into the pool, and wide pathways need to be provided around the entire pool as well as between all furniture around the pool for maximum accessibility. Also keep in mind that all changes in elevation should be gradual. If these guidelines are followed, you'll have a pool that everyone can enjoy. Breathe peace and God’s love……..

The Great Outdoors Part 2

Garden

When we think of the garden we generally see beds of shrubs and flowers. But when we consider accessible design for the garden we will deal with the hard scape. By hard scape we mean raised beds, water features, and walkways or paths. In dealing with the garden we must keep three basic things in mind: preventing falls, stability, and reach. Let's start with simplest of these which is reach. Reach involves primarily raised beds. We need to make sure that a raised bed is high enough to allow someone seated in a wheelchair to access the bed without leaning out too far. Now this rule would apply to any area one would need to reach into in order to maintain that area. Next, we need to address a way to prevent falls. To do this you have to avoid sudden changes in elevation that could cause tripping and sudden drop offs, which could be hazardous to wheelchair users. Last, but, not least, we come to the question of stability. For someone with an impaired ability to walk or who is in a wheelchair, a stable surface is very necessary. Areas covered with grass, sand or loose gravel do not provide the stable surface that people who are wheelchair bound would need in order to be mobile. Instead of using these unstable surfacing materials, consider using a hard-surfaced pathway or pathways made from compacted material, such as builder's sand, throughout the garden so that everyone, including the disabled, can enjoy the outdoors. And don’t forget to provide plenty of scattered seating for those who tire easily.

The Great Outdoors Part 1

Since it is Spring and we are all thinking of outdoor activities I thought we would talk about accessible design for outdoor spaces. In the next few post we are going to cover several areas including the patio, garden, pool, and outdoor kitchen area. Also I will cover parking and entrances as well.

Patios

In discussing patios I also include decks, as many of the design factors apply to both. Also there are certain things that are unique to decks. A patio is any outdoor area, usually a poured concrete slab adjacent to an entrance to the main house. Usually there is an elevation change of 3” to 4” from the indoor floor level to the patio level. This is dealt with by using what is known as a zero threshold. This means that the elevation change is handled by a gradual change using a ramp about 24” long from the threshold of the door to the level of the patio. If this is being done during the construction phase of the house this ramp can be blended in to both slabs so that it is not noticeable. Or the entire patio is poured such that there is a slight slope from the entrance away form the house. Note: If this is a remodel and the ramp is not going to be blended in, then a 1” curb must be placed on both sides of the ramp to prevent a wheelchair from rolling off the sides of the ramp. As for the area of the patio itself the only concerns are the furniture placement. You must remember to leave enough space for a wheelchair to maneuver. This means aisle of 36” or more and an area of at least 60” for turn around. The last place in the patio we will look at is again a change in elevation. Also this only applies when going from the slab to a grass area or garden path. In that case we will use what is called a cut-in ramp. I will discuss this kind of ramp and many others in a future post. Accessible design for a deck involves mainly changes in elevation. In addition we need to concern ourselves with slipping and tripping. Again I will cover this in detail in a future post.

Kitchens

One area that is often neglected as far as accessible design is concerned is the kitchen. There are many details that don’t seem to get taken care of. That is because unless you have ever had to use a wheelchair or even had to use crutches for any length of time you are not aware of some of the barriers or inconveniences that exist in the ordinary kitchen.

Let’s start with the most common item in any kitchen, and that is the cabinet. There are several things you need to keep in mind when you order or build kitchen cabinets. The overall height of the base cabinets should not exceed 32” including the counter top. Also, the toe kick changes to 9” tall by 6” deep to allow for a wheelchair foot plate. The base cabinet that houses the dishwasher needs to be raised 9” to make loading and unloading easier for the disabled. Of course, upper cabinets are only useful for a disabled person who can stand, even for short periods of time. For a wheelchair user, they are not of much use if the spacing between the base and upper cabinets is left at 18”. While there is no specific regulation covering this, I always change this spacing to 12” so that at least the lower two shelves of the upper cabinets are within reach.

There three additional areas we need to focus on: the stove, sink and oven. A stove in the conventional sense cannot be used in an accessible kitchen. Instead a cook top must be used so that knee space under the cook top can be either custom built or it can be ordered from a manufacturer. Kraft Maid, for example, has an entire line of accessible cabinets. The second area, the sink, also needs knee space underneath for the same reason as the stove. Also the sinks themselves will have to special order because the drains will have to be to the back of the sink. This will allow for the installation of the disposal unit. The final area we need to look at is the oven. Conventional thinking would say use a standard wall oven. This would be okay except in the case of a wheelchair user, due to the fact that they would be lifting over their head to take something out of the oven, which could be dangerous. Because of this, a single oven is placed in a lower cabinet, which will prevent the wheelchair user from having to lift above their head.

There are a few final things that I want cover. One is electrical outlets, which are usually placed above or in the back splash. Now for someone who can stand this is fine. Again we come back to a wheelchair user, whose reach is limited, not being able to use them. Instead of installing them in the back splash, use the front of the cabinet. Or as an alternative they can be placed in the top of the counter. There are specially designed outlets for this purpose, however this is more expensive. Once again, we need to consider lighting. We must consider the ability of the client to service whatever fixtures are installed. The use of florescent and LED bulbs is recommended.

That's all we have this time. Again if you have questions I have not covered in this post, feel free to leave them for me in the comments section and I will try to answer them in a future post. Until next time breathe Peace and God's Love..........