A Universal Design Checklist For Better Bathrooms

You probably only build or renovate a bathroom a couple of times in your life. Considering universal design in the planning process will lead years of easier use at worst and possibly even delay entry into an assisted retirement home at best.

The concept of Universal Design has seven base principles.

The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions of the user's sensory abilities.
The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue.
Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility.

Using these principals as guidelines we have developed this thought starting bathroom checklist.

Consider using varied height bench tops with movable base cabinets. This will allow access for people in wheel chairs or those who find it difficult to bend.

Allow 60 inch turning space. People with walking frames or wheel chairs can then maneuver through the room.

Brace walls in and around showers and baths. This will allow flexible installation of grab rails when required.

Install a power outlet next to the toilet. An electric bidet or washlet can be installed when required.

The toilet should be mounted about 2.5 inches higher than the standard. This will help frail people to get up off the pan.

Install showers with a hand held option. A six foot hose will be adequate for most bathing situations.

Consider using perimeter grate drains in the showers. This way you can put a one-way fall on the shower floor. This means a shower chair can be positioned without wobble.

Use a toilet paper holder that can be used with one hand.

Use slip resistant flooring in both the bathroom and the shower.

Consider lighting the shower cubicle.

Eliminate sills on shower screens. This will avoid tripping hazards.

Use contrasting colors on the bench top edges.

Install mixing taps (faucets) that allow one handed usage and are connected to a hot water system that is thermostatically controlled.

Putting a bit of thought into bathroom construction at the design phase will lead to years of practical service.

Alex Cochran

Making life more accessible through Universal Design.

For more piratical ideas on renovating using universal design principals visit:

Universal Design Renovations

http://www.universaldesignrenovations.com/wordpress/

A hands on account of the trials & tribulations we encounter renovating a house for disability access.

Home Tips - Stair Lighting Problems

Walking up and down the stairs in the dark could become a safety issue. If the stairs in the house are not that old, there should be a light switch at the top and a light switch at the bottom of the stairway. This is a three way switch and is designed to allow you to turn the stair lighting on as you walk up the stairs and then turn the stair lighting off, once you've safely reached the top of the stairway. And vice versa as she walked down the stairs.

If you don't have a light switch, there are motion sensor lights that are battery operated and can be installed easily in the stairway. These lights can provide you with peace of mind, while protecting your family from accidents.

Stairway accidents are nothing to joke about, I lived in a two-story house with four other people and was the last one to fall down the stairway. None of us got seriously injured and the stairway was built to meet local building codes and was inspected by a building and safety inspector. The stairs were built correctly and the stair lighting was no problem, but people still fell down the stairway and it always happens in the evening.

During the day time there were two windows that let plenty of light into the stairway and in the evening the stairway became quite dark, rarely was the stair lightning ever turned on. This could have been outright laziness but nevertheless, it was rarely used and eventually became a safety issue.

Lighting your stairway might not end all of your problems but it can and some of your problems. There are plenty of stair lighting systems available on the market today and some of the battery operated stair lighting systems can be installed by most homeowners.

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Discolored Roof Shingles

Garden Benches - Functional, Eye-Catching Seating For Your Outdoor Space

Sometimes, it can be the little touches around your house that will make the biggest impact on your guests when they are over for a visit. Whether it is something like a piece of furniture, a nice accessory or even a seating area around your exterior, the smallest touch can make a world of difference. Having something that is both functional as seating as well as adding a lovely accent can almost seem like a dream come true.

A shining example of something that is both stunning to look at and convenient when it comes to sitting for a spell is concrete garden benches. Basically, no matter where you place one of these selections, you are going to see that it is guaranteed to make a world of difference. How so? Well, first off it provides someone with a comfortable place to sit because of its spacious seating area. And, they can also be very pleasing to the eye since there are options that have just enough of a touch of artistry, like beautiful accents, making it a piece that you will be proud to display for all of your guests to see and enjoy.

There are other concrete garden benches that are styled in other beautiful way, making them also pleasing to the eye. Like, you can get ones that have a bird and flower motif and some that are just plain and simple, yet still very pleasing to the eye since their concrete has a tinge of color into. You can even have the one you purchase personalized with your choice of a name or even a saying. Some even have up to four lines of room to use, something that would make this one a thoughtful and memorable gift as well.

Okay, so maybe garden benches crafted from concrete is not something that you are all too excited about investing in. Not a problem because there are options crafted from other kinds of materials as well. For instance, you can get ones that are made out of beautiful teak wood that have a stunning natural golden tone. Or, you can get others that are built from recycled polymers and plastics and additional woods like Southern Yellow Pine, Western Red Cedar, Alder, Shorea, and Meranti Mahogany.

What is nice about garden benches is how they would be a fantastic fit in any outdoor space. Like, you could put one on a porch as a lovely way to take in the sights and sounds of the neighborhood. A few other places where you could place one include a backyard deck, a garden of course, and on a boat dock. If you are interested in purchasing one of these seating options, a great way to look into all the choices is by going on the World Wide Web for some online shopping. It really is a fast way to check things out since you do not have to step foot outside of your home to do it.

In the end, garden benches are just a lovely functional seating option that you will not regret investing in.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is indoor benches for your living, bedroom, or even http://www.morethanteak.com for your deck or patio, there are many tips you can use to make those spots both functional and beautiful.

Lowest Construction Bids

Pest Droppings in the Attic - Pest Problems

Sometimes I wonder how these large animals can get through such small holes in our homes and into our attics and crawlspace's. A few years ago, I was working on a home that had water damage to the siding that needed to be fixed. The homeowner of course didn't want anymore water damage and this required repairing roof, the original cause for the siding damage.

When I bid the job, I had no idea what I was about to run into. The first day on the job, went smoothly as I repaired some damage fascia board, but the next day I was in for a surprise, as I removed the damaged siding, I found what looked like dog poop in the attic.

I was looking around in the attic and trying to figure out how a dog could of got up there. I know that I shouldn't have, but I walked around the home inspecting it for a large hole, any holes, something that a small dog could have wiggled his way into. I got my latter off of the truck and then went on the roof, trying to find a place where a dog could have got into the attic.

I couldn't find any holes and after wasting about an hour, I decided it was time to get back to work and since the homeowner wasn't there, I couldn't show him my new findings or ask him any questions. I cleaned up the mess and repaired the water damaged siding, but in the back of my head I kept thinking about how in the heck a dog got up in the attic.

To make a short story even shorter, when the homeowner arrived home that day, I showed him my findings and he informed me that he didn't have a dog. He did however inform me that he has been hearing something walking around in his attic for about a year now. He had a pretty good idea that they were raccoons.

I told him, that I had inspected his home and only found one small hole on top of his roof underneath the roof eave, but there's no way that a small raccoon could fit through that hole. He told me that you would be surprised, what these animals were capable of squeezing into and out of.

Well that's about it, the mystery was solved, I repaired the small hole in the attic and have never heard from the homeowner again. Hopefully that meant I did my job well and not that he was embarrassed about the poop in the attic.

Pest Control Ideas, House Pest Pictures

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

What The Bleep Do You Know

Creating Your Electricity

Creating your own electricity and generating your own power has always been one of my dreams. Having a self sufficient home, not only a house that takes care of itself by generating its own electricity through windmills or solar panels but the satisfaction knowing that no matter what happens to the electrical companies you will always have electricity at your home.

What a wonderful feeling it would be to get a check back from the utility company instead of paying them every single month. I don't know about you but my utility bills are ridiculous and seemed to be going up in price constantly. I can't believe all the fees they have been charging for years to all of their customers. If you add all the fees for every person in the city or county this comes to a large, a very large number and it's getting worse not better.

Generating your own electricity with solar or wind power is definitely green thinking. This is going to be the wave of the future as fuel used to create electricity continues to rise in price. I really can't imagine what the price of electricity is going to be like in 10 years as the mass consumption continues to rise in developing countries.

We have got to start taking care of our own needs through solar or wind power. We have got to start creating our own electricity to become self reliant. The more self reliant we become as a nation the less dependent we will be on major corporations, especially large power conglomerates.

Creating our own electricity can also be used for electrical cars that can be purchased in the future. Think of the money you will say in fuel costs as the price of gasoline continues to increase as well as less pollution into our environment.

This is definitely the wave of the future and common sense tells us this. I suggest you read this article again if you haven't figured out some of the problems coming our way in the future.

Think green and together we can start saving the planet.

While searching for new alternatives and trying to get some advice on creating your own electricity I came across a book you can purchase in digital format. This book seems to have quite a bit of information on creating your own electricity for a totally self sufficient home.

This book has been created in digital format to reduce the consumption of trees and the waste involved in creating a regular book. What a wonderful idea for helping our environment in quite a few ways.

While searching for new alternatives and trying to get some advice on creating your own electricity I came across a book you can purchase in digital format. This book seems to have quite a bit of information on creating your own electricity for a totally self sufficient home.

This book has been created in digital format to reduce the consumption of trees and the waste involved in creating a regular book. What a wonderful idea for helping our environment in quite a few ways.

For more information visit http://www.gregvan.com and look for Get Earth4Energy Here Create your own electricity! Save 1000's with Earth4Energy

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

How to Build a Carport

There are several reasons that a carport could be an excellent addition to your home: a carport can protect your vehicles from the elements, keeping them looking much newer for much longer; carports are a great and inexpensive way to add value to your home if you are planning on selling in the near future and carports can give you a protected area in which to conduct projects like fixing your automobile, working on your lawn mower, working on your bicycle or acting as the checkout for your yard sale.

Though undertaking the construction of a new carport can be a bit difficult, if you're reasonably handy and know your way around some basic tools you should be able to complete the project without hiring a professional contractor to assist you.

There are a few different types of carports that you can choose from - and different levels of quality of each. Some freestanding carports are made from aluminum framing and are super light-weight, easy to assemble and are able to be moved form one location to another; sturdier freestanding units are available in which you'll need to dig holes and set concrete posts for more hearty supports - these carports provide much more protection than the aforementioned units but are a bit more difficult to build and can't be moved once they are built.

Braced carports, as a whole are viewed as more heavy duty than freestanding carports, because they are attached to your house on one side. It's true that pretty much all braced carports are of a heavy grade and more resilient than the tent-like aluminum pipe freestanding carports, but some of the heavier duty freestanding carports will provide just as much protection as any braced unit.

What do you need?

This is the first question you need to ask yourself before any carport building takes place. You need to research all of the varieties available to see which will best suit your purpose. Important things to consider are: what exactly your carport will be used for, if it needs to be portable or should it be a more permanent construction and what the weather is like in the area in which you live - the more severe weather conditions you experience, the more sturdy your carport should be.

You'll also want to check for any local ordinances before commencing any construction. Even a very simple carport may require you to get permits with your township before you begin the project. You'll also want to check with the local utilities to ensure that there is no gas, water or power lines present in the area in which you'll be building. It's of the utmost importance that you adhere to all local codes and ordinances to ensure that you and everyone around you remain safe.

How to Do It

Regardless of what type of carport you decide is best for you, you'll likely be able to find a pre-packaged kit with all of the raw materials you'll need for construction and a detailed plan to follow in order to get you through the process.

If you do find a kit for the type of carport you're looking to build, you'll still need the tools to put it all together. The plans should give you a list of the tools that will be required, but common ones used in this type of project are: a circular saw, a hammer, a plumb level and chalk line, an electric drill, a screwdriver and nut driver (or bits that fit into your drill), and a tape measure.

Depending on the type of carport that you are building, the project as a whole could be very simple or reasonably advanced. It's very important that you follow the plans that come with your carport to the letter - read over the entire instruction packet from beginning to end to make sure that you understand it before you even unpack the building materials. Even a simple mistake could lead to a hole in the side of your house or a concrete pad where they isn't supposed to be. Measure everything twice and double check that everything is level and in it's appropriate location before making any cuts, pouring any concrete or attaching any brackets. Careful understanding of this project is crucial for any permanent structure and it's also very necessary for any portable structure. Starting this project blindly could lead to an error that renders your carport unusable.

This project isn't easy when compared to some other home improvement projects, but it's far from impossible if you've got some knowledge and can carefully follow instructions.

Prefabricated metal buildings direct from the manufacturer. Offers a wide selection of steel buildings, metal carports, steel garage buildings and more.