Multigenerational Living

There is a time in most of our lives where a decision needs to be made about elder care. My (state the relationship) wants to stay in their home and avoid the retirement home, convalescent facility, or old folks home you know, the raisin ranch.

This is a common question that keeps coming up during my one hour clients meetings, and in the media regularly.

What we are dedicated to, is understanding the aging process and infusing intelligent design into our projects. When you do the math it is an obvious choice. Upgrading your home is cheap compared to living in a facility. The art in this type of remodeling project dwells in producing projects that to do the work without ruining the resale value.

The other huge group of folks that are in need are those with issues related to acute injury or chronic illness rehabilitation. If you could recuperate better at home, everyone I know would prefer that. Often it is all about making some subtle changes around the bathroom and the kitchen that will make all the difference.

Universal Remodeling is something that will benefit everyone.

My Grandpa & Grandma

The “Cradle to Grave” concept of UD a worldwide movement based on the idea that all residential environments and products should be easily used and accessed by all members of the family, regardless of their age, size, or physical abilities throughout their life span.

According to AARP “The majority of people prefer to stay in their home as they age”

Mufti-Generational Housing. As housing prices increase it is becoming more of a necessity rather than an option.

As I was growing up mt Grandma Fortune Levitch “Tuni” lived with us after several of her hip replacement’s. That time together made a very powerful positive impression in my life. In talking with friends, that was a common occurrence a generation ago, and still is all over the world.

Let’ face it, I believe that our home should be adaptable to the needs of our family changes in our lives. Moving is always an option but not necessarily the most practical one. With our new mobility the entire concept of living in the same village for life is a thing of the past. Our lives have changed dramatically, our life expectancies have increased as well.

The best example of UD according to my instructor is the luggage with wheels. Folks of all ages us them now rather than schlepping the luggage in you arms everyone from children to grandmas have gone to the wheeled units.

Our Universal Design Logo

Here are a few examples of some UD things I have done so far:

• I added a thermostats to John and Eileen’s home. They had a simple thermostat that didn’t work. They couldn’t see it anymore. Going digital for them was a big deal. A setback thermostat in my in laws house is left on hold all the time.
• Right height or comfort height toilets,
• Proper height of counter tops
• Recommending safe well designed stoves.
• Lever door handles
• Larger door openings
• Space for landing things adjacent to stoves and refrigerators.
• Counter depth refrigerators.
• Swing up appliance shelving.
• Solar tubes & Skylights
• Plenty of space between islands and fixed wall counters
• Lots of lighting, including under counter, and up lighting too some some cases.

As far as adaptive technology, a division of UD. Examples include a fold down bench in the shower or an extension I made for for my kids to use their light switch it was a pole with a metal loop. It gave them the ability to control their own lighting and it was wall received.

This is still a blossoming field of study. Frustrations of a universal remote. are they really easy to use and understand by all generations. Cell phones for the older generation include large numbers for pushing buttons.

Let’s face it some things can not be made easy for everyone with special needs but what progress has been made is significant.

Your comments are welcome. To ask questions or get more information about remodeling, email me directly or visit our contact page.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove and replace them at once.

Typical Bungalow

Levco has been remodeling in Boise Idaho for the past 6 years and just renewed our registration for another year with the Idaho  Bureau of Occupational Licensing. This makes us a well established remodeling company here in Boise Idaho.

We recently had an internal focus group session on what sets us apart from our competitors, and here is one in a series of the unique things that we came up with.

Our niche is Aged Home Upgrades. I love it because it allows me to say what I do in one breath. It is not complicated or confusing and it speaks to our love for older homes and upgrading them or updating them depending upon your slant to work for these modern times.

Lets face it times have changed and so have our habits and way of life.

Typical small bath

Often times these homes are smaller in square feet than the sprawling ones of the 80′s and beyond. They were built to last in the 30′s-70′s and were state of the art at the time. many of the kitchens were boxy and had less emphasis in our lives. Products have improved as well  from the bathroom to the kitchen there have been some really good things that are available now that help us live better than those days. Not to mention the energy efficient upgrades that can pay off in a matter of a few years.

Great Lighting

From modernizing appliances like a convection oven, and comfort height toilets to better lighting and energy efficient appliances and windows, there are a bazillion ways to improve our homes. Whether you are remodeling on a dime and want to do projects one a year or interested in investing on your last remodeling project of your life, we want to be the ones that help you make the right upgrades for you and your home.

Remember you don’t need to do everything at once. Pick a room per year, get the big problems solved, then work on the other areas of concern. Prioritizing your upgrades makes the decision making process less daunting. Before you know it your home is far more functional and moving makes less sense.

Opened Kitchen

One area that we are seeing tremendous progress in is re-designing kitchens to work better. The term “opening up kitchens” means many different things depending upon your particular home. It encompasses a theme of taking down unnecessary obstacles to flow between rooms and sight lines. We have had amazing results on multiple occasions and encourage an in home evaluation.

Another common upgrade is in a bathroom. Homes built shortly after the turn of the century only had tubs. Showers were introduced later on. Many homes were upgraded with shower valves but had a large window on the shower wall. Relocating and resizing that window just makes sense.

Now that is comfort

Speaking of bathrooms, fixtures have become worth swapping out. From both a water efficiency and ease of use  perspective. Lighting upgrades and indoor air quality with proper ventilation makes the bathroom upgrade a very valuable and affordable proposition.

Additions that bump a wall out or add additional living space are usually more expensive than staying within the envelope of the home but adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit ADU makes a tremendous amount of sense. We have built and remodeled several garages to accommodate visiting guests, older parents, college students or just renting to a tenant that offsets the cost of the project.

Since this is what we love to do, please contact us for for a complementary in home evaluation. Let’s see what we can do to upgrade your home today. 208-947-7261

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove and replace them at once.

Typical Residential Panel

I realized this issue after a friend called. He had just purchased a remodeled home, and was concerned that his electrical panel was mislabeled. This turns out to be a fairly common problem.

What happens is that over the years, our electrical needs change and or problems occur, and an electrician is called to either upgrade or replace a faulty breaker.

The electrical paned is opened up and the circuit breakers a rearranged to fit better. Unfortunately, the step that is frequently skipped is relabeling the panel correctly.

Years ago, we had half of the gadgets that we have now. Rather than enlarging the panel box itself automatically, a first step is to get breakers that are 1/2 size. Once a panel is full you must upgrade to a larger service which in turn mandates a larger upgraded panel.

When Levco evaluates  a kitchen remodeling project, we look for ways to avoid upgrading the service or enlarging the panel to save cost, but it is often it is inevitable.

On a recent whole house project, we eliminated an electric water heater and an electric stove as well as an electric furnace.  This allowed a full panel box to have 8 free spaces.

Kitchens require at least 4 separate 110 circuits, and one 220 stove circuit. That doesn’t account for a lighting circuit. There are requirements for GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter)  as well as AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter). These take up much of the freed up space.

Typical Fused Panel

So why is it important to know what fuse or breaker controls which part of your home’s electricity. Well surely safety is one reason. Say you want to replace a bathroom fan and it’s switch. It would make sense to turn off  the breaker that controls it. But say you flip the wrong one. This could make you an electrocution patient in the Emergency Room. (If you’re lucky)

The Trick:

So here is the trick to labeling them correctly yourself. Having two people to do this makes sense and will cut down on the running around. Cell phones are a time saver if you are out of ear shot. It should take less than an hour, and you may even have fun.

First, find the electrical panel. There may be several other panels called sub panels as well, so locate them too. If at any time this seems frightening, stop and get an electrician to help. I don’t want anyone to put themselves in danger. Open the hinged cover. you should not see any wires. If you do then either there is either not protective cover plate, or you have gotten into the panel too far.

Half Size Breakers

Make a drawing of your panel, y0u will notice that each breaker is numbered next to the corresponding breaker. (Some are fairly faint). Then turn everything on in your house, (except for your computer). Have someone then flip one breaker at a time off. Identify what that breaker controls in each area of the home logically. You can turn the breaker back on and go to the next area. Take a small electrical fixture like a lamp with you and plug it into the outlets and see which ones are controlled as well.

Hint: Usually the outlets that are controlled are in the same general region as the lights that are effected but you never know.

Single

Numbers also appear on the ends of the breakers themselves. These refer to the number of AMPS that can go through them prior to popping. There are very specific rules about size of wires and the number of amps they correspond with. Fiddling with changing out breakers to solve a popping problem is not recommended.

Electricity Can Be Dangerous

Once you have operated each breaker or unscrewed each fuse and have a good map of your electrical panel, use mail labels to transfer your information. Place the appropriate label next to each breaker (or on the panel cover if there is not room) each breaker, and viola, you’re done.

Example of good labels are to the point, and in large enough lettering to scan in a hurry.

• Front room north wall outlets.
• Guest bath.

220 Breaker

You may find breakers that do nothing. You will find  breakers that are tied together. These are 220 volt breakers and need to be operated together.

Common 220 electrical fixtures

• Water heater
• Your spa
• Your electric stove

When it comes to working on electrical components, I always recommend double checking. If, for instance, you want to replace a weak outlet, be sure the power is off for certain by using a tester or plugging something in before you get behind the cover plate.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove them at once.

The new Cost VS Value 2011-2012 addition of Remodeling Magazine has arrived. This is their ninth year and have seen some slight but steady trending shifts. Here is the two bullet synopsis.

• The BAD news is that the continuous drop in home values, combined with a steady rise in construction costs, has decreased the value of many remodeling projects.

• The GOOD news is that the value replacement components,i.e. windows and doors has remained stable. Getting the funds for a major remodel remains difficult, so the general trend is to do smaller projects. Projects are being paid for in cash and thus tend to be smaller in scope.

On a brighter note, Levco is positioned to capture a large part of the remodeling segment by focusing on a fairly new element of remodeling I like to call “Aged Home Upgrades“. This is a phrase I coined and like to use to describe our niche. It refers to the age of the home not necessarily the occupants. Look for lots of new content regarding this topic.

Their homes are in older, established neighborhoods. Many folks have either living been living in their homes for a long time or have paid them off. This means they have either known for years what would make living in them better, or just know that it is time to update a room or two. Often the kids are gone and rather than downsizing in this economy…they choose to upgrade.

AHU (Aged Home Upgrades) also encompasses a popular trend called Universal Design. This encompasses a real surge in the industry to help folks stay in their homes and live in relative comfort rather than being forced to live with outdated and difficult to use bathrooms and kitchens.

Universal Design

Universal Design (UD):

• The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design.
• A user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future.

If this sounds like exactly what you are looking for, then you have found the remodeler that speaks your language. We are ready to come evaluate your home for some upgrades that will surely add value to your home while adding enjoyment and pleasure to your life.

We will be presenting this topic at a FREE one hour seminar at the Idaho Remodeling Show. 3PM Saturday January 28th 2012 at the Boise Centre on the Grove, hope to see you there.

Call Levco Today 208-947-7261

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove them at once.

Grab bars added to a bath

These are two terms that are relatively new to the remodeling world. The terms refer to something that has become common place in our culture. Both Aging in Place and Universal Design are fairly docile and tranquil terms in comparison to the terror that lurks in the minds of the folks that are fearful of being institutionalized or sent to to dreaded convalescent home. Lord knows that I have seen them all when it comes to those places in my ambulance career. The truth is that there are some great ones out there, however I recall telling my loved ones just put me out of my misery before you send me to one of those places.

One of my Grandma’s recovered form several of her five hip surgeries at our home and to be honest it was a fantastic experience. I was told that in Hawaii it is common for several generations to live under one roof.

The trend it turns out is sweeping the country as financial times become harder and options fewer. Lets face it, we are living longer too. As I see it there are two trends that are emerging.

1. Older folks wanting to stay in their homes.
2. Children are inviting their parents into their homes or vise versa

fold down shower bench

My neighbors have depended upon me for years for their little improvements that will allow them to stay in their homes long after they would have been sent to the convalescent home. Whether it is hand rails in the living room or shower or an ADA approved fold down bench there are lots of little things that can be done to make living at home safer.

I vividly recall when my dear neighbor Rogene called in tears when her husband Bob died. She was worried that she would be institutionalized because she had no idea how to maintain her home. My natural instinct was to calm and reassure her. I realized there is nothing I cant fix or untangle and that I would be available 24-7. No matter what happened, I would be there for her. At one point she called when a friend fell on her steps, I had help at her side within 45 seconds (before she hung up).

stylish ramp

Levco has installed special showers, benches, hand rails, wheelchair ramps, more outlets, better lighting, taller toilets, special kitchen gadgets to swing a mixer into place, relocated washer / dryer units to the first floor, and replacement steps and porches, just to name a few of the things that are possible. We have even created entire ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) aka mother in law suites.

Another neighbor Eileen, (who now lives in a convalescent facility herself) told me as her husband John’s health was failing prior to hers that she wasn’t going to have her home look like a hospital. She finally allowed me to add a custom grab bar to the wall near a sunken living room. He could maneuver the two stairs by himself, as his legs gave out long before his upper body.

Walk in bath

No matter what the request, it is worth evaluating because I am a huge proponent of making homes make sense. Lower counter tops, transfer benches, roll in showers, widening doorways, remote control skylights. there is no end to the imagination when it comes to adapting someone’s home to suit their needs. In some cases funds are available through the VA or maybe from other sources. Don’t let your pride get in the way of letting us make your home safe and functional. After all it is far less expensive and far more comfortable than having to ship out to a facility before it is absolutely necessary.