Building a new home – a wheelchair user’s perpective

Steve’s Story.

A two storey home. Steve's story of building a new home - a wheelchair user's perspective.This is the fourth and last in the series of stories about wheelchair users building a new home. Steve is married with two children and tells his story about building a two storey project home. Similarly to George, he had to make compromises when the builder failed to deliver on promises. However, when allowed to speak directly with tradespeople, some of the problems were easily solved.

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Mike’s Story

living room udI interviewed four wheelchair users who had recently built a home as part of my PhD research project. I was interested in the process and the interaction with house-building professionals. In coming newsletters I will feature the other three interviews. Mike tells how he engaged an architect because he had little confidence in a project home builder understanding what he wanted. However, this did not result in plain sailing.

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George’s Story

modern-patioGeorge who comes from a family of builders. He relates his experiences with a project home builder and how he had to overcome resistance to incorporating basic access features.

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Tomas and Lisa’s Story.

Modern shower recess with easy access. Wheelchair user's perspective. Tomas tells his story about designing a home for two wheelchair users and their children. Unlike Mike, Tomas and Lisa had an easier time. Tomas also provides some comparisons with Europe.

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A builder’s perspective

Twostoreyframeand housesThis is Sam’s story. As part of my PhD research project I interviewed a family member who built a home for a relative who uses a wheelchair. It transpired he was also a builder. The interview shows that being a builder with a family member with a disability does not always make for a better understanding of when and where regulations apply. It also shows how misunderstood the whole area of accessibility, public domain standards and housing design can get mixed up. 

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I interviewed four wheelchair users who had recently built a home as part of my PhD research project. I was interested in the process and the interaction with house-building professionals.

Jane Bringolf, Website Editor

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