What Are The Benefits of Easy Access Design?

The benefits of Easy Access Design include:

• Safety
• Convenience
• Extended usability
• Improved visitability
• Added value
• Expanded market
• Product differentiation

The use of Adaptable and Universal Design criteria in the construction of your home benefits everyone, with or without a disability, and does not mean that building costs will increase. Even when using ADA compliant criteria, additional building materials and construction costs may be minimized. Proper area design and location of common items in the home are key components in creating an accessible floor plan. This is what makes Adaptable Design so appealing: your ability to add assistive devices only as needed to accommodate any level of ability.

People with hearing, vision, and other sensory disabilities need items that extend well beyond the scope of blueprints alone. Interior design will play a significant role by substituting one sensory cue for another. Colors, textures, visual markers, and auditory signals are just a few examples. Our Project Manual and Specifications will be invaluable to you for this reason alone. Along with your working drawings, the Project Manual completes your set of Construction Documents and allows you to specify, in detail, every aspect of your building design. The Project Manual is essential in helping you control costs throughout your home construction project.

One of the benefits of our Easy Access Home plans is the inclusion of Universal Design criteria. Some examples include:

• Lever type door handles that are useable by people whose strength of grip has been diminished or not yet developed
• Door openings and thresholds that are designed to accommodate people using walkers, wheelchairs, or other ambulatory aids
• Electrical outlets that are placed 15 to 18 inches above the floor which is easier to use for people that have problems bending over and people using wheelchairs
• The installation of electrical outlets at the front of cabinets for use by people who have difficulty reaching across countertops

The use of Adaptable Design concepts is another benefit of Easy Access Design. Some common examples of adaptable design include:

• Various modifications to sink cabinets that allow access for people using wheelchairs
• Installation of backing behind walls for grab bars
• Installation of shower areas that are convertible to roll-in accessibility
• Area design to accommodate the maneuvering of people using assistive devices

Elderly friends or family who visit your home will very much appreciate even a minimum level of access in your home. A no-step entrance, clear passage through doors, and sufficient turn space in a bathroom for visitors who use an ambulatory aid will make your home much more warm and inviting.

The application of Universal and Adaptable design criteria makes the home more comfortable to live in and extends its usability so that people may stay in their homes as strength and agility diminish over time. Even with a temporary disability, such as a broken arm or leg, you will appreciate the design of your home in a way that you have never experienced it before.