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WBM january 2012
Elevator/Garage
The single most important thing
we did was to install the elevator,”
Goldwasser says. “And it
was the only thing that actually added
significant expense to the house.” (The
rest of the design was about making
common sense choices to plan for
Aging in Place.) If an elevator costs
$15,000, which may seem significant,
think about it like this: that’s about
what you’d pay for three months in an
assisted living facility.
The elevator, situated in the garage,
accesses the home on all levels, and
includes a built-in telephone per
building code. “We knew we would
always enter the house from the
garage,” she adds, “So this was the
most logical location.”
Another safety feature in the garage
is a painted strip indicating
a step down. “It’s a
visual cue that’s handy
for everyone, not just the
elderly,” Goldwasser says.
“We realized how difficult
it can be to distinguish
where there is a variance
in height, especially when
carrying in groceries and
other packages.” She adds
that these simple details can prevent
debilitating mishaps that could result in
a broken hip.