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Accessible Home > Episode 10: Accessible Fixtures and Elevator

Home Elevator Installation

Project: Accessible Home, Episode 10, Part 1

Contractors install special bathroom fixtures and hardware, which have been specially designed for use by people with disabilities. The project house also gets a real lift in the form of an elevator. It's chain-driven and hidden in a closet, enabling a homeowner with disabilities to access the home's second floor.

Part 1: Home Elevator Installation: Bob meets Mike Vogt (from Access Industries) and carpenters (from the Whitaker Company), who are installing a residential elevator. A closet space is used for the elevator, but unlike most other elevator systems, there is neither a 'penthouse' topping the elevator unit nor a pit beneath it. Most elevators have one or the other. This particular elevator operates on rails in the rear of the unit. A sling package stops the elevator from falling if the cables accidentally break.
Part 2: Wheelchair-Accessible Toilet Installation
Part 3: Installing a Bathroom Grab Rail

This project follows an urban renewal story, involving grass-roots activism and affordable housing. Bob Vila reports on nine newly built three-bedroom homes, including one with accessibility for people with disabilities.

Also from Accessible Home

Episode 1 - Housing Project Introduced
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Description:
Bob introduces the nine-unit affordable housing project in Roxbury, MA, by touring the neighborhood with the community-based developers from Nuestra Comunidad CDC. Bob shows that here, as is often the case in urban construction projects, soil decontamination is taking place at the same time as foundation excavation. At another site, we meet Arnold Johnson and George Chin, contractors for the accessible hour the job, who show Bob around a unit that's already been framed.
Episode 2 - Framing and Shingling
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Description:
Framing is underway on the unit of the Roxbury project that will be accessible for people with disabilities. George and Arnold (from Crosswinds Enterprises) explain the panelization process and what it takes to get the job done right with a building crew that's as culturally diverse as the community. On the roof, Jack Vieira installs asphalt shingles and flashing, while George installs special blocking inside that will be used to securely mount some safety handrails.
Episode 3 - Installing Siding
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Description:
Arnold (from Crosswinds Enterprises) and Bob demonstrate the easy installation of a special kind of weather- and fire-resistant cementicious siding. In the basement, plumber Gerry Folan and electrician Brad Owens are both busy at work.
Episode 4 - Insulation and Door Installation
Episode 5 - Designing for the Disabled
Episode 6 - Building the Railing System
Episode 7 - Landscaping and Stairs
Episode 8 - Installing a Tankless Water Heater
Episode 9 - Shower Stall and Drywall
Episode 11 - Energy Efficiency
Episode 12 - Lockset Installation
Episode 13 - Accessible Unit Tour

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