How much does it cost this country to put in disabled facilities in new builds?

Hintza

Sorry this is a rant.

We have just had a 45 point list back from building control for things that need sorted prior to commencing the build. Most are fiarly reasonable. Some are just plain jobsworth and pointless (ie it is obvious that we comply such as 1m3 of kitchen storage..we have a whole fitted kitchen..)

But the ones that are getting me are the added provisions for some ficticious disabled person that is going to me a redrawing of the downstairs plans to be able to have a down stairs shower at sometime in the future. The stair is also going to have to be changed to emnable a stairlift at sometime in the future. There are also other things too.

It's going to cost a fortune to sort out and the budget is as tight as gnat's chuff before we even start.

simpywimpy

surely whoever drew up the plans in the first place would have known that the building regs would need to allow for these? Changing the run of the stairs may not be anymore expensive that your current plans and as you are starting from scratch, then the other needs might not be as great as you think either. A good architect should be able to advise.

Trying to do a new build on a very tight budget is going to be hard anyway as these things always end up costing more than first imagined.

Good luck with it

Hintza

We have a good architect. He is due to retire soon and I think the jobsworth at building control has just encouraged him to move the decision forward by 6 months....lol

aa4466

Your architect really ought to know what the regulations are and if he has to do some work to correct his designs to meet them then I don't see why you should have to pay for those hours. If you haven't started digging yet, then I don't see why there should be any major additional costs other than his time. I am at a similar stage in the process and as far as I can see, the regs only ask for the ability to provide these features at a future date, for example when you in your old age cannot get up and down the stairs. You don't have to put the stairlift in now and you don't have to put a shower in now, just build the house in a way that these things can be done later without knocking all the walls down.

Good Luck with the build.

aliasojo

Hintza wrote: »

But the ones that are getting me are the added provisions for some ficticious disabled person that is going to me a redrawing of the downstairs plans to be able to have a down stairs shower at sometime in the future. The stair is also going to have to be changed to emnable a stairlift at sometime in the future. There are also other things too.

Apologies for appearing dense but can I just clarify...you are building a house and you need to have the type of plans/build that will accommodate a stairlift and a downstairs shower even although you have no need for these and this is only because someone in years to come may require a lift and shower downstairs?

aa4466

Yes, the Lifetime Homes initiative is an attempt to get us to make all new builds more adaptable and accessible. It is not specifically aimed at facilities for disabled people but is an attempt to make homes more adaptable so that as people get older they are not forced to move out to residential care homes but, with some smallish alterations, can stay in their own homes.

If these things are thought about when the house is designed, the costs of producing a house that is more adaptable to potentially different future needs is pretty small.

If you want to know more, then see

http://www.lifetimehomes.org.uk/index.php

latecomer

Yup I found some of the items that had to be included in our house rather odd given that this fictious disabled person wouldn't be able to get into the house in the first place as there are 5 steps up to the front door (6 inlcuding the step in). I dont see why the rest of the building has to be modfiied to suit when the entrance doesn't? Where does it end - are we soon all going to be forced to install grab rails everywhere and walk in baths?

Nilrem

Entrances can be generally modified much easier (as an external thing) than internal changes, also the ficticious disabled person might not go out more than a couple of times a day, but is likely to need the loo several times etc

For example it can take an hour to put in a suitable rail to make it easier to get in, or a day to put in a permanent ramp (we've done both here), but to change a stairway so that a stair-lift is able to be fitted might be a major exercise (or the cost of a suitable stair-lift might be many times more than it need be).
Likewise to make a change so a downstairs room can easily be converted to a shower if needed is extremely easy during construction (when piping can be put in place, capped/hidden), but a real pain to do later.

As mentioned a lot of the changes are extremely simple to do when the house is being designed/built, and likely to be of use not just to disabled people but older people, or even children (some of the changes we've had to make for my mum are actually very handy for myself and my dad), and some of them are extremely useful for anyone (IIRC they changed the minimum door width, which helps anyone with furniture or a buggy, but was a change to allow for wheelchairs).

Really it's the sort of thing any architect should be aware of when doing the initial design if it's part of the national requirements for the building type, much the same as the architect should be aware of things like the requirements for fire escape routes etc.

Many of the changes are really fairly common sense given that we're living much longer than we used to now, and a house is likely to be in use for 50+ years if built to a reasonable standard.

Owain_Moneysaver

latecomer wrote: »

Yup I found some of the items that had to be included in our house rather odd given that this fictious disabled person wouldn't be able to get into the house in the first place as there are 5 steps up to the front door (6 inlcuding the step in).

I think you'll find that won't meet Building Regs Part M either - AIUI in new build there has to be a ramp or level access to the main floor.

Suggest you ask your architect what version of the Building Regs he is working to.

MX5huggy

On the stair lift point. The plans that are coming across my desk these days have a rectangle (about 1.2 x 1.5) marked on the floor in the lounge and in the bedroom above up to a bedroom marked as "site for future platform lift" then the floor joists have to be designed so the hole can be cut in the future. Hopefully BR would accept this.

wolfehouse

it costs an awfully lot less to build a house from scratch with the possibility of making it disability friendly now than to have to adapt later.

since you are in scotland, you can take a look at 'housing for varying needs' which sets out all the standards.
http://www.archive2.official-documents.co.uk/document/deps/cs/HousingOutput/start.htm