Life-changing whole house adaptation in Cardiff
Sometimes the necessity to adapt your home comes completely out of the blue.
Our customer was married with a small child when he was left quadriplegic after an accident at work. As well as being incredibly traumatic, accidents that impact mobility bring a whole host of practical challenges, including how you’re going to live comfortably and safely in your home.
Following the accident, the family decided that they needed to move house and started thinking about what kind of adaptations they might need. The couple contacted us during their mission to find a new home because they knew that wanted to buy a house that was suitable for a home lift installation.
Getting expert advice on home lift installation
Asking Adaptmyhome to give advice before buying a home was a smart move. As well as explaining how a home lift could be fitted into various properties, Lee was also able to point out other home adaptations that would help.
Working closely with the couple and their care team, we were able to plan a whole house adaptation that allowed as much independence as possible.
Re-modelling the property to support care in a wheelchair
The new house was purchased to accommodate the family and the care team supporting him. We adapted the property so that the carer’s quarters were accessible from the main building. Wider doorways and resin ramps were added for wheelchair access, with vinyl floor for easier wheelchair traction.
We added a therapy room to allow regular physiotherapy sessions.
Overhead hoists were installed all over the house to enable easy movement around rooms.
We made complete room-by-room improvements, from planning to final plaster. After testing and inspecting the electrics, we rectified faults and completed an 80% rewire, including new fuse boards.
With safety paramount we installed a hardwired smoke and fire alarm system throughout the property.
A Loxone smart home system with voice-controlled features
A smart home gives residents the ability to control things from an app or through voice activation. The Loxone system in the home was able to manage a room-by-room lighting system, the electric front drive gate, the alarm system, the heating and hot water, the sound system through ceiling speakers and an intercom call system.
This technology was crucial for our customer to maintain a level of control over his environment. Having lost the ability to use his arms, being able to use his voice to adapt what’s going on in the room was incredibly important.
Keeping the home safe and warm
Our qualified gas engineer installed two new boilers, a hot water storage system and an individual radiator-zoned heating circuit. A zoned heating system lets you split your heating into multiple areas with smart radiator thermostats and individual controls. This means that the different occupants of the house could have their space at the ideal temperature for them. This kind of home adaptation is important when the house is being used by a multitude of different people.
A home lift for freedom across all areas of the house
Without a home lift, our customer would have been constrained to one area of the house, excluded from family life. Installing a lift was the primary reason Kelly got in touch with us. She knew that a home lift was going to be crucial for their new life.
We installed the Terry Harmony FE, which is the biggest lift we work with, between the dressing room and a downstairs sitting room. Our customer uses a motorised wheelchair which is extremely heavy, this is why the Terry Harmony FE lift was selected.
We chose this location for the lift because it’s in the heart of the house and doesn’t isolate our customer from the day-to-day activities of family life. Where you physically install mobility adaptations in a house has a huge impact on how the household operates. It’s not uncommon for someone with a disability to become separated from family life if they can’t access the parts of the house that really matter.
In addition the lift was connected to the Loxone smart home system, so our customer could control the lift himself from the app – crucial for maintaining a bit of independence.
A bathroom that’s relaxing and safe
The bathroom was fully accessible and included a smart bidet toilet and spa bath. The alternations to the bathroom gave the room a classy, modern space to wash and relax in. The hoist, bath and toilet were designed for carers to help wash our customer in a way that’s safe and dignified.
Kelly said, “Lee was very professional from our first contact with him, to the completion of the work, he was extremely knowledgeable. There was a huge amount of preparation and research involved in the adaptations to our home which Lee was brilliant with. The work that was done in our home was completed to a very high standard. The smart home system which enables my husband to control the house using an app which is amazing. Our 5 year old daughter is always asking about ‘Lee the builder’ – we would highly recommend Adaptmyhome.”
We know that all our work is vital to the quality and comfort of our customer’s lives. Without careful planning and expert adaptation our customer could easily be trapped in one part of his house unable to participate in family life. At the end of this 6 month project, we felt proud to have helped to make a fantastic home for Richard.
Call our friendly team today on 029 2061 1277, or complete the contact form.
