2009 Contractor of the Year

Telephone: (417) 827-4389

NARI CotY Showcase

NARI recognizes Contractor of the Year award winners in 2009 Showcase.

According to AARP's "Fixing to Stay" study, 60% of respondents who have already modified their home did so to increase the ability to live independently and 55% did so to provide flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of family members. Keystone Building and Design recognizes how important a person's home is to them and that interest is growing in modifying a home to fit the changing families' needs.

85% of older people (surveyed by the AARP) want to continue living where they are - at home. They want to live well and they want to live comfortably and they want to live in familiar surroundings. This is often called aging in place.

"Aging in Place" and Your Home

The aging process is blamed for many problems seniors may encounter with daily activities. Most often, though, it is the home that creates the difficulties. Most residential housing is geared to young healthy adults. Builders do not take into account age-related conditions such as reduced mobility or limited range of reach. Hence, dwellings do not support the physical and sensory changes that older adults encounter as they age.

Older people are living longer and better - and they will live the best and happiest possible lives in housing that catches up with them. Often aging in place requires home modification - remodeling. In many cases, grab-bars in the bathroom, a ramp up to the front porch, or better lighting in the staircase enable people to stay in their own homes, in their own communities - in their own familiar lives-longer.

Universal design supports this desire to “age in place” by creating homes that facilitate independence/ self-reliance, as well as allow us to recover from illness or injury in the comfort of our own homes rather than in an impersonal institutional setting. Our homes need to be designed to support in-home caregiving, which many longterm care insurance plans are now covering. Traditional homes are full of unnecessary hazards and barriers to inhome caregiving. Universal design can be incorporated into new home designs and remodeling projects to provide us with freedom of choice of where we want to live. The savings from deferred institutional living can quickly recoup the cost of incorporating universal design.

Putting universal design principles to work can make your home more livable and comfortable as you get older, and make your home more welcoming to all guests, regardless of age or ability. Universal design is usable by people of all ages and abilities without special adjustments or changes, and it's not just for the handicapped.

Choose Keystone Building and Design to incorporate universal design principles into your remodeling project.

Universal Design Definition:

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

7 Principles of Universal Remodeling

1. Equitable Use: The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
2. Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
3. Simple and Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
4. Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.
5. Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
6. Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
7. Size and Space for Approach and Use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of the user's body size, posture or mobility.