January 2011

I'm often addressed as Mr Scott. My stock answer has been "that's my father." Well, my Dad died of old age several years ago and, as I approach 58 years old, I've grown into the "Mr. Scott" title whether I've wanted to or not.

Some of you are older than I am and some younger. Many of us also have parents for whom we are taking more responsibility. Most of us don't like talking about "Aging In Place" stuff, so the industry has invented the term "Universal Design." It sounds less stodgy.

There are lots of websites on aging in place. I pulled some information from OregonLive.com



FEATURES FOR AGING IN PLACE

·Taller toilet for easier transfer from wheelchair

·Adjustable heights for kitchen sink

·Barrier-free entries

·Casement windows with easy-to-use crank-style mechanisms

·Contrasting trim color on countertops for sight-impaired users

·Curb-free shower








HC Shower
Marv Bondarowicz/The Oregonian Curb free shower


·Elevated exterior landscape faucet

·Elevated refrigerator

·Front-loading washer, dryer and dishwasher

·Hand-held shower head with slide rail

·Lever handles on doors and faucets

·Doorways 32 inches wide

·Movable kitchen cabinets

·Open floor plan to allow for wheelchair entry and turning

·Open space under kitchen and bathroom sinks as well as slide-out cutting boards to accommodate a seated person

·Pocket door to bathroom

·Reinforced grab bars in bathroom

·Slide-out kitchen drawers instead of hard-to-reach cupboards

·Wall electrical plugs at least 15 inches above floor

My 82 year old Mom refers to "the old people" in Florida as those outside of her group. Those "old people" may be candidates for adjustable height kitchen sinks, movable kitchen cabinets and grab bars; but not me or you! We're not that old!

Many of the things on this list are quite "acceptable" to me and many of my clients. "Comfort height" toilets have gained popularity. Elevated exterior hose faucets....that sounds like a pretty good idea. Refrigerators with the freezer on the bottom are growing. Almost all new washer and dryers are front loading now. We replaced the showerheads in out baths a couple of years ago with handheld heads on sliding bars. (They make it easier to clean the dogs and wash the shower.)

Lever or old fashioned cross handle shower and sink handles have become almost "universally" accepted. Door levers aren't as accepted as the sink faucets. But, we used levers in my house 23 years ago. If you consider lever hardware, look into Gainsborough hardware http://www.gainsboroughhardware.com.au/default.aspx They are better quality than Kwickset and even Schlage, and half the price of Baldwin. I particularly like opening a door with my elbow.

Many folks now enlarge a 1st floor bath by widening doors to 32" for the walker or wheelchair. It sure makes life easier for that parent or when you have to recover from that surgery.

And if you don't have roll-out shelves/drawers in your kitchen cabinets, there's stuff in the back of those cabinets that you haven't seen since you moved in. Roll-out shelves are a very worthwhile investment.

All this said, many of you are going to stay in your homes for a while waiting for the market to return. If you think you're going to make some of these improvements in order to make your house more saleable in a couple of years, doesn't it make sense to do them now so you can get some enjoyment from them?


A Home Energy Talk



I presented a "Green Living" talk to the Bethesda Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce on Feb 11--a seminar discussing some of the simple and inexpensive ways to be more comfortable and efficient in your home.



Kitchen Cabinet Tune Up


I'm as bad as everyone else at maintaining things, like my house. It was cold outside, and I couldn't think of anything else to do. So I did some maintenance on my kitchen today. I tightened all of the screws and lubricated the moving parts.

The tools: a Philips head screw driver, a flashlight, and a can of WD40 or spray silicone

Time: a couple of hours, depending upon what game is on TV

For the most part, kitchen cabinets and kitchen hardware rarely break. What happens is the things get loose, and then get progressively looser, until something actually does break. It's pretty simple to maintain these things; a little squirt of lubricant and the tightening of a screw or two.


We built our house 23 years ago, and this is possibly the second time I've "tuned up" our kitchen cabinets. Our kitchen contains lots of drawers and roll out shelves.









It's best to clear the counters and cover the counters with newspaper etc. It reduces those "hairy eyeball" stares that we're all so familiar with from our spouse. Then pull out the roll-out shelves or drawers. To remove them, you'll have to release the slides somehow. Some will release simply by lifting up; others will have a release lever on the side or on the bottom.

Once you've cleared a cabinet, start tightening things. Most screws will be fine; some will require an 1/8 or ¼ turn to tighten, but occasionally you'll run across a screw that has significantly backed out. That's what causes the little "bump" when you slide that drawer.




Loose screws like this are what cause cabinets to fail. It's usually a simple matter of tightening the screw. Occasionally, the wobbly screw will wear the hole too big to tighten the screw. The solution then, is to push a toothpick into the hole and snap it off. That little wooden wedge is sufficient tighten the screw. I had to use 6 or 7 toothpicks in my kitchen.

You're almost done. A little shot of a lubricant makes things roll more smoothly again.







I prefer silicone spray. Andy likes WD40. Either one works. The key to remember is that a tiny shot of lubricant is much better than too much. So, use the little red straw that one normally loses immediately after purchase and just give the rollers and hinges a split second shot of lube. The bigger shot just makes a mess and tends to attract dirt over time.


Before you know it, the cabinet tune up is done and you still have time to watch the last 2 minutes of the game.

Household hints from Mark

About once a year, I put a ballpoint pen in my pocket with the point extended. Normally, I do this with brand new Nordstrom dress shirts. Somewhere along the line, someone told me to spray it with hairspray and the ink stain will come out. Damned if it doesn't work! The cheaper the hairspray, the better it works. Aqua Net seems to work the best.










After washing, the stain is gone!