There is a growing trend in the Triangle and across the country for seniors to choose to age in place rather than move to an assisted living facility. There are countless reasons for the growth in aging in place in cities like Durham. At Prince & Sons, we recently helped a repeat client in Durham fulfill their dream of making their existing one-story brick ranch home more accessible through a comprehensive sunroom addition, an accessible ramp system, and a new driveway. As an experienced local general contractor in Durham, it was our pleasure to work with these amazing homeowners to fulfill their vision of aging in place in their home, where they’ve created countless memories over the past several decades.
The homeowners we worked with on this project had one goal in mind: to improve the accessibility of their home so they could age in place while also receiving a variety of additional improvements. Single-level living was already in place for these homeowners, but access from the driveway/carport needed improvement.
With a one-story home, many may assume accessibility is primarily taken care of by the lack of steps, but this is not the case. These homeowners wanted to access the inside of their home without having to climb any steps, including steps into or out of the house.
At Prince & Sons, we solved this problem by completely excavating the existing driveway, removing sections of the brick exterior knee wall of the carport, and pouring a new concrete pad flush with a new ramp for seamless wheelchair access. This allows the homeowners to park in the carport, exit their car, and use the ramp to access the rear sunroom and the rest of the house without climbing any steps.
For durability and aesthetics, we used Trex composite decking for the ramp flooring and aluminum handrails, along with stainless-steel aircraft cable to give a unique, modern look. Finally, we added additional wide steps on the back side of the screen porch to help if the homeowners needed to use them.
Accessibility is always a concern for individuals seeking aging-in-place solutions, but safety is another key concern we had to address in this custom renovation. We wanted the homeowners to be able to safely access the ramp at night, which required ingenious lighting for the ramp area. We integrated LED low-voltage lighting into the handrails, which uses photo-sensor technology to turn on at dusk automatically. This allows homeowners to safely navigate the ramp area when returning home after dark.
The new sunroom addition helps these homeowners in a variety of ways. It gives homeowners a climate-controlled area to unwind after a busy day, but it also provides a connection to the accessible ramp system.
After this project was completed, the homeowners let us know that they now primarily use the ramp to access the home. This helped these homeowners reinforce their decision to invest in this type of renovation before the need for accessibility arose.
Moving to a new home is highly disruptive, especially as we age. At Prince & Sons, we’re glad we were able to help these homeowners make their home more accessible while also staying rooted in a house that holds so many special memories.
If you’re interested in learning more about aging in place and how a general contractor like Prince & Sons could help you with a home renovation, don’t hesitate to contact us today by phone at 919-383-0888 or through our online intake form. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
To see more pictures from this renovation, check out the gallery below:
