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Building Our Custom Home |
| PLANNING FOR OLD AGE Athena and I hope to live in our new home until we die. Since we are in our 30s that is hopefully a long time away. But the inevitable will certainly happen one day. So we have planned our house based on us (or a loved one) being unable to use the second floor. We deliberately picked a plan that had a sizable guest bedroom and bathroom downstairs. We altered the plans so that that the entire first floor was wheelchair accessible. Additionally, we have built a terrace on the back of the home and in addition to the terrace having stairs, it also have a ramp that goes all the way to the driveway. That way a wheelchair has easy access to our home through the rear of the house. Also thinking ahead to our geriatric years (or guests) we are installing safety bars in the tub area to help prevent accidental slips and falls. Other things that you can consider are adding an elevator or a place to install one should you need it, a dumb waiter for bringing items up and down the floors or a stair case that can easily accommodate one of those chair lifts. Although we don't even live in our new home quite yet, we are already in love with it. It would be a shame for some disability to force us to move out because of lack of vision and planning. You might only be in your 30s when you plan your home but be sure to think like an 80 year old. ************** Time Lapse Photos of the Construction
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