# Retirement Home



## TexasAggie

We are having our home built in a subdivision with .25 and .5 ac lots. We are having all doors capable of handicap access.
The restrooms are being blocked for bars.


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## where I want to

TexasAggie said:


> We are having our home built in a subdivision with .25 and .5 ac lots. We are having all doors capable of handicap access.
> The restrooms are being blocked for bars.


This is fun but there are plenty of things I did not do right when I tried that. Much I did get right but........ One is catherdral ceilings- which meant smoke detectors at 16 feet up the wall and recessed lights needing changing at 14 feet up. Also light around the house that needs a ladder to change the bulbs too. Just didn't think of that looking at the plans.


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## Wolf mom

Read your Homeowners association rules and regs _very carefully!!_


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## TexasAggie

Yes, we hav read them very carefully. This was chosen over another because we have two cats and want a dog. The other limited you to two pets.
Our ceilings are 9 and 10'.

Have two adult children living 7 miles and 25 miles from our new home. Tried to get between them, but nothing we could afford.


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## okiemom

prefab showers will not work with bars, there is too much of a gap in the fiberglass and wall FYI to others. I am sure you know this but we built our house for a future retirement home and when my mom came to live with us we realized we would need to rip out the prefab shower tub combo if we wanted a grab bar in there. grab bars worked for the toilet.


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## where I want to

okiemom said:


> prefab showers will not work with bars, there is too much of a gap in the fiberglass and wall FYI to others. I am sure you know this but we built our house for a future retirement home and when my mom came to live with us we realized we would need to rip out the prefab shower tub combo if we wanted a grab bar in there. grab bars worked for the toilet.


That's what makes building your own so nice- all the builder has to do is put blocking behind where the grab bars go.

But it is hard to think of everything. Individual builders, rather than subdivision builders, have a tendency to "make it work" when the plans are unbuildable. It's those patches that will catch you. That is how I have 16ft ceilings. They were supposed to be 12 feet, which would have been bad enough, but the plans did not allow for a designated window so the builder had a beam manufactured and up went the ceiling. Cost him a lot of extra money. He had asked whether the window was important to me and I said yes. He did not explain what it would mean to have it. And I'm not sure I would have understood the resulting difficulties had he done so. Sigh- but I do love to watch the moon through that window.

I suppose if you have a standard design, there would be less of it but there will always be some changes. So be careful if the builder comes to and asks if you want something. Ask questions.


Sometimes it's hard to see the issues when you have a host of decisions to make at the same time.


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## ET1 SS

okiemom said:


> prefab showers will not work with bars, there is too much of a gap in the fiberglass and wall FYI to others. I am sure you know this but we built our house for a future retirement home and when my mom came to live with us we realized we would need to rip out the prefab shower tub combo if we wanted a grab bar in there. grab bars worked for the toilet.


For our shower, I used 3 sheets of plywood [4X8] stood up on end. So our shower stall is 4' by 4'. We were able to find a shower-pan that fit too.

I did not do it for wheelchair use. If that had been the plan I could have easily done the floor in small tile and contoured them instead. 

We simply like having a bigger shower that fits both of us with two separate shower heads and controls. 

Truly 'custom' design can be fun and it can be cheap.


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## TexasAggie

our shower is a tile shower and they will put boards behind at the bar level. The bracing is already in the areas by the water closets.


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## TexasAggie

TexasAggie said:


> Yes, we hav read them very carefully. This was chosen over another because we have two cats and want a dog. The other limited you to two pets.
> Our ceilings are 9 and 10'.
> 
> Have two adult children living 7 miles and 25 miles from our new home. Tried to get between them, but nothing we could afford.


 also, I wanted to be closer to our 100 acres, but my MIL just got sick and she lives 15 miles from the closest clinic and most docs in a box are better equipped and then several hrs to find a hospital with beds. She is about 65 miles from her home.


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## Maura

I had boards put in our bathroom when we built too. I was going to have the bars put in too, but found out different people will need different angles and heights. So, no bars until needed.

We used the book, _Building for a Lifetime._ The idea is to build your home so that it is accessible as you get older. For instance, wider hallways not only give a feeling of spaciousness and up scale to your home, but make it easier for wheelchairs and walkers, especially if you need someone to walk beside you. Three foot wide doors are upscale, and necessary if you ever use a wheelchair, walker, or crutches. Sliding doors are easiest for wheelchair users. Stairs should not be steep, and should be wide enough to install a chair lift (four feet wide). If the house has more than one floor, closets stacked on one another can later be used as an elevator shaft or dumbwaiter shaft.

Outlets on walls should be 18" to 24" from the floor, to make it easy for someone sitting in a chair to use them. Lever handles on doors are easier for everyone, and can be used with a cane.


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## TexasAggie

TexasAggie said:


> We are having our home built in a subdivision with .25 and .5 ac lots. We are having all doors capable of handicap access.
> The restrooms are being blocked for bars.


We are having our pre-dry wall inspection tomorrow. Our younger daughter will help.
All floors are tile.


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## Ramblin Wreck

Before putting up the dry wall you have an opportunity to add extra framing support for things like curtain rods, towel racks, TP holders, and closet shelves/rods. If you even suspect you want an extra outlet for power/tv/computer, now is the time to do it. Look to insure the insulation protects your water pipes from the outside cold.

Good luck to you as your construction proceeds.


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## TexasAggie

Ramblin Wreck said:


> Before putting up the dry wall you have an opportunity to add extra framing support for things like curtain rods, towel racks, TP holders, and closet shelves/rods. If you even suspect you want an extra outlet for power/tv/computer, now is the time to do it. Look to insure the insulation protects your water pipes from the outside cold.
> 
> Good luck to you as your construction proceeds.


 The standard builders package for this subdivision was 3 quad outlets, 5 combo outlets (tv/internet) and 2 net connections. someone talked about boxes in the wall to anchor the flat screen tv. What does this look like?


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## Ramblin Wreck

TexasAggie said:


> The standard builders package for this subdivision was 3 quad outlets, 5 combo outlets (tv/internet) and 2 net connections. someone talked about boxes in the wall to anchor the flat screen tv. What does this look like?


 Not sure. It's hard to read the crystal ball, especially with my eyesight. I erred in installing too many phone jacks, since I've basically switched to only a cell phone. I put in a lot of electrical outlets, so no issues there. But I wish I had figured out a way to have "dummy" outlets using boxes and conduit for the "unknown unknowns" that might be lurking in the future. I put in some extra bracing for curtains, but not for towel/paper hooks.


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## TexasAggie

TexasAggie said:


> We are having our pre-dry wall inspection tomorrow. Our younger daughter will help.
> All floors are tile.


The last meeting was with our new builder, our pre-dry wall inspection will probably be in two weeks. He still has to get info on the cabinets, the last two outer doors were ordered yesterday.
It looks like completion early to mid April, so retire on 30 Apr.


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## TxGypsy

Well, there is a 3 ft wide door going into the bathroom. This building was a beauty shop previously and they had to comply with ADA guidelines. I will make the shower that I install a low step in model. Other than that, I've mostly looked at the financial end of a retirement house. 

My little casita is 384 sq ft. I'm about to add on a 14' X 16' summer kitchen. Still not a lot of square feet. Less for the gov to tax....I have the feeling this will be more and more significant as we go along. Much less space to have to heat and cool. Less house to try and keep clean when I get to where I'm having trouble with that sort of thing. Not to mention that I have $5,000 in it now and should have approximately $12,000 in it when I am completely through with it. I'm putting on a metal roof with a 40 year guarantee. I will not have a mortgage to worry about. This house should save me a tremendous amount of money throughout the rest of my life.

I am busy getting perennials established so that I am set up with fruit in my golden years. I have located the garden just on the other side of the driveway so it is not a long walk for when I don't walk so good any more. I am thinking about putting in a gate opener at some point.


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## TexasAggie

TexasAggie said:


> We are having our home built in a subdivision with .25 and .5 ac lots. We are having all doors capable of handicap access.
> The restrooms are being blocked for bars.


 question: We have been moving out of our current home and putting items in storage. We have an upright freezer we are gradually emptying. however, if our existing home sold before our new home is ready, can we lay the upright on its side after the food is removed?


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## ldc

Am experienced in somewhat "older" equipment; never lay it on it's side! Somebody with recent experience, please chime in here.


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## motdaugrnds

TxMex, are you saying you have built your house with only $17,000?


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## TxGypsy

motdaugrnds said:


> TxMex, are you saying you have built your house with only $17,000?


Actually it will be less than that. Around $12,000. That includes the price of the summer kitchen I'm adding, new caulk and paint, new floor covering, appliances and industrial stainless steel counters


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## motdaugrnds

TxMex, that's amazing! You were so fortunate to have already had a livable structure on the place that you could add on to.


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## TxGypsy

I moved it in. With purchasing the building and the expense of having it moved that cost me $5,000. Once I managed to get electricity hooked up I went ahead and moved in. I'm living a bit rough at the moment, but hopefully it won't be for much longer. One doesn't realize how magical it is to turn on a faucet and for as much water as you'd like to come out of it until you are refilling and hauling gallon jugs!

Hmmm, actually I ought to add the expense of getting utilities run which was about $6,000 with having to pay to have trees cleared. So that would make a grand total of $18,000. That works out to $29.61 per square foot. If I don't count having the utilities run it is $19.74 per square foot. Not too shabby.


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## motdaugrnds

Not too shabby at all. Congratulations on your ability to be so creative...and your endurance in getting it all done. 

I suspect the laws regulating building for a home there is not nearly as strenuous as they are here. We had a "shack" on this place when first purchased; and the Bldg Inspector would not let us move into it as it was not up to code.  However, in the beginning we spent $12,500 on these 6 acres, $1,000 for a well and about that for the disposal system, doing the latter ourselves. Then my Heavenly Father gave us the trailer and a friend only charged us $150 to move it onto the land and set it up. Once we got the little steps built to each of the 2 doors on this trailer (total of about $300), the inspector certified it was all ok to move into. ... So not so shabby here either. 

Then with "damaged" wood thru the years, all the out buildings were constructed; and with a little here ...a little there... the animals (goats/fowl) were added, plus a garden.  It's real good to think back on those days. They were hard but quite rewarding. The only thing that actually kept me going at that time was the fact that, if I didn't get us on this land, mother would wind up in a nursing home. I just couldn't permit that!


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## TxGypsy

:clap: way to go motdaugrnds! You are in a much better financial position with a paid for homestead. Sweat equity is priceless.

There are no building inspectors where I am at thank goodness. Also because I have enough acreage I won't have to have the septic system inspected when I get around to installing it.


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## fordy

TxMex said:


> :clap: way to go motdaugrnds! You are in a much better financial position with a paid for homestead. Sweat equity is priceless.
> 
> There are no building inspectors where I am at thank goodness. Also because I have enough acreage I won't have to have the septic system inspected when I get around to installing it.


 ...................You can giv'em all the one finger salute , right after the pledge of Alliegence and playing Revelle......while you sip your coffee ! , lol , fordy


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## ct01r

ldc said:


> Am experienced in somewhat "older" equipment; never lay it on it's side! Somebody with recent experience, please chime in here.


I've always been told it's ok to lay them down, but stand them up for 24 hours before using. This will allow the oil/freon/whatever to resettle/redistribute correctly for the proper circulation. We've laid refrigerators sideway on the back of pickups to move, and never had any problems after standing them up for awhile. They were on their sides for hours, not days, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Curt


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## TexasAggie

This would be for about 3-4 hrs.


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## TexasAggie

TexasAggie said:


> The last meeting was with our new builder, our pre-dry wall inspection will probably be in two weeks. He still has to get info on the cabinets, the last two outer doors were ordered yesterday.
> It looks like completion early to mid April, so retire on 30 Apr.


We retired on 30 April 2014, but our new home is still not ready. On the 29th during a walk though, my wife put some water on the grout, and it spread out. We were paid for special grout that will not stain and does not require sealing. On the 30th, the sub told our builder that they used egular grout. They have been removing the old grout. The new grout is being used today on the kitchen backspash, and fireplace tile, and in the shower and bathtub. Additional grout for the flooring is being shipped in and that should start on Monday. Hopefully, on Friday, we can finally close.


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