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What is ADA?

The ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, became law in 1990. It sets standards for the construction of accessible public facilities. While our floor plans are in no way “public facilities”, we have intentionally designed features that accommodate people with disabilities or those confined to wheelchairs. Practically speaking, it means we thought about and considered how someone in a wheelchair would use the home, and made sure we provided adequate features throughout the floor plan to make it easier for them.

Door Openings

Throughout our floor plans, we provide wider doors, or pocket doors, to accommodate people using wheelchairs. Main entry doors are 36" wide and will easily allow someone in a wheelchair to pass through with space on either side to operate the chair. Most other openings throughout our floor plans are also 36" wide or greater. In tighter spaces, door width is 34" which still provides adequate space. In other areas, we’ve utilized pocket doors so people won’t have to deal with the space from the door swing when navigating tighter areas. These features also make it easier for those with canes or walkers.

Zero-entry Showers

Throughout our floor plans, we have designed zero-entry showers or optional zero-entry showers. Meaning, there is no transition or additional material barrier or elevated material obstacle that would force someone to navigate to get into the shower. The flooring is seamless and goes straight into the wet area. This typically comes at a greater cost to produce because the slab has to go down in height in those areas to make room for the transition. Most other builders don’t include this feature but we feel like it’s a much nicer design feature, especially if you are in a wheelchair.

Ramps

We’ve intentionally designed ramps in the front and back porch areas as well as in the garage. This means primary access and egress have built-in ramps for those in wheelchairs or for those who have a little difficulty navigating changes in elevation from green spaces to the slab and from the garage to the utility room. As an added bonus, these ramps will make it easier for larger objects or furniture to be wheeled-in when using a dolly.

Blocking

Behind the scenes, we are including blocking for future ADA grab bars in strategic locations throughout the floor plans. This means there is additional wood structural elements within the frame so that bars that people need to help them support their weight and use the bathroom can easily be installed in the right locations without retrofitting or additional, troublesome brackets that typically fail.