Having a house built

Aliya · 05-28-2008, 05:43 PM

I would like urls for ada compliant kitchens and bathroom designs. The house we currently own was built to be fairly accessible but we made a few mistakes such as the roll in shower being a bit cramped. Also this house was built on a concrete slab we planned on having a foundation on the next house guess I will have a ramp in the garage to access the house still thinking on the best option for the front door. Be great if anyone had videos posted so I could get some ideas on the interior design of the house. With this house my upper kitchen cabinets are wasted space no way can I reach those. I just need some ideas.

Thanks

titanium4motion · 05-28-2008, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aliya

... the roll in shower being a bit cramped. ...

How cramped is "being a bit cramped." was it made?

Kitchen cabinet manufacturers should have designs available. Contact each manufacturer as ask for the 'chair accessible kitchen layouts? Also try at Home Depot, Lowes's and such to see if their cabinet departments have designs availables? They can also draw up a design for you in minutes. The two cabinets design people I worked with were able to make 3D drawings of cabinet setups fairly quick.

titanium4motion

Aliya · 05-28-2008, 06:54 PM

The shower is tiled the man that installed the tile floor said he would give a go at the shower but it doesn't drain well because its not that sloped I guess. This was my first roll in shower so I am not complaining been happy enough with it but since I have a second chance at one I would like more room. The current shower is wide enough for me at 4'6" but its only 36" deep basically it was all the room we could spare in the bathroom.

I will check at lowes this weekend about cabinets.

cementhead · 05-28-2008, 07:05 PM

Aliya, I just finished a house.It's zero point entry no steps with a full basement.You just have to put a ledge on the inside of the foundation so the garage floor and front stoop are level.Also they make equipment that will lower your wall cabinets down to the counters with a push of a button it's pricey but in the long run worth it.I also have a phone booth type elevator that hides in the floor that doesn't take up any real living space.

Tom

titanium4motion · 05-28-2008, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aliya

... at 4'6" but its only 36" deep ...

Hah! I still have you beat!

My shower floor was 32" X 60" when constructed in 1988. (Anyone any shorter?) They just took the old tub out and poured in a cement bed and tiled it. This was before the ADA when "This looks good about here." was the standard design method for accessibility.

I just made my old roll-in shower into a shower room using the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, ADAAG and Accessible Showers An Installation Guide by NC State University, see attached pdfs. Everything is done except the entry shower door I am waiting for. Turned out excellent!

I have pictures of my kitchen done in 1988 which is quite accessible except for the upper cabinets' middle and tops shelves. I'll hunt them down, scan them and post them.

titanium4motion
credit: US Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) - ADAAG and NC State University for Accessible Bathrooms An Installation Guide dpfs.

Aliya · 05-28-2008, 09:00 PM

Well that is almost how I ended up with a roll in shower the area the tub would have been in plus the builder gave us a little extra room by making the closet shorter.

Tom, my husband had thought of digging out for the foundation but was told by a co-worker that it would just hold water so think that made my husband leary of the idea. The building codes state the foundation be no less than three concrete blocks high which I guess is 36" high. Maybe we can talk to the person who will dig the foundation to see it could be below ground level not sure if the inspector would allow it.

We won't start building till July or so just want to make sure things are planned out this time. Thanks for all the info and ideas keep it coming.

Lazlo · 05-28-2008, 09:49 PM

We in the final phases of building out our new house. We went with a cement slab on purpose, with a couple large closets and space in the garage for storage. One nice feature we added was in-floor heating through the whole house, so the floor supplies uniform radiant heat throughout.

We do have some high cabinets that I'd have a hard time reaching but we'll put infrequently-used things up there. Everything else is accessible, even the tub! I'll post some pictures after we move in.

sjean423 · 05-28-2008, 11:19 PM

There are a lot of threads around here about kitchens and bathrooms. If you use the search option you should be able to find them. They may give you some ideas. Here are a couple I found:

http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthr...t=show+kitchen

http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthr...=show+bathroom

Aliya · 05-29-2008, 03:42 PM

Talk to the inspector today and was informed if we have a foundation it has to be 32" above ground level to pass inspection. Going to talk to my husband about having another cement slab. Do many of you have houses on cement slabs? The house we are in now is seven years old we haven't had any problems but if we did have plumbing problems part of the floor would have to be torn out so I can see where foundations are nice. Its just nice not having ramps to enter my home wish I could get around it in the next house.

I never thought to use the search engine here not that familar with this website yet. I loved the tile in the shower from that one url. I tried doing a search for the "show me your bathroom" thread but haven't found it yet.

What height do most of you have for your lower kitchen cabinets? My kitchen sink has a cut out under it and is at 34" high would like the next one to be a bit lower. All my other counter tops are 36" and have a regular stove. I can reach the bottom shelf of my upper cabinets but its a stretch and I have my wheelchair adjusted so I sit high. It would be nice to have the pull down cabinets but really don't think that is something we can afford.

ala · 05-29-2008, 07:52 PM

We have a slab home. We had it custom built, finished at the beginning of 2007. Slabs are very common here in Florida. You do not have to have your water pipes in the slab; ours are located in the attic. The only pipes we have in our slab are the drain pipes, and if your builder does those right, they should last for the rest of your lives. Also there are many types of plumbing systems and materials available like the Manabloc system, and they are installed overhead in the attic too.

Manabloc uses PEX flexible tubing and the pressure is adjustable individually for each fixture. The water flushes through very quickly, so you don’t have to run the water as long to get the temperature you want.

05-28-2008, 05:43 PM	#1
Aliya Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 808	Having a house built I would like urls for ada compliant kitchens and bathroom designs. The house we currently own was built to be fairly accessible but we made a few mistakes such as the roll in shower being a bit cramped. Also this house was built on a concrete slab we planned on having a foundation on the next house guess I will have a ramp in the garage to access the house still thinking on the best option for the front door. Be great if anyone had videos posted so I could get some ideas on the interior design of the house. With this house my upper kitchen cabinets are wasted space no way can I reach those. I just need some ideas. Thanks

05-28-2008, 11:19 PM	#8
sjean423 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: connecticut Posts: 8,233	There are a lot of threads around here about kitchens and bathrooms. If you use the search option you should be able to find them. They may give you some ideas. Here are a couple I found: http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthr...t=show+kitchen http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthr...=show+bathroom __________________ T7-8 since Feb 2005 Last edited by sjean423; 05-28-2008 at 11:29 PM.

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05-28-2008, 06:54 PM	#3
Aliya Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 808	The shower is tiled the man that installed the tile floor said he would give a go at the shower but it doesn't drain well because its not that sloped I guess. This was my first roll in shower so I am not complaining been happy enough with it but since I have a second chance at one I would like more room. The current shower is wide enough for me at 4'6" but its only 36" deep basically it was all the room we could spare in the bathroom. I will check at lowes this weekend about cabinets.

05-28-2008, 07:05 PM	#4
cementhead Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: westof Chicago ILL Posts: 273	Aliya, I just finished a house.It's zero point entry no steps with a full basement.You just have to put a ledge on the inside of the foundation so the garage floor and front stoop are level.Also they make equipment that will lower your wall cabinets down to the counters with a push of a button it's pricey but in the long run worth it.I also have a phone booth type elevator that hides in the floor that doesn't take up any real living space. Tom

05-28-2008, 09:00 PM	#6
Aliya Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 808	Well that is almost how I ended up with a roll in shower the area the tub would have been in plus the builder gave us a little extra room by making the closet shorter. Tom, my husband had thought of digging out for the foundation but was told by a co-worker that it would just hold water so think that made my husband leary of the idea. The building codes state the foundation be no less than three concrete blocks high which I guess is 36" high. Maybe we can talk to the person who will dig the foundation to see it could be below ground level not sure if the inspector would allow it. We won't start building till July or so just want to make sure things are planned out this time. Thanks for all the info and ideas keep it coming.

05-28-2008, 09:49 PM	#7
Lazlo Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,901	We in the final phases of building out our new house. We went with a cement slab on purpose, with a couple large closets and space in the garage for storage. One nice feature we added was in-floor heating through the whole house, so the floor supplies uniform radiant heat throughout. We do have some high cabinets that I'd have a hard time reaching but we'll put infrequently-used things up there. Everything else is accessible, even the tub! I'll post some pictures after we move in.

05-29-2008, 03:42 PM	#9
Aliya Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 808	Talk to the inspector today and was informed if we have a foundation it has to be 32" above ground level to pass inspection. Going to talk to my husband about having another cement slab. Do many of you have houses on cement slabs? The house we are in now is seven years old we haven't had any problems but if we did have plumbing problems part of the floor would have to be torn out so I can see where foundations are nice. Its just nice not having ramps to enter my home wish I could get around it in the next house. I never thought to use the search engine here not that familar with this website yet. I loved the tile in the shower from that one url. I tried doing a search for the "show me your bathroom" thread but haven't found it yet. What height do most of you have for your lower kitchen cabinets? My kitchen sink has a cut out under it and is at 34" high would like the next one to be a bit lower. All my other counter tops are 36" and have a regular stove. I can reach the bottom shelf of my upper cabinets but its a stretch and I have my wheelchair adjusted so I sit high. It would be nice to have the pull down cabinets but really don't think that is something we can afford.

05-29-2008, 07:52 PM	#10
ala Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: SW Florida Posts: 2,514	We have a slab home. We had it custom built, finished at the beginning of 2007. Slabs are very common here in Florida. You do not have to have your water pipes in the slab; ours are located in the attic. The only pipes we have in our slab are the drain pipes, and if your builder does those right, they should last for the rest of your lives. Also there are many types of plumbing systems and materials available like the Manabloc system, and they are installed overhead in the attic too. Manabloc uses PEX flexible tubing and the pressure is adjustable individually for each fixture. The water flushes through very quickly, so you don’t have to run the water as long to get the temperature you want.