Building an adaptable home

28 June 2016
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog

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When you are planning a new home, it is easy to think about your current needs in housing but can be harder to imagine what sort of home you and your family might need far into the future. A growing trend is to build an adaptable home which can be easily added to or modified to meet your changing needs. 

Extensions

When you first build a house you may need less space, especially if you are a couple or single person and only need one bedroom. In this case, it might be sensible to build a base unit of a master bedroom, wet areas such as a bathroom and a kitchen and some living area. Having a smaller house built is cheaper and means you don't need to pay for, maintain, and clean space that you don't currently need. Later modular extensions can be built as your family grows. 

Access and physical layouts

Even for people without any current disabilities, it is common over time to have a lowering in your ability to see items and have less physical dexterity. Without needing to build a house that is fully compliant with disabled access standards, building wider doorways and hallways can help to improve access through the house for someone with limited mobility. Equally, having workbenches and rooms that are set up with good overhead lighting can be useful for someone with degenerating vision. Lower window frames can also be good, especially those that allow people to view outside even when sitting in a wheelchair. These small modifications can create a house that is much more pleasant to live in over time if your physical abilities decline. 

Separable

Whilst you may need a large connected home whilst you have young dependent children, as you become an older family you may look to create two separate housing units by separating the layout. This can allow adult children, or dependent seniors, to have some privacy whilst sharing the home. A good way to ensure this is possible is to create a mirror layout, with bathrooms on each side of the house and a large central living area that can be separated as required. 

Keeping in mind the principles of an adaptable home can help you to have a house layout that suits you now and into the future. If you are looking to add adaptability principles into your new home why not chat with an established builder to review your options.