WEBVTT - Aging In Place | Hour 3 0:00:00.510 --> 0:00:04.330 KFI AM 640, you're listening to Dean Sharp, the house 0:00:04.380 --> 0:00:09.059 whisperer on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Today on the show, 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.840 we're talking about aging in place, which is a special 0:00:11.940 --> 0:00:15.720 kind of design challenge because what we're really doing is 0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:21.070 we're taking that definition of dream home and we're extending 0:00:21.130 --> 0:00:26.300 it into A home that isn't just beautiful, aesthetically beautiful 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.360 in every way, custom-made for you, but also custom-made for 0:00:29.380 --> 0:00:33.540 you in the sense that it can last the test 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:37.920 of time as you age within your home. Aging in 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:42.100 place is a unique design challenge, but one that can be, 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:46.900 with enough creativity and effort, achieved. Well, we've yet to 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.900 find a home that we haven't been able to... age 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:54.450 in place appropriate to the lifestyle and the aesthetics of 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.710 the people who live within it. So I want to 0:00:56.730 --> 0:00:59.130 get back to that topic, but I've got to carry 0:00:59.210 --> 0:01:01.690 over from our caller section here. I was talking to 0:01:01.750 --> 0:01:04.610 Diane and it's such a relevant question that I want 0:01:04.630 --> 0:01:07.430 to finish up my conversation with Diane before we return 0:01:07.490 --> 0:01:11.000 to our main subject, because her husband has a disability. 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.720 They have a two-story house. They have a stair lift, 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:17.590 a chair lift on the staircase and, So the upstairs-downstairs 0:01:17.660 --> 0:01:22.180 issue has been resolved. But her husband has really wanted 0:01:22.220 --> 0:01:24.640 a walk-in tub to bathe in because it would just 0:01:24.700 --> 0:01:27.400 be easier for him. And I was suggesting that there 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:29.410 are pros and cons to it. I'm trying to give 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:31.930 Diane a very, very honest answer. Diane, are you still 0:01:31.950 --> 0:01:32.229 with me? 0:01:33.310 --> 0:01:33.929 Yes, I am. 0:01:34.350 --> 0:01:39.509 Okay. So I had mentioned that the cost of installing 0:01:39.790 --> 0:01:45.380 a walk-in tub– can very easily become equivalent to the 0:01:45.420 --> 0:01:50.960 cost of a walk-in shower situation. The walk-in tub, definitely 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:53.520 something that maybe in the long run, as far as 0:01:54.180 --> 0:01:57.460 resale is concerned, is not going to be at the 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.660 top of a lot of people, a lot of buyers' 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.380 priority list. It may be something that you'd want to 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.480 change out or that somebody would want to change out. 0:02:05.610 --> 0:02:07.620 But if you're aging in place and you're just planning on, 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.679 I mean, this is your forever home, That's also a 0:02:10.740 --> 0:02:14.359 concern that somebody else is concerned and not necessarily yours. 0:02:14.460 --> 0:02:16.940 Maybe you're being sensitive to the kids or whoever gets 0:02:16.980 --> 0:02:20.019 the house, or maybe you guys are planning on not 0:02:20.060 --> 0:02:22.639 being in there forever. So that's a concern. It's just 0:02:22.660 --> 0:02:26.600 something to think about. My main issues, as I mentioned before, 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.320 is that the actual comfort experience of the walk-in tub 0:02:30.820 --> 0:02:38.410 is rarely dealt with fully transparently by walk-in tub proponents 0:02:38.510 --> 0:02:41.829 because The fact that the door swings in means you 0:02:41.870 --> 0:02:45.070 got to get into the tub naked and sit there 0:02:45.340 --> 0:02:48.579 in an empty tub naked while it fills. You got 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:50.560 to wait for that to happen. It's going to take, 0:02:50.820 --> 0:02:53.240 you know, a few minutes for it to fill. And 0:02:53.300 --> 0:02:57.460 then afterwards, now you're wet. And you're sitting there and 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.919 you've got to wait for it to drain out before 0:02:59.960 --> 0:03:02.200 you can get back out. And when people start to 0:03:02.260 --> 0:03:04.600 think about that, they're like, ooh, maybe this is not 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.480 going to be the panacea that I thought it would 0:03:07.540 --> 0:03:12.880 be at first. Whereas if you're in a shower seat 0:03:13.380 --> 0:03:17.630 with rollers, you could have a walk-in shower. you can 0:03:17.690 --> 0:03:21.750 simply roll into the shower, remain seated, have hand sprayers, 0:03:21.910 --> 0:03:26.220 wall spray jets, the shower head, complete control. You're not 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:29.760 using 80 gallons of hot water every time you bathe. 0:03:30.540 --> 0:03:35.440 So you're saving money there. And you're instantly warm as 0:03:35.490 --> 0:03:39.270 soon as the shower head turns on and you instantly 0:03:39.290 --> 0:03:41.850 get to get out and dry off once the shower 0:03:41.970 --> 0:03:44.410 is finished. Now, all of that being said, at the 0:03:44.450 --> 0:03:47.320 end of the day, It's really up to you. It's 0:03:47.340 --> 0:03:49.710 really up to your husband what kind of experience he 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.290 wants to have. If he really wants that sitting in 0:03:52.330 --> 0:03:55.230 a spa kind of bathing experience, nothing's going to get 0:03:55.270 --> 0:03:58.330 that done except a walk-in tub. But I just want 0:03:58.350 --> 0:04:00.350 to be really clear on what the pros and cons are. 0:04:00.430 --> 0:04:01.070 Does that make sense? 0:04:04.750 --> 0:04:08.590 Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Currently, he has 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:12.140 a transfer chair. And what are your thoughts about that? 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:17.390 Well, see, I think... A transfer bench? Oh, you mean 0:04:17.620 --> 0:04:18.820 into the existing tub? 0:04:19.860 --> 0:04:20.100 Yes. 0:04:20.779 --> 0:04:21.080 Okay. 0:04:21.339 --> 0:04:24.520 So he sits and he showers, but he does have that. 0:04:25.779 --> 0:04:29.599 So that helps him get into the shower comfortably. 0:04:29.620 --> 0:04:35.979 So what is it about the walk-in tub that he's 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.800 longing for that the shower isn't getting done for him? 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.420 Is it just the ease of it all? Because he'd 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:46.810 still be getting up and transferring into... the tub because 0:04:46.830 --> 0:04:48.980 he can't take, you know, the chair in there. 0:04:50.260 --> 0:04:53.140 I think what he likes is the thought of the jets, 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:56.900 you know, massaging him when he's in the tub as 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:58.120 opposed to a shower. 0:04:58.460 --> 0:05:03.640 Yeah. And that makes, yeah, that's entirely a justifiable thing. 0:05:03.860 --> 0:05:06.900 So maybe one of the things that just, you know, 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.160 before I give up on the shower that I can 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.780 also say is the cost of redoing that shower and 0:05:11.860 --> 0:05:17.660 putting massage sprayers in the shower wall is, again, now 0:05:17.700 --> 0:05:21.450 it's not submersing in hot water with the circulation of 0:05:21.490 --> 0:05:25.710 the water, but there are massaging jets that spray sidewall 0:05:25.750 --> 0:05:29.130 sprayers that can be placed in the shower wall as well. 0:05:29.630 --> 0:05:31.850 I think it's just, again, I'm not going to tell 0:05:32.210 --> 0:05:34.310 you that there's a right way and a wrong way 0:05:34.350 --> 0:05:38.060 to do it because there's a market for these walk-in 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.950 tubs and a lot of people want them. I just 0:05:40.970 --> 0:05:43.849 want to make sure it's my job to make sure 0:05:43.910 --> 0:05:46.610 that you have all of the facts going into it 0:05:46.910 --> 0:05:48.880 so you make the right decision for you. And I'm 0:05:49.779 --> 0:05:52.700 not one of those designers who's like, no, no, you 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:56.120 don't do that. Not at all. No, no. Who am 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.900 I to tell anybody the experience they want to have 0:05:58.940 --> 0:06:01.409 in their bathroom? It's my job to listen really carefully 0:06:01.790 --> 0:06:03.710 and just to make sure that you've got all the 0:06:03.770 --> 0:06:06.240 facts along the way. I'm simply saying at the end 0:06:06.260 --> 0:06:08.850 of the day, the cost of that tub plus all 0:06:08.870 --> 0:06:13.210 of the other modifications, plumbing, electrical, tile work, you could 0:06:13.290 --> 0:06:16.890 create a walk-in shower without a dam just that much 0:06:16.990 --> 0:06:22.330 easier that would not require any alterations for resale. You're 0:06:22.370 --> 0:06:25.729 probably exactly in the same cost ballpark, but at the 0:06:25.790 --> 0:06:28.680 end of the day, it's got to be something that 0:06:28.710 --> 0:06:31.180 he's comfortable with and actually wants. I will tell you this. 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.530 Let's say He absolutely wants the walk-in tub. The one 0:06:34.610 --> 0:06:37.370 thing that could be the saving grace that I will 0:06:37.410 --> 0:06:39.680 tell you that you need to talk to the plumber 0:06:39.740 --> 0:06:44.020 about is this. You want a three quarter inch hot 0:06:44.100 --> 0:06:48.340 water line coming into that tub. All of the standard 0:06:48.500 --> 0:06:51.600 water lines in your home are half inch, half inch 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:56.230 diameter water lines, okay? The hot and the cold. But anytime, anytime, 0:06:56.620 --> 0:06:59.190 it's not just about walk-in tubs. Anytime we install a 0:06:59.250 --> 0:07:02.859 big soaker tub or a big jacuzzi kind of tub, 0:07:02.900 --> 0:07:06.690 a big luxury spa tub in a bathroom that holds 0:07:06.750 --> 0:07:09.810 a lot of water like these walk-ins do, I always 0:07:09.870 --> 0:07:12.850 make sure that we install a three-quarter inch hot water 0:07:12.890 --> 0:07:16.070 line because that tub, that three-quarter inch hot water line 0:07:16.150 --> 0:07:19.470 carrying twice as much water into the tub, which means 0:07:19.510 --> 0:07:23.980 it fills up twice as fast, which means that uncomfortable, 0:07:24.180 --> 0:07:28.080 awkward time waiting for the tub to fill up is 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:32.070 cut in half. And also, The hot water, if it 0:07:32.150 --> 0:07:34.670 takes five minutes for a tub to fill up with 0:07:34.710 --> 0:07:38.170 hot water, that hot water has cooled off while it's filling. 0:07:38.670 --> 0:07:41.610 And so the three-quarter inch line makes a huge difference 0:07:41.670 --> 0:07:44.590 in keeping the water hot and filling up the tub faster. 0:07:44.830 --> 0:07:49.980 So there's my balanced advice and some tips for both directions, Diane. 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:56.320 Thank you. Now, how would you install the three-quarter inch 0:07:56.660 --> 0:08:00.790 line in an existing home that... the majority of them 0:08:00.870 --> 0:08:03.610 are at the half inch. Where would they install that 0:08:03.650 --> 0:08:04.490 three quarter inch? 0:08:05.090 --> 0:08:08.430 So there's going to be a, there's likely a three 0:08:08.490 --> 0:08:12.630 quarter inch line already running in your home that the 0:08:12.770 --> 0:08:15.380 other lines are branching off of. And so it's just 0:08:15.420 --> 0:08:17.640 a little extra effort for the plumber to get all 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.060 the way back to one of those three quarter inch 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:23.480 trunk lines and run a three quarter inch line to 0:08:23.540 --> 0:08:26.670 it back into the bathroom. And if it's upstairs, which 0:08:26.730 --> 0:08:29.680 I assume it is, then running a pipe through the 0:08:29.780 --> 0:08:33.040 attic and getting down into where the tub needs to be, 0:08:33.370 --> 0:08:34.969 it's probably not going to be that big of a deal. 0:08:34.990 --> 0:08:36.989 There is an additional expense for that. It's going to 0:08:37.010 --> 0:08:39.030 be a little tricky at a couple of points, but 0:08:39.130 --> 0:08:43.650 generally speaking, it's something that's entirely doable. It's just such 0:08:43.710 --> 0:08:46.130 an important add if we want to make that tub 0:08:46.190 --> 0:08:49.600 experience that much better. Diane, I'm up against a break. 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.620 Thanks for hanging on through the last break. And I 0:08:53.660 --> 0:08:56.860 just wanted to give as much attention to that as possible. 0:08:56.900 --> 0:08:59.780 And everybody, gets to hear what I was already going 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.980 to mention about walk-in tubs later in the show. So 0:09:03.020 --> 0:09:05.540 we just moved it up and hopefully given you guys 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:11.100 some things to think about. Bless you guys. And let 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:14.109 me know. Let me know what he ends up deciding. 0:09:14.290 --> 0:09:16.710 All right, y'all. When we come back, back to Aging 0:09:16.750 --> 0:09:19.490 in Place, you're home with Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer. 0:09:20.410 --> 0:09:23.709 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:09:23.770 --> 0:09:24.670 KFI AM640. 0:09:25.410 --> 0:09:28.130 I'm talking about aging in place and the design of 0:09:28.190 --> 0:09:31.069 your home to get it to that place. Oh, and 0:09:31.090 --> 0:09:34.500 that was my zipper. That just showed up. The zipper, 0:09:34.580 --> 0:09:37.559 not my, no. That was my zip. I'm wearing a 0:09:37.660 --> 0:09:43.479 zippered hoodie. Can you hear that? I just heard it 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.780 in my headphones. I guess nobody else can hear. Never mind. Oh, 0:09:47.820 --> 0:09:50.480 it's not my pants. I'm not unzipping my pants on 0:09:50.500 --> 0:09:52.949 the show. No, it's my hoodie here. It got a 0:09:53.150 --> 0:09:55.150 little warm in here, so I zipped it down just 0:09:55.210 --> 0:09:59.609 a smidge. Okay, jeez. Come on. Let's move on. Grow up. 0:10:02.670 --> 0:10:07.130 All right, so aging in place. Aging in place is 0:10:07.230 --> 0:10:11.360 about having situations where you forget that you have not zipped, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:17.460 I guess. Let's talk about the Entrance into your home. 0:10:17.660 --> 0:10:21.780 This has got to be one of the biggest design challenges, honestly. 0:10:22.020 --> 0:10:29.370 Entry steps into a house. Very, very few homes are 0:10:29.420 --> 0:10:34.670 without entry steps, and rightly so. It's good that a 0:10:34.690 --> 0:10:37.650 house is up above the landscape around it to a 0:10:37.690 --> 0:10:41.790 certain degree. Especially, we've been talking about the rainy season 0:10:41.830 --> 0:10:44.420 coming in and all of that kind of stuff. And 0:10:45.580 --> 0:10:48.420 Some of the calls that I took yesterday on the 0:10:48.500 --> 0:10:53.120 All Calls Saturday show were related to, my house is 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.640 sitting right level with all the ground around me. I'm 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:57.410 scared to death of what's going to happen with the 0:10:57.510 --> 0:11:00.429 El Nino rains this year. I get that, right? So 0:11:00.570 --> 0:11:05.270 most home elevations are raised up above the landscape around them. 0:11:05.620 --> 0:11:08.760 But that makes steps, steps up onto the front porch, 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:13.580 usually at least one or two. OK, usually not often 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.500 more than three in a typical home. But, you know, 0:11:16.700 --> 0:11:19.260 there can be. And a typical step is about six 0:11:19.340 --> 0:11:22.750 inches high. The risers, the you know, the the height 0:11:22.770 --> 0:11:25.630 of each step. And so you got two or three, 0:11:25.750 --> 0:11:28.560 let's say you can have 12 to 18 inches of 0:11:28.660 --> 0:11:32.559 rise up onto your, you know, the main level stepping 0:11:32.580 --> 0:11:34.900 into your house. So how do you deal with that? 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:35.719 Okay. 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.520 And then there's the issue of the actual porch itself 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:43.939 being a couple inches below the level of the interior 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.240 of the house, which is also code, by the way, 0:11:46.700 --> 0:11:50.400 to have a hard surface material out there that holds water. 0:11:51.179 --> 0:11:55.380 It needs to be two inches below the interior elevation 0:11:55.700 --> 0:11:59.040 of the house, the floor inside the house. So that's 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:03.110 an issue as well. So how do we create a 0:12:03.250 --> 0:12:08.650 ramp situation without really messing with the aesthetic of the 0:12:08.690 --> 0:12:12.090 outside of the house? This is perhaps, I think, the 0:12:12.130 --> 0:12:15.460 most challenging from a design perspective. And I will simply 0:12:15.500 --> 0:12:19.620 tell you this. Get a designer involved. if you want 0:12:19.660 --> 0:12:23.300 to solve that problem. We've yet to not solve it 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:29.850 in a way that works attractively and also ways of 0:12:30.450 --> 0:12:33.490 dealing with it so that it's not an issue of 0:12:33.570 --> 0:12:37.650 resale of the house. You're like, oh, look, look, that's 0:12:37.730 --> 0:12:41.170 a disability house, okay? Doesn't have to be that way. 0:12:41.730 --> 0:12:45.170 And here are a couple of thoughts along the lines 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:50.040 of how to deal with this. First of all, The easiest, perhaps, 0:12:50.179 --> 0:12:52.860 way of dealing with this is to just avoid the 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.810 front door anyway as a problem. Because most houses have 0:12:57.870 --> 0:13:00.830 at least two or three points of entry into them. 0:13:01.290 --> 0:13:04.330 There may be a side yard entry door, a side 0:13:04.350 --> 0:13:06.530 yard in the garage entry door, a side yard in 0:13:06.570 --> 0:13:10.200 the back entry door, and so on. Those long side 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:15.470 yards that nobody sees that are there, These are ideal 0:13:15.690 --> 0:13:18.010 for creating long ramps. And by the way, what is 0:13:18.070 --> 0:13:23.750 the actual ramp need? I will tell you. The American 0:13:23.790 --> 0:13:28.729 Disabilities Act specify a 1 to 12 ratio. 1 to 0:13:28.730 --> 0:13:32.030 12 ratio. And that's in inches. So basically, for every 0:13:32.220 --> 0:13:35.380 inch of rise that we need to overcome, we need 0:13:35.420 --> 0:13:38.880 a foot of ramp. Okay? For every inch of rise, 0:13:38.940 --> 0:13:40.859 we need a foot of ramp. Let's talk about it 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.240 a little bit more. On the other side of the break, 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.150 your home. With Dean Sharp, the House Whisperer. 0:13:47.150 --> 0:13:50.460 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp, on demand from 0:13:50.510 --> 0:13:51.679 KFI AM640. 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:57.270 Today, our goal, aging in place without being obvious about it. 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:02.120 The invisible, universal design principles being applied to any and 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.950 every house so that this becomes a house that you 0:14:06.270 --> 0:14:10.380 can stay in. We're just scratching the surface today. So 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.679 I had no myths. That's why, you know, no illusions 0:14:13.780 --> 0:14:15.160 at the beginning of the show, which is why I 0:14:15.190 --> 0:14:17.030 told you we're only going to be able to, you know, 0:14:17.110 --> 0:14:19.750 just barely dip our toe into this. But these are 0:14:19.830 --> 0:14:24.110 nevertheless important things. Every one of these topics as we 0:14:24.250 --> 0:14:28.560 move along, because it's a huge, huge subject. Before the break, 0:14:28.900 --> 0:14:32.560 we were talking about the entry, right? Getting up into 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:38.240 the house. And so I'm just going to re-emphasize this. 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.440 When it comes to this and doing this the right way, 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:45.600 get design help, okay? Get design help. Get the most 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:50.280 creative thinking involved in how to achieve this for your 0:14:50.380 --> 0:14:56.890 specific situation. Just general rules of thumb. Number one, the 0:14:57.110 --> 0:15:00.390 ramp that is needed to get from wherever you are 0:15:00.610 --> 0:15:04.730 up into the house is American Disabilities Act has specified 0:15:04.810 --> 0:15:06.990 for the comfort of it not being too steep of 0:15:07.030 --> 0:15:09.990 a ramp that's easy to handle is a one inch 0:15:10.130 --> 0:15:16.010 to 12 inch ratio. That means one inch of vertical 0:15:16.050 --> 0:15:21.160 height change needs one foot length horizontally of ramp to 0:15:21.220 --> 0:15:24.220 achieve it. OK, so a tiny little one foot long 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.260 ramp would go from zero to one inch high. That's 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:32.120 the pitch of the of the ramp that's recommended by ADA. Uh, 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:35.160 that means if you've got three steps coming up to 0:15:35.180 --> 0:15:38.260 your front porch, um, that's, and they're all six inches, 0:15:38.300 --> 0:15:40.670 that's 18 inches of rise, which means we're going to, 0:15:40.740 --> 0:15:44.160 to overcome that, we're going to need 18 feet of ramp. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:44.720 Okay. 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.120 And how do you hide or integrate 18 feet of 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:56.360 ramp decoratively into a design without it screaming disability situation here? Uh, well, 0:15:56.540 --> 0:15:59.190 it can be done, uh, one thing to do is 0:15:59.250 --> 0:16:03.210 ignore the front stoop altogether and go in through, have the, 0:16:03.510 --> 0:16:06.840 that access set up through another door, side yard, rear door, 0:16:07.420 --> 0:16:10.080 so that you're not having to, you know, rework everything. 0:16:10.140 --> 0:16:14.380 But some, some homes and some access points got to 0:16:14.420 --> 0:16:16.780 go in through the front door. And so for that, 0:16:17.310 --> 0:16:19.870 it gets a little trickier. One of the ways that 0:16:19.910 --> 0:16:21.850 you can do it is think opposite. If you can't, 0:16:22.530 --> 0:16:25.180 you know, Bring Muhammad to the mountain, as they say. 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.500 You bring the mountain to Muhammad. Raise the landscape up. 0:16:29.290 --> 0:16:32.770 Most yards, by the way, are too flat and boring anyway. 0:16:33.250 --> 0:16:37.110 They should have some contours in the third dimension, some moguls, 0:16:37.190 --> 0:16:40.130 some ups and some downs in them. So the idea 0:16:40.150 --> 0:16:44.220 of raising up the landscape so that a nice, beautiful, 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:48.440 circuitous path from the sidewalk in or from the driveway 0:16:48.660 --> 0:16:52.060 over can be accommodated. And you can get that kind 0:16:52.100 --> 0:16:56.670 of rampy, smooth pathway sometimes by simply let's raise the 0:16:56.710 --> 0:16:59.310 landscape up. Let's build up the yard in that area. 0:16:59.630 --> 0:17:02.810 Sometimes you can do it with some small retaining walls 0:17:03.050 --> 0:17:06.150 and with planters alongside. Sometimes you can hide the ramp 0:17:06.210 --> 0:17:08.670 altogether with planting in front of it if it moves 0:17:08.730 --> 0:17:11.100 along the house from the driveway. You just got to 0:17:11.140 --> 0:17:14.139 get really creative in our thinking here. And most of 0:17:14.180 --> 0:17:16.840 the time, there's a way to overcome it. All right, 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.919 we've gotten inside the house now. One of the main 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:25.600 issues about negotiating in and through your house has got 0:17:25.619 --> 0:17:28.720 to be hallways and doorways. Now, if it's a new build, 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.580 or a major remodel, that's the only way I'm going 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.400 to say to you, practically speaking, think about maybe widening 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.550 the hallway, all right? But widening the hallway otherwise, it 0:17:39.590 --> 0:17:43.390 compromises rooms, it's super expensive, it's just a lot. It's 0:17:43.430 --> 0:17:45.889 a lot, okay? If it needs to be done, it 0:17:45.930 --> 0:17:51.189 needs to be done. Otherwise, usually widening the doors into 0:17:51.310 --> 0:17:56.989 rooms is the most ideal and far less expensive option. Now, 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.150 that's replacing doors, to which most homeowners, I would say, 0:18:02.030 --> 0:18:04.310 you're listening to me right now, you probably, if you're 0:18:04.330 --> 0:18:07.790 living in a tract home, probably need your doors replaced anyway, 0:18:07.810 --> 0:18:11.270 because you got those hollow core doors on all of 0:18:11.330 --> 0:18:13.830 the rooms of your house, which as far as sound 0:18:13.910 --> 0:18:16.910 privacy is concerned, might as well just be a sheet 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:20.859 tacked up over the doorway. You know, I'm a huge 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:24.949 believer in solid core interior doors. And so, If we're 0:18:24.970 --> 0:18:27.639 going to plan on changing out the doors anyway, here's 0:18:27.700 --> 0:18:31.180 a little framing secret from the old framer to tell 0:18:31.220 --> 0:18:34.620 you how doorways are built in the framing. You think 0:18:34.660 --> 0:18:37.000 about widening doors, you're like, I don't want to tear 0:18:37.060 --> 0:18:40.300 up all the wall and get to you. Okay. Every 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:45.540 doorway has at least three more inches in it that 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.600 it can give you in width as it stands. And 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.980 that's because the header, the structural part over the door 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:54.859 is is running to the king studs. Those are the 0:18:54.940 --> 0:18:57.000 studs that the header is nailed into that go all 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:00.440 the way to the floor. And then underneath that header 0:19:01.020 --> 0:19:04.620 are two what we call trimmers. Trimmers are two other 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.400 pieces of two-by material that are up underneath. They're each 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:11.960 an inch and a half wide, and they're a support 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.520 for the header. Now, There are clips and hanger brackets 0:19:15.580 --> 0:19:18.900 these days that can replace the job that the trimmers 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:21.940 are doing. So we could pull the trimmers out, not 0:19:21.980 --> 0:19:24.580 replace the header, pull the trimmers out, and guess what? 0:19:24.619 --> 0:19:29.020 That gives us three extra inches of space. So a 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:31.060 30-inch wide door can become a 33, a 32-inch wide 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.290 door can become almost a 36-inch wide door. And when 0:19:33.330 --> 0:19:43.320 it comes to walkers, Wheelchairs, yes, they're narrower than that. 0:19:43.740 --> 0:19:46.200 Most of them are between 24 and 27 inches wide, 0:19:46.220 --> 0:19:50.790 but you got hands on the outside. outside of those 0:19:50.869 --> 0:19:56.470 wheels and knuckles. And that's why, generally speaking, a 32-inch 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:01.820 wide door is our minimum requirement for a navigable door 0:20:02.140 --> 0:20:07.040 with a walker or a wheelchair. Ideally, 36. And you're like, well, 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:11.030 36 sounds like overkill, Dean. It's not. Because... 36 is 0:20:11.090 --> 0:20:14.370 the width of the space in between edge of jam 0:20:14.410 --> 0:20:16.629 to edge of jam. But when you open a door 0:20:17.130 --> 0:20:22.960 with a standard hinge, now at 90 degrees, that door itself, 0:20:23.340 --> 0:20:26.240 which is an inch and three-eighths wide, is sticking into 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.220 the opening. Just think about that. You swing the door open, 0:20:29.260 --> 0:20:31.940 the door is still sticking in an inch and three-eighths. 0:20:31.980 --> 0:20:34.169 So whatever the width of your jam is, you got 0:20:34.190 --> 0:20:37.699 to subtract another inch and a half Because that's the 0:20:37.780 --> 0:20:42.240 real opening of the doorway because the door is encroaching 0:20:42.380 --> 0:20:45.020 still in that opening. That's why we want to go 0:20:45.060 --> 0:20:49.679 as wide as possible. All right. Last item that I 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:52.580 have time to harp on today and to point out 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:57.450 is lighting. Now, you know, I have somehow gained a 0:20:57.510 --> 0:21:00.150 reputation because I hear it all the time from clients 0:21:00.170 --> 0:21:02.209 that we end up talking to or consults that we do. 0:21:02.250 --> 0:21:06.179 We know how you hate recessed lighting. I don't. I 0:21:06.220 --> 0:21:10.080 don't hate recessed lighting. I just hate recessed lighting that's 0:21:10.820 --> 0:21:17.600 inappropriately used and unartfully designed. Recessed lighting should be indirect. 0:21:18.220 --> 0:21:21.130 It should not be just lighting up floor space everywhere. 0:21:21.350 --> 0:21:24.470 And especially in terms of aging in place, here's where 0:21:24.609 --> 0:21:29.409 really good lighting design comes into play. Because recessed can lighting, 0:21:29.670 --> 0:21:33.189 although it seems like very utilitarian, One of the things 0:21:33.350 --> 0:21:38.280 that is most difficult to navigate in an aging situation 0:21:38.450 --> 0:21:43.840 is glare. I don't want a ceiling full of lights 0:21:44.240 --> 0:21:47.879 that cause glare or a hallway full of recessed lights 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:52.240 that cause glare in the eyes because older eyes have 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:57.860 trouble focusing and dealing with those heavy contrasts. Wonderful lighting 0:21:58.160 --> 0:22:01.040 for a home in aging in place means throwing as 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:07.170 much soft indirect, non-glaring light down onto the floor areas 0:22:07.859 --> 0:22:13.840 as possible and not eliminating shadows. We're not trying to 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:17.020 blow out every bit of darkness in a room, just 0:22:17.100 --> 0:22:21.200 the opposite. We're trying to create a well-lit room with 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:25.100 lots of shadowing in it so that, not darkness, but shadowing, 0:22:25.540 --> 0:22:30.730 so that we create depth perception because a completely blown 0:22:30.810 --> 0:22:36.180 out room we lose our sense of depth and spaciousness 0:22:36.260 --> 0:22:39.320 in it. And being able to gauge the fact that, oh, 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:41.660 the chair is a few feet away instead of just, 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:44.060 I have no idea, everything all looks at the same 0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:48.530 depth to me. This is where really wise recessed lighting goes. 0:22:48.750 --> 0:22:51.210 And if you're having a kitchen remodel done, I will 0:22:51.230 --> 0:22:56.369 throw this in as a bonus. Absolutely, without question, have 0:22:56.430 --> 0:23:02.060 the electricians, as the new cabinets go in, put... LED 0:23:02.140 --> 0:23:05.380 strip lighting down on the bottom of the cabinets near 0:23:05.420 --> 0:23:07.660 the floor in the upper part of that little kick 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:10.560 area for your foot the foot kick okay the toe 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:15.609 kick area indirect LED strip lighting down there on a 0:23:15.710 --> 0:23:19.010 separate switch or dimmer I tell you you will love 0:23:19.070 --> 0:23:21.690 it it is this soft beautiful light that lights up 0:23:21.730 --> 0:23:24.119 the edge of the floor of the kitchen and It 0:23:24.200 --> 0:23:27.660 is so efficient and so effective in trying to gauge 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:30.520 where the floor is and what's on the floor and 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:32.640 so on and so forth. There are so many tricks 0:23:32.700 --> 0:23:34.490 to talk about and we don't have time to do it. 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:36.940 I just wanted to hit the biggies as we went. 0:23:37.040 --> 0:23:39.880 All right, let's take a break. When we come back, 0:23:40.570 --> 0:23:43.130 we'll wrap this up. I've got some closing thoughts for 0:23:43.170 --> 0:23:45.670 you and then I will release you onto your day, 0:23:45.730 --> 0:23:49.109 but don't go anywhere. We've got one more segment to 0:23:49.250 --> 0:23:51.890 hit and we'll do it right after this. You're home 0:23:52.470 --> 0:23:54.760 with Dean Sharpe the house whispering. 0:23:54.780 --> 0:23:58.060