FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 8, 2014                                     

David Traut earns Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist Educational Designation

Austin, Texas David L. Traut owner of T-Square Company is now one of the select group of professionals nationwide to earn the Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation, identifying him as a home remodeler and builder with the skills and knowledge necessary to remodel or modify a home to meet the unique needs of the older population, disabled owners or their visitors.

The National Association of Home Builders, in partnership with the AARP and Home Innovation Research Labs, created the CAPS program, which includes training and education on the technical, business management and customer service skills essential to compete in the fastest growing segment of the residential remodeling industry--home modifications for aging in place design and remodeling.

In 1974 while obtaining a graduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin an innate talent was acknowledged and T-Square Company was formed as a means to remodel both friends and Professors homes. This began a quest for constructive footprints leading to a lifetime of challenge. My researching practices evolved into the art of building the most efficient structures possible utilizing the ever changing technologies benefiting construction.

CAPS graduates include remodelers, builders, designers, architects, occupational therapists and others who help homeowners remain in their homes safely, independently and comfortably as they age.

The CAPS coursework curriculum incorporates market demographics, communication techniques, marketing, common barriers and solutions, building codes and standards, product ideas and resources and business management.

CAPS program graduates are required to maintain their designation by attending continuing education programs and/or participating in community service projects.

"As a certified aging in place specialist I look forward to helping homeowners in the Austin and surrounding areas make the changes they need to enable them to live in their homes for a long, long time.  We can now offer certified aging in place services" said David Traut.

For additional information about the CAPS program, visit nahb.org/CAPS.  For more information about T-Square Company, visit www.tsquareco.com or call 512-444-0097.

     Millions of Americans are living longer and have more active lives.  While this group is embracing newly found and changing lifestyles, a need to revitalize their home environments has come about.  Elder living solutions  require bathrooms with disability access and have become the norm for the baby boomer generation.  Identifying this major opportunity while developing the skills to interact with those needful homeowners has created a new type of remodeling.  A certified aging in place specialist performing elder construction or CAPS home remodeling contractor has completed the coursework and training in how to help keep existing homeowners in their homes longer. The CAPS certified remodeling contractor will be listed in a national directory compiled by the NAHB in Washington.

     Aging in place design and aging in place services in Austin will provide a means for our customers to remain in their homes for as long as possible and this is why we offer this nationally accredited service. Gaining accessibility is the key component.  Let us help you design and build a new accessible awareness for your existing home.  We can show you how an accessible route can give you access to any part of your home no matter what your mobility situation is or will become.  For obvious reasons, the bathroom and kitchen are the rooms most affected by a lack of accessibility when aging in place is a concern.

We are able to handle any remodeling project, and focus on collaborative client centered solutions. We are not afraid to think outside of the box for solutions that meet our client's needs. We are a company with extensive experience in physical and occupational therapy as well as construction, remodeling, and design. Services we offer include: individualized assessments, architectural design, interior design, accessible remodeling & construction, wheelchair lifts & ramps, stair lifts, residential/commercial elevators, ceiling transfer lifts, and other simple solutions such as grab bar & railing installations.

     Millions of Americans are living longer and have more active lives.  While this group is embracing newly found and changing lifestyles, a need to revitalize their home environments through elder living solutions has come about.  Identifying this major opportunity while developing the skills to interact with those needful homeowners has created a new type of remodeling.  A certified aging in place specialist or CAPS home remodeler has completed the coursework and training in how to help keep existing homeowners in their homes longer. They will be listed in a national directory compiled by the NAHB in Washington.

     Everyone ages differently and has different needs and wants.  The factors that constitute the aging in place market for all individuals are based on a persons genetic makeup, their lifestyle including the choices they have made while living their life, and their environment.  These factors have brought about the need for universal design and handicap remodeling contractors.  This is the design of products, services, and environments that are usable by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability, or situation without the need for adaptation or specialized alterations.  It provides for the greatest safety and access for any home guests or occupants and is undetectable when done well.  Since so very few homes share the accessibility offered by universal design, to satisfy the needs of a particular household member brought about by an accident, an illness, or simply the aging process there will always be a need for customized accessibility features.  This will be accomplished by a CAPS accredited remodeling professional producing a truly functional design.   This same competent design/build home remodeling company who understands and practices aging in place home modifications in Austin should carry out the work to fit the design and insure your safety and accessibility.  A certified aging in place specialist will be listed in Washington on the NAHB CAPS listing.

     There are three segments that are served within the aging in place marketplace.  The first segment includes those clients without urgent needs.  They have no immediate health issues and simply have a preference for universal design techniques.  The second segment focuses on a group of homeowners with progressive health condition needs.  These people have a chronic or progressive conditions like MS requiring special modifications to their home allowing them to age in place.  This group of people will face a time of urgency at some point in their lives as their mobility needs evolve.  The third sector involves those people who have undergone traumatic health changes that necessitates immediate modifications to their home in order to age in place.  Only aging in place home remodeling in Austin can accomplish the home modifications for all three sector's needs mentioned above.  As our society evolves away from institutionalized care,  making a home more comfortable for both older adults and their visitors can have an immediate benefit on the comfort and lifestyle of the adult child.

     Some of our societal statistics that weigh into aging in place situations include reports stating that 19% of the population between the ages of 16 and 64 and 42% of those of us 65 and over have a physical disability affecting the activities of their daily lives.  For a progressive condition,  aging in place home remodeling in Austin definitely comes into play.  This is the only way to insure both the safety and mobility for the homeowner or family member requiring the home modifications for elder construction.  The two main groups driving this aging in place market are those people who are 65 and over and the baby boomers.  The first group is projected to reach 55 million in 2020.  The baby boomer generation born between 1946 and 1965 today make up 28% of the U.S.  population and are made up of some 77 million people.  Modifications of existing homes is important because people of age 50 and older want to remain in their current home for as long as possible.  Aging in place home modifications in Austin should only be done by a CAPS certified remodeling company.  This is the only way that you can be assured that the home modifications are the right choices to satisfy your needs.  There is no need to waste money only to find out that the wrong alterations were done by an inexperienced and nonqualified remodeling company.  Always check their creditials to verify that they hold a CAPS certification.

Typical Aging In Place Home Modifications

     The Center for Disease Control defines aging in place as the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably regardless of age, income, or ability level.  Aging in place construction and remodeling has become synonymous with handicap accessible home design and modification during our lifetime.   Home modifications can be used to accomodate anyone from people with mobility impairments to those with vision loss, hearing loss, or even cognitive or developmental disabilities.  Accessibility home modifications or wheelchair accessible kitchen and bathroom remodeling in Austin will allow anyone with limited mobility within your home to feel more empowered and independent.  The extent of a customized accessibility design is dependent upon the activity level of the person requiring the modifications.  Whether someone needs a cane, walker, or wheelchair to help with mobility it is definitely a game changer for accessibility within the home.  Aging in place home modifications help people maintain their living environment for as long as it works for them before they might need assisted living care or a nursing home.

     Some people confuse aging in place with universal design.  Both are a method to increase accessibility within the home but aging in place strictly deals with an existing home. Aging in place design also implies modifying any home for it's older occupants to insure that the inhabitants can safely remain there as long as they possibly can.  This time will expire once they need assisting medically trained help for safeguarding their personal safety in a nursing home or an assisted living environment.  Universal design is just that; offering choices to all of a home's residents no matter their age or physical capabilities.  It begins with a design and then the construction begins.  The number one safety hazard for elderly people is negotiating level changes within the home--steps at the entry, stairs between floors, and curbs to step over when entering the bath or shower.  Eliminating level changes is very difficult in existing homes and almost impossible to do aesthetically and without major compromises, unless there is a major renovation.  The result is that most homeowners decide to sell the house rather than make the modifications.  When universal design is incorporated into their design, homes can accommodate the needs of their owners as those needs evolve over time.

     Baby boomers in their 50's today are mostly in denial.  They generally believe that their way of life and their personal mobility are a constant.  They believe they are invincible--especially older men who will always say they don't need those types of modifications in their house.  Women in their 60's, on the other hand, seem to face facts differently acting as the caretaker of their home.  They not only watch out for the safety of themselves but for the other family members.  This is good because someone needs to be the decision maker when faced with life altering changes and what can be done about them.  The caregiver usually guides the husband into realizing that home modifications are good for everyone's safety. 

      Physical limitations affect many more people than the daily users of walkers and wheelchairs and bathroom modifications for the elderly is a sign of the times.  Many members of our life experienced or elder society have significant problems in dealing with their home environment.  Today's conventional building standards conflict with most people's accessibility when you consider our created architectural barriers concerning cabinetry and door opening widths, individual strength, range of motion, movement,  manual dexterity, balance, and coordination .  Once the demands of our built environment exceed their capacities we become excluded from a room or even the entire home.  The building world must work in unison to be sure the entire living environment meets basic needs in addition to affordability and structural integrity for the consumer and home owner.  This includes both the home and the components within the home being accessible to all inhabitants.  This will certainly require the expertise of an aging in place specialist Austin, Texas.  Privacy, sense of belonging, sense of control, and the sense of safety and security make up the quality of life for any home and should be considered for any design.

     The three main rooms involved in aging in place design and home modifications are the bathroom, the kitchen, and the family room in that order.  These areas make up the most occupied spaces of any home and will be connected by a designated accessible route.  Here we will need access through wider doorways, non slip floor surfaces, and adequate cabinet and plumbing fixture accessibility.  What is more important is that we must observe safety for everyone as the baby boomers choose to age in place within their homes.  Just remember one thing and dispel any myth that aging in place construction and remodeling must appear institutional or out of the ordinary.   When the work is done with style and taste it will only compliment the home.

Aging In Place Vanity With Accessibility

    Now that you've taken care of the energy being wasted "through the roof" how about those walls and what energy minded construction techniques can be utilized?  What type of construction makes up your walls and what are the best ways to go about eliminating some of the waste caused by air infiltration?  Let's define what home remodeling Austin, Texas means.

    Any remodeling contractor will tell you that Very old buildings have wall construction which is limited only by the materials that were available at the building sight for any specific time. These structures were normally composed of sod, masonry,  or logs that were chinked  with mud set into their joints relying on the principle of thermal mass.  By building thicker walls the same logic of the R-factor was used.  It took longer for outside temperatures to transfer into the building through these massive resistant walls into the living space.   

    Once lumber became available it was used at a premium.  The presence of clapboard or weather board construction came about using one by (one inch thick) boards in varying widths on  both sides of a 2x4 stud forming the outside walls. 

    The joints between the boards allowed air to infiltrate the building.  Batten boards were nailed over these joints on the exterior to eliminate some of the air flow and  later cheesecloth covered by wallpaper was applied on the inside boards.  The walls still had too much air infiltration relying on the dead air space and the composition of the wood itself to comprise the R-factor.  Finally 1/4" sheetrock was applied over the wallpaper as a first generation drywall application.

     If this clapboard system is plaguing your building you must access which side of the wall you need to attack.  Do you need new exterior siding that allows you to install and bury additional rigid insulation or desire a newer looking drywall finish on the interior? The only way to gain access to your stud space for applying batt insulation is to remove one side of the clap boards.  The kraft face must be turned toward your living space to create a vapor barrier against the outside and R-13 is the thickest product you can place in a four inch cavity.  Don't be misled by an offer using a blown in product that can be held up by wiring and never reach the bottom of the wall cavity which defeats the whole process.

     Once you have accomplished this task you have helped to maintain your envelope but you need to look down.  If your floor is on a pier and beam structure do you have an underpinning present?  It's purpose is to stop the wind from robbing you of additional infiltration from below your floor.  If present, the underpinning can eliminate having to install insulation between your floor joist.  It acts by literally raising the constant temperatures that existing naturally below ground.  This natural occurence will temper the crawl space beneath your floor joists and prevent energy robbing infiltration.  You now have a reasonably efficient envelope given your existing situation.

Check out Part 1:  Ceilings which covers your attic wastes

Check our Part 3:  The Envelope covering penetrations and their energy wastes

Photo Credit: Energy Savings By Prophet of the Haze