Buildings have the potential to add worth to a community in a monetary manner and to increase the sense of community. Unfortunately, the overlying issue with a majority of buildings built before 1991 is their lack of accessibility for up to 20% of the population (United States Census Bureau 2012). Even worse is that despite laws to ensure building accessibility such as the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA), Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS), and the Fair Housing Accessibility Laws (FHA), many still lack the ability to be accessible for individuals with disabilities. Lack of accessibility in homes forces individuals and families to spend thousands of dollars and several months just to be able to live in a space. This is an indicator that
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Essentially, the deeper understanding that the engineers would develop for these laws would allow them to expand their ability to simplify the terms so that the general public can digest their meaning. For example, within the Fair Housing Accessibility Amendments of 1988, they use the word adaptable, not accessible. Contrary to what people unfamiliar with the law may think, the only meaning that the law holds is that when buildings are constructed, they do not have to be in a state where an individual with a disability can move into them immediately. For instance, a house or apartment could be built where a person in a wheelchair cannot realistically move around in it. However, since the house has walls that are technically removable and doorways that can be widened, it is labeled adaptable. In fact, many home builders use the FHA Amendments to get around mandated ADA codes (Proctor 2018). An example of this is ADA code 804.3.1. Home developers will design a kitchen that is in compliance, but then they add a built-in island. This island can be removed, but the costs associated with this can be $3,000 or more depending on how integrated into the kitchen the island is. Yet, the removal is necessary for individuals with mobility aides to be able to use their kitchen. This means that an individual could buy a house then not be able to …show more content…
This code calls for a door frame to have a minimum of a 32 inch width from face to face, but since 27 inch doorways can be widened for several hundred dollars each, they follow FHA. Builders also only design for proper clearance of doors before they are widened. Often, once they are widened, the space mandated is no longer there which breaks codes 404.2.2, 404.2.4.1, 404.2.4.2, and 404.2.4.3. These codes call for a square of clear space on either side of the doorway with side lengths of 60 inches (National Council on Disability 1990). If these codes are not followed, then there is the potential that once a person enters through a doorway, they might not have the space necessary to maneuver around or exit the area that they have entered. Unfortunately, until the doorways can be widened, there is not proper knee, toe, or wheelchair clearance provided within the home, which does not allow the owners to function normally within it. The functional limitations can include the ability to access a toilet, enter or leave a piece of infrastructure, or access large areas of a house or building. This indicates that we need lawmakers to sit down and realize how expensive (usually starts at around $5000) and time consuming (several months) it is for a family to update a house or apartment that is labeled adaptable to an accessible home (Lusby 2012).
Essentially, the deeper understanding that the engineers would develop for these laws would allow them to expand their ability to simplify the terms so that the general public can digest their meaning. For example, within the Fair Housing Accessibility Amendments of 1988, they use the word adaptable, not accessible. Contrary to what people unfamiliar with the law may think, the only meaning that the law holds is that when buildings are constructed, they do not have to be in a state where an individual with a disability can move into them immediately. For instance, a house or apartment could be built where a person in a wheelchair cannot realistically move around in it. However, since the house has walls that are technically removable and doorways that can be widened, it is labeled adaptable. In fact, many home builders use the FHA Amendments to get around mandated ADA codes (Proctor 2018). An example of this is ADA code 804.3.1. Home developers will design a kitchen that is in compliance, but then they add a built-in island. This island can be removed, but the costs associated with this can be $3,000 or more depending on how integrated into the kitchen the island is. Yet, the removal is necessary for individuals with mobility aides to be able to use their kitchen. This means that an individual could buy a house then not be able to …show more content…
This code calls for a door frame to have a minimum of a 32 inch width from face to face, but since 27 inch doorways can be widened for several hundred dollars each, they follow FHA. Builders also only design for proper clearance of doors before they are widened. Often, once they are widened, the space mandated is no longer there which breaks codes 404.2.2, 404.2.4.1, 404.2.4.2, and 404.2.4.3. These codes call for a square of clear space on either side of the doorway with side lengths of 60 inches (National Council on Disability 1990). If these codes are not followed, then there is the potential that once a person enters through a doorway, they might not have the space necessary to maneuver around or exit the area that they have entered. Unfortunately, until the doorways can be widened, there is not proper knee, toe, or wheelchair clearance provided within the home, which does not allow the owners to function normally within it. The functional limitations can include the ability to access a toilet, enter or leave a piece of infrastructure, or access large areas of a house or building. This indicates that we need lawmakers to sit down and realize how expensive (usually starts at around $5000) and time consuming (several months) it is for a family to update a house or apartment that is labeled adaptable to an accessible home (Lusby 2012).