By Suzanne Mintz

Camping Out During Construction

Construction would take six months we were told and it was highly unlikely that we would be able to stay in the house during the process. Even though we were “going up” and adding a level there was still work to be done in the existing house to make room for the elevator and enlarge the hall bath. We didn’t realize exactly how much until construction was underway. Ultimately every room in the house was touched. A vertical support had to be placed in the living-room wall. Plumbing for the new master bath had to be installed inside the kitchen wall and the entire ceiling of our existing bedroom had to be removed in order to construct the bedroom above. Even the dining room had a bit of work to remove molding around the doorway to make it easier for Steven’s power chair to fit through.

Short-Term Apartment

And so the search began for an apartment to meet our needs. Finding a short-term lease wasn’t going to be the issue. Virtually all rental communities in the DC area offer them. The problem was going to be finding an apartment that was sufficiently accessible to accommodate Steven’s disability. As you would expect a useable bathroom was our primary concern.

First off: Wwould his wheelchair, even the narrow manual one, fit through the door? We knew we would never find an apartment with a roll-in shower but if management would install grab bars and the bathtub was one of the newer low-profile ones, we thought we could manage that. The toilet too was a concern. How would we affect transfers and how could Steven possibly use one with a standard height seat, and where would there be the right amount of room and a surface of sufficient height to enable him to stand and me to hike his pants up or down?

Most of the one-bedroom apartments we saw—we weren’t prepared to spend even more money than we already would need to in order to have a larger one—had similar layouts: an open kitchen with a breakfast bar overlooking an integrated living room/dining room area, a bedroom, and a bathroom with access from the bedroom and the hall. The dual bathroom doors seemed to us a plus.

The problem we kept encountering was the position of the tub. Either the distance across was wider than Steven could reach to hold onto a grab bar, or the faucets were at the end where access would be easiest. We realized early on that we would have to use Steven’s shower chair for toileting and most likely use it in the kitchen area with him standing up at the sink to make the transfer.

When our search wasn’t turning up anything, we actually had a meeting with our contractor and architect to figure out if there was a way for us to live in the basement during construction. We devised a way to add a shower to the half bath down there and were trying to figure out how to maintain access to the kitchen when I came across an apartment complex we hadn’t known about before.

It was brand-new, still under construction actually, and so had to conform to new building codes that mandated all bathrooms have three-foot-wide doors. It was perfect and less than 10 minutes from the house. Bringing our cat, KC, wouldn’t be a problem. There was a swimming pool and a gym, or would be when construction was further along. Management bent over backward to accommodate us. Grab bars in the bathroom at the height we wanted—not what the ADA called for— “not a problem” we were told “as long as we would sign a release.” A place for Steven’s standing frame? “There’d be plenty of room in the gym and until it was ready we could keep it in an vacant apartment.” It was obvious we’d found our home away from home. Fitz, the superintendent assigned to our job, breathed a sign of relief. He definitely didn’t want us staying in the house.

Unfit for Living

Once construction got started, it was obvious why. There was dust everywhere and lots of noise. The kitchen cabinets were covered with foam board to keep them protected. The garage was a staging area. Efforts would have been made to keep part of the house habitable if we absolutely had to stay, but it would have been a bad scene for all involved. This way we had a refuge to return to after work and a place where Steven could comfortably stay on the days he worked from home. And there was an added benefit we came to really appreciate: The apartment complex was right across the street from the Metro—a short subway ride took me downtown to meetings. There were great inexpensive ethnic restaurants withinin walking distance and a Safeway a half a block away. We were going to have an urban experience and decided to make the most of it.

We moved out March 21, and construction began a week later. Seeing the roof come off sent a shock wave through us, but watching the new roofline take shape was thrilling. Neighbors reported there was a full crew at the house every day and that was the case whenever we came by, generally twice a week. It was fun to come by on the weekend when the house was empty and take our time walking through once the studs were up and we could see the outline of the new plan come to life.

March gave way to April and April to May, and May to June. Things were definitely progressing on schedule and Fitz suggested we might actually be able to get back home before the end of September, which was the original projected completion date. When the elevator showed up at the end of July, we actually began to believe it, and we agreed on a September 2 completion date. We scheduled our move back for September 12, not wanting to test fate.

As I write this in early August I am nervous. It is obvious that not everything will be done by the second of September, and that is okay, but I am questioning whether critical items can be installed on time. We still haven’t gotten a written estimate on the glass shower enclosure, and we can’t move in unless the master bath is finished, the need for which started the entire project in the first place. If anyone can make it happen, Fitz can. I have great faith in him and so I will continue to trust and not let the little pit in the bottom of my stomach eat at me too much.

As far as construction projects go, this one has been remarkably smooth, although certainly not perfect. We already know there are things that we forgot, such as adding additional lighting in the existing bathroom downstairs and things that we didn’t realize but can’t really do anything about, like the massive air conditioner for the addition that stands like an alien spaceship in our small backyard, but in the scheme of things these are minor. We remain happy with our team and are looking forward to moving home and living in our very accessible house.