GOLD AWARD
mackmiller design+build
Eden Prairie, Minn.
Project location: Mendota Heights, Minn.
Sq. ft. before: 30
Sq. ft. after: 59
Project cost: $43,510

Upgrading a bathroom to meet the immediate and future needs for an adopted eight-year-old quadriplegic was the challenge presented by this remodeling project. The boy weighed over 50 lbs., and it was becoming increasingly difficult for his mother to move him in and out of his wheelchair. Dressing and hygiene issues were especially challenging.

Key to the project was the expansion of a handicap accessible shower across the hall from the boy’s bedroom as well as a ceiling hoist to help him access his bed, wheelchair, toilet and shower.

The size of the existing bathroom was doubled by taking space from the family room, making the shower wheelchair accessible. In fact, the entire bathroom was treated as a shower by waterproofing and tiling the walls and floor, sloping the floor toward a center drain, and designing the floor with no curbing to the shower.

The floor is heated so the room can be kept uniformly warm. This is important because the user has cerebral palsy and has difficulty regulating his body temperature.

A fiberglass door, wide enough for wheelchair access, was chosen to resist excessive moisture. The old vanity was removed and replaced with an ADA wall-mounted sink and a tilting mirror mounted on the wall above it.

A retractable changing table was designed, fabricated and installed by the remodeler after commercial models were found to be either too expensive or too large. The table is mounted on the wall above the toilet and folds up for storage when not in use. A portable hoist on a ceiling track moves the boy to and from his shower chair, changing table and wheelchair.

The homeowner and the remodeler agreed that a universal design need not be institutional looking. A soft mottled tan tile with an accent band was selected. The color of the changing table was coordinated with the tile and trim.

In addition to the bathroom work upgrades, the corners of the bedroom and bathroom were clipped at a 45-degree angle so that they are directly across the hall from one another, eliminating travel down the hall and turning.

The boy’s long-term needs were considered in the plan as well. When he becomes an adult, it is expected that he will live in the house with on-site caregivers occupying two levels of the three-level home and the boy living on the third. The bedroom, bathroom and adjacent family room essentially became a private suite by the installation of a door in the hallway leading to that area.

A linen closet was located at one end of the bedroom closet instead of the bathroom, both for space and humidity concerns. A ceiling track for the portable hoist was installed over the bed.

The judges felt the design was a creative solution to making the home more livable for a young special-needs boy and his brothers and sisters, who also are adopted and have special needs.

Products specified:

Plumbing fixtures: Hansgrohe
Toilet/sink: Kohler
Changing table: Cardinal Woodworks
Hoist: BHM
Door opener: Open Sesame
Carpet: Shaw

Silver:
Cooper Design Builders
Portland, Ore.

Honorable Mention:
Alward Construction Co.
Berkeley, Calif.