This is my favorite time of year. The sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Christmas bring with them such warm thoughts and memories as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. We gather in our friends and families’ home to celebrate the season and enjoy each other’s company. But what if someone can’t get in? Most of us live in what has been referred to as “Peter Pan” housing. (For people who never get old!) If you or a loved one has had an injury or an illness that has affected your mobility, or if you are simply feeling the effects of getting older, you may find that there are now obstacles to simply getting into your or a loved one’s home. Or you may have difficulty getting into or using the bathroom when you do get into the house.

I have spent much of the past week in CAPS (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) training. This certification, offered by the National Association of Home Builders is the only nationally recognized certification for building professionals who perform aging in place home modifications. These modifications allow people to stay in their homes when their abilities and limitations are changing. We spoke a lot about Universal Design which is the type of design that allows anyone regardless of ability or limitation to use the space without special adaptation or modification. We also talked about visitability. Visitability is the minimum level of accessibility that would allow a person with a disability the ability to visit the house. In general terms, this means an entryway that can be used by a person who uses a wheelchair or has other mobility impairments. It also means that there is at least one accessible bathroom on the main floor of the house. I think in the future we will see more houses built with these and other accessible features built in. After all, the added cost of many accessible or universal design features is very low when they are incorporated into the design when a new home is being constructed. These same features can involve much more time and expense when they are added later to an existing house. The difference in cost between a 2’-4” door with a standard handle and a 3’-0” door with a lever handle might be less than $20 when you are building the house, but it could be hundreds to replace the smaller door in an existing house. That door could make the difference between you or someone else using that room or getting into your house. I am working to increase awareness in the coming year of how our homes can work for us or against us. I am available to do Housing Needs Assessments and can often make a huge difference in safety and quality of life or just enable everyone to make it to your holiday feast for less than you might think. I am also available to speak to your church or civic group about home safety, home modification, aging in place, or any related subjects. Just call me at 540-384-2064, email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com or drop me a line at Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc. 428 W Riverside Dr Salem VA 24153.

I wish every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have enjoyed writing this column and I welcome questions or suggestions about topics you’d like to see covered here in Housing Matters.

While I usually highlight issues inside the home, this month I’m going to talk about getting in the door. While most of us never give it a second thought until we have trouble negotiating them, most homes have at least two or three steps from ground level to the front door. Most attached garages have at least one step up to the main floor level. Sometimes this obstacle becomes an issue after an injury. You or a loved one is ready to come home from the hospital after a broken bone and you realize you can’t get in the house! I’m going to discuss some immediate fixes to get you in the house, but I’m also going to suggest some design ideas so that if you’re building or remodeling you can avoid having the problem come up at all.

The first solution that occurs to most of us is a ramp. For an immediate solution, they’re hard to beat. We have modular aluminum ramps available for sale or rent and we can have them installed within a couple of days. Ramps do have their drawbacks, however. Many people do not like the idea of a wheelchair ramp sticking out of the front of their house. Depending on the topography, you might be able to put it in the back or in the garage. The other drawback of a ramp is the space they take up. A properly installed ramp should slope no more than one inch of rise for every one foot of run. Suppose you have three steps on the front of your house. The typical step is about seven inches tall, so your ramp would have to be at least 21 feet long. Even in a garage where your ramp might be only 7 to 8 feet long, you may be taking up parking space you can’t afford to lose.

Another option to consider is a platform lift or a chair lift. A platform lift will accommodate a wheelchair or a standing person and raises straight up and down. A chair lift is a seat that mounts on the stairs and goes up and down the stairs on an incline. Both of these types of lifts get around the space required by a long ramp, but the cost can be quite high.

If you have the luxury of planning ahead, I would recommend building a zero step entry into every house that is built. Often, the easiest way to do this is to simply build the garage floor level with the main house floor. While building codes used to prohibit this practice, it has been accepted for almost ten years now. Unfortunately most builders continue to build with the step down. Another way to accomplish a zero step entry is to build up earth into a berm leading to the vicinity of the door and constructing a level “bridge” to the door. This prevents the problems associated with backfilling against the wood floor framing of the house which can lead to rot and termite problems. A gently sloping sidewalk is installed leading from the end of the “bridge” to the street or driveway. And don’t forget to install a door with a low threshold that won’t be an obstacle to anyone with mobility issues. It’s also a good idea to provide a roof over the entry to help prevent water from coming under the door as well as to protect you from the weather as you are entering the house.

If you need advice about your specific situation, please give me a call at 540-384-2064.

There are many ways to build a ramp in such a way that it complements the style of the house. As part of our housing needs assessment Solid Rock Enterprises will look at your home and design a ramp or other modification that complements and adds to your homes appearance as well as functionality. We will use our years of experience to look at your unique situation and suggest solutions that fit your needs, your taste, and your budget. Every home is different, and every homeowner is unique. We assess each situation individually to discover the best solution for each client. After all, satisfied clients are our final product. When building a house using Universal Design principles (see Housing Matters July 2009) we would situate the house so that there would be a barrier free entry at ground level, and on an existing house we would look at the possibility of creating this kind of entry through grading and the use of walkways that would eliminate the need for a ramp altogether. Another technique is to build a ramp in line with the existing porch to soften its visual impact. We always use materials and railing styles that match the existing house as much as possible. Another way to make the ramp blend in is with the use of landscaping such as shrubbery plantings to take the focus off of the ramp. In some cases, a vertical platform lift will be a better option than a ramp. Sometimes a ramp can be installed in the back of the house. As the old saying goes there is more than one way to skin a cat.

If you or a loved one is experiencing limited mobility, don’t let it limit your life. There are many resources and options available to you today to improve the quality of your life. You should have the chance to sit out on your front porch and enjoy a summer evening. If we can help you in assessing your housing needs and presenting options to enhance your life and allow you to stay in your home longer, please call Chris Moore at 540-384-2064 or E mail me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. Please see our ad on page ? of this issue. Remember, that front porch is waiting.

This month I’m going to highlight a bathroom renovation I recently completed. Like many of us my clients were having trouble with their bathroom. As I’ve talked about many times, the bathroom is one of the most challenging areas of the home as we get older. Getting in and out of the bathtub can become difficult, if not impossible. Frequently there are fall and tripping hazards everywhere. This project is an example of how you can transform a bathroom from a hazard to a space designed for aging in place. As you can see, the bathroom was difficult to get in and out of. There was a window in the tub area that been covered up in a previous remodel, so there was no natural light. The commode was standard height, so a raised seat was needed for comfort. As you can see from the black and white striped wallpaper, the walls were really wavy. Overall, it was a bathroom that was unsafe and unsightly.

The first thing we did was remove everything but the vanity from the bathroom. We installed solid blocking in the walls for the grab bars we would be installing, reinstalled insulation in the exterior wall, and uncovered the window!  The natural light makes a huge difference! There are no barriers to getting into the shower area and the bathroom is fully wheelchair accessible if that ever becomes necessary. We re-plastered the walls, formed a walk in shower, and installed ceramic tile on the floor and walls. The shower has both a standard showerhead and a hand held showerhead, and the built in seat allows for seated showering. The new taller commode makes getting up and down easier and the grab bar between the commode and the shower folds down to facilitate getting up from the shower seat and also the commode.

If you or a loved one could benefit from a similar transformation in your bathroom, please give me a call at 540-384-2064 or send me an email at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. I can come to your home and perform a Housing Needs Assessment and then make recommendations about how we can transform your bathroom (or any other room in the house) like the one you see here.

There is a small but growing movement sprouting in this country that is creating “elder villages” where seniors who wish to remain in their own homes as they age are banding together to help themselves and each other access the services they want and need to make their lives more safe, secure, comfortable, and enjoyable. I am excited by this trend and will be working to create a village here in Salem and hope to see them sprouting up throughout Central and Southwest Virginia. There is already one in the works in Lynchburg (they can be reached at 434 851 6530). According to the Village to Village Network website (www.vtvnetwork.clubexpress.com) there are over 50 villages operating across the country and one in Australia. These villages vary widely from one another in complexity, scope, and organizational structure. Some have paid staff and charge hefty membership fees; others are run entirely by volunteers and charge smaller fees or none at all. What they all have in common is that they are groups that are organized to help their members have better tools to age gracefully in their own homes and have better access to the resources that already exist. I believe that this approach to life, to take stock of our needs, pull up our bootstraps, and make our homes and communities better places to live is the heart and soul of the American Spirit. We need more of this kind of can do thinking and entrepreneurship in our country and I for one applaud it wherever it can be found.

I would like to begin a conversation within our communities in Central and Southwest Virginia. Let’s begin to band together to take care of our seniors and make each other’s life richer and more fulfilling. As I have been involved in providing home modification services to help seniors remain in their homes, and as I helped care for my own mother before her passing in July, I have realized more and more how fragmented our senior services providers are. I have seen the need for a centralized directory of services to help those who are caring for a loved one find the help they need. This is one of the functions of villages to provide a list of vetted providers to their members. These providers may also offer a discount to village members. The senior networking groups which operate throughout this region are a great source for service providers who provide services to seniors. Some of the services which may be offered include:

• Transportation

• Home health care

• Social and educational programs

• Companionship

• Home Modification

• Companionship

• Errands

• Meals

• Help with financial issues, paying bills, etc

2064 or email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. I look forward to seeing these villages pop up all over our region.

As this is my last column of the year, and Christmas is right around the corner, I’d like to take a moment to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to thank him for all the blessings I have received throughout the year. I hope that each of you will count your blessings and I wish every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I was recently reading a study,”Caregiving in the U.S”* which looked at the number and impact of people in this country who care for or help to care for another adult. With the aging population, more and more of us are involved in caregiving in one form or another. The study cited that 44 million Americans or 21% of the adult population is involved in caring for another adult. The vast majority (83%) of these are family members. The estimated value of these services, if they had to be paid for, is 257 billion dollars annually. One of the hardest parts of being a caregiver is finding resources to fill needs and finding answers to your questions about everything from transportation to medical issues to housing maintenance and adaptation to allow for changing needs. Where do you look for answers to these questions? One place people here in Southwestern Virginia can begin is right here in the Senior News. Each issue is jam packed with resources to help someone caring for a senior. If you don’t see it in these pages, call Gary Cooper who generally knows about anything related to seniors that’s happening in Central and Southwest Virginia. His contact information is located in the front of the magazine.

If you use a computer, there’s a website that’s devoted to helping caregivers find resources and answers to their questions. It’s called www.caring.com and deals with every aspect of caregiving from housing to health. One of the features they offer is a panel of experts from a wide variety of fields. These experts provide free answers to questions in their area of expertise. I was recently honored to be chosen as an expert in the areas that I deal with in this column, Universal Design, Home Modifications, and Aging in Place. I believe that over the next few years we will see a dramatic shift in the way we care for our aging loved ones. One of the reasons I got into this line of work in the first place is that I believe that we suffer as a society when we isolate our older population in retirement communities. I think that when a community is well integrated and different generations interact with each other on a regular basis, everyone benefits. Some of the people whom I have done remodeling projects for, particularly some of the World War II veterans have enriched my life tremendously just by having a chance to meet them. If you are caring for a loved one, cherish every moment you have with them, even when you are worn out, because our time here on earth is over in the twinkling of an eye.

So if you are a caregiver and need help, look through the resources available in the pages of this magazine or at www.caring.com. If you could use some help making your home more accessible please give me a call at (540) 384-2064, send me an email at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com or write to me at Solid Rock Enterprises, 428 W Riverside Dr, Salem, VA 24153. I would be happy to help.

* “Caregiving in the U.S.” National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, April 2004

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