Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house permitting and Cities

[Larry Moss (moss]

On Sun, 17 Sep 2006, Herveys wrote:

> One issue that hasn't come up in this discussion of ADA specified
> requirements is that, like all legislation, ADA is rife with compromises.
> One we encountered while attempting to design our Common House kitchen to be
> inviting for all was the specified counter height.  Standard counter height
> is something like 36".  ADA was either 34 or 32", I don't remember.  When we
> asked members and friends who "live" in wheel chairs, they said that 30" was
> much more workable.  We tried sitting in chairs and found that 29" was even
> better for folks who aren't yet wheel chair bound, but would rather sit that
> stand, (or half stand on a stool). (We designed a two height cutting table
> to provide both 36" and 30" places to work.)

Actually, as I understand it, ADA says a *maximum* of 34", not that it has
to be that height. If you really want to make it perfect for everyone, you
need adjustable countertops.  And that gets more expensive and harder to
work than most people want to get into.  A compromise of 30-32" seems best
since the largest number of people should be able to use it fairly
comfortably.  29" will be good for some, but not all, and in fact, will be
unusable by some people.  My wife, for example, has a very difficult time
at a 29" table in her wheelchair.  I'm not saying you're wrong for what you
did.  Just don't put down the ADA guidelines.  They're a good way to go for
general stuff without specific people in mind.

Larry Moss 
Not currently in co-housing, but hoping to find others in my area
(Rochester, NY) interested in pursuing it.