Home Access Answers
What is “Visitability?”
by Jane Hampton
Dear Jane,
My husband and I are
thinking about building a new home. Lately I have been hearing
this term “visitability.” Is this
something we need to be thinking about for our home?
Julie
Edina, Minnesota
Dear Julie,
Congratulations—building
a new home is very exciting; unfortunately, it can also be quite
challenging. The Visitability movement began in the early 1990s to
influence home
“There
are three basic design elements: wide passage doors, at least
one half-bath on the main floor, and at least one entrance
without steps.”
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construction practices. Its
goal was that all new homes would be built with a few specific design
elements that make it easier for a person with any type of mobility
impairment—permanent or temporary—to enter and stay in
any home.
Although Visitability
laws vary from state to state, there are three basic design elements:
wide passage doors, at least one half-bath on the
“… the
benefits of incorporating these features from the start outweigh
the risk of needing to add them at a later date.”
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main floor, and
at least one entrance without steps. Accessibility advocates in
Minnesota are currently proposing adding three more features to
this list: 30”x48” maneuvering space in the
kitchen, lowered electrical switches and raised electrical outlets,
and reinforcement behind bathroom walls for grab-bar placement (Note:
Since these additional elements go above and beyond the basic features
of the Visitability movement, and the new Minnesota legislation would
use a different term.)
Here in Minnesota the Visitability
legislation only requires the design features to be incorporated
in certain cases where Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has provided
financing for the construction, www.mhfa.state.mn.us. Please review
your financing carefully to determine if you are required to apply
the Visitability design features to your new home. Even if you are
not required to incorporate Visitability features, after understanding
how easy it is, you may determine that the benefits of incorporating
these features from the start outweigh the risk of needing to add
them at a later date. Here is more specific information regarding
each element:
Wide-Passage Doors
Ideally,
interior-passage doors should be 34” to 36” wide
(this provides 32” to 34” of clear passage space when
the door is open). The absolute minimum is 32" of clear, unobstructed
width. Keep in mind that a 30" clearance might not be wide enough
for many users. In tight spaces where a wider door would not fit,
consider using a pocket door or adjusting the square footage of an
adjoining space in order to accommodate a wider door.
Half-Bath on the Main Level
Visitability
requirements state that there must be at least one-half bathroom
on the main level and ideally it should provide a minimum clear floor
space of 30”x 48” for maneuvering. You
can always go above and beyond the minimum and provide a fully
accessible, full bathroom on the main level of a home. This improvement
would provide additional comfort for overnight guests, as well
as the comfort of knowing that if you or anyone else living in
the home ever has a mobility impairment you will not have to move
or drastically remodel your home.
One Zero-Step Entrance
There
are several options for achieving this feature. The zero-step entrance
can be at the front, back or side of the home or from inside an attached
garage. The lot can be graded so that no ramp, or a very short concrete
ramp, is needed. If a longer ramp is necessary there are many ways
to “disguise” one, and even make
it an attractive design feature of the home.
Those opposed to Visitability
legislation often argue that these features are cost prohibitive.
The truth is that if planned from the beginning, these features
add little, if any cost to the project. For example; a 2006 survey
of wholesale door companies found that the added cost of a 34” door
over a 32” door
was less than $1.50 per door. In the average home it might cost
around $50 to add wider passage doors. Depending on site conditions,
zero-step entrances average approximately $100 or less for slab
on grade construction and approximately $300-$600 for homes with
crawl spaces or basements. In some cases there may be no additional
cost at all. Finally, incorporating a half bath on the main floor
of a home is simply a matter of planning. Worst case scenario,
a Visitable home might cost you $150-$650 more when planned from
the beginning. When compared to an estimated $3,000 to add a safe
zero-step entrance to a home later, and $500 to widen each door,
and tens of thousands of dollars it could take to add an accessible
bathroom to the main floor, building a home with basic access features
is a smart financial decision, www.concretechange.org.
Much of this information may seem overwhelming as you face the seemingly
endless decisions to be made when building a home. Nevertheless,
with a little planning, you can have peace of mind from knowing that
you can welcome any guest into your home, as well as live in your
home yourself, comfortably and independently, for the rest of your
life. ![]()
Do you have a question for Jane?
We’ll cover all of your questions
in future issues of Home Access Answers. Please contact us at 952-925-0301,
www.accessibilitydesign.com, info@accessibilitydesign.com.
Jane Hampton, president
of Accessibility Design, founded the company in 1992 to enhance
lives through design and project management. They provide design,
consultation, project management, and product recommendation services
specializing in home access for individuals with disabilities at
all stages of life.
