Anyone watch the 1/30/18 Fixer Upper---the Tebow foundation House? (construction, living, bedroom)

[loves2read]

This house was bought and remodeled with funding from the Tim Tebow foundation for family in Waco with two sons who require wheelchairs most of the time
Jo and Chip Gaines helped find a house and did the design/remodel for the house and Wish with Wings group did the backyard playground designed for kids in wheelchair...
I just watched it and thought some of the specific features Jo did that were supposed to be ADA compliant or at least function for the boys seems like they were not sized right...

Just wondered if anyone who was familiar with ADA construction had viewed it and what you thought

[loves2read]

HGTV isn't free streaming so you have to have cable to view---but there could be clips on the HGTV website
Fixer Upper---a Martha Stewart type success---
Jo and Chip Gaines have in five or so years grown their small remodel/flip homes business into certainly national and maybe global enterprise after starting with the first season of Fixer-Upper on HGTV---their autobiography was best seller for good while and they have strong following in part because of their religious/family values slant...
Have line of paints, furniture, rugs, a new cookbook, and the Magnolia store in Waco w/bakery
They employ 50-100 people in Waco and others through their other businesses
Definitely a success story---how long they can continue to grow is anyone's guess but they have been smart enough to draw their tv show to a close with this final season
Concentrating on other aspects of their business and it wouldn't surprise me if Chip didn't go into politics

[gentlearts]

Chip is a ham, so I think he’ll continue to be in show biz in some form.

I think the house you are talking about was tailored for the kids specific needs. Perhaps some general ADA guildlines weren’t pertinent.

[loves2read]

Did you watch the show and see the times the kids tried to use the aspects that were supposed to be designed for their limitations?
I noticed that Jo spent time talking to Clint about a table to fit the end of the kitchen island but they didn't talk specifics about the height of the wheelchairs the boys used or their height in the chairs--like how high a table they could roll under and utilize---
Didn't do that with the desks in the front foyer that were actually too high for the boys to use for "drawing" as Jo described---the boy at the desk couldn't see over the lip really---and the height wasn't adjustable from what I could tell...

And the sink that was supposed to be for their use in the kitchen seemed to have same problem
Many ADA sinks I see have the faucet at the side vs the back---to facilitate use/access
The fact that the large faucet had a touch feature so they didn't have to turn a faucet was cool/high tech but the boys had a very difficult time reaching across the sink to touch the faucet...

Normally Jo spends time with her artisan workers when she adds a special feature--
The show just didn't have her doing that with an ADA designer when she started this project
THAT would have been very interesting and shown the special nature of designing for ADA features...
I think they did a house once for an older couple where wife was in a wheelchair but she actually died soon after so there wasn't any footage of her actually using the house...but most of their homes don't require "special needs" features so she doesn't have personal/professional experience with them really...

Even the doors to the patio were normal size--not ADA specs--and the front entry door wasn't oversized either...and don't know if there was a ramp vs step there...
As those boys grow they and their chairs will get larger...
I just thought there was lot of money spent in redoing a home that was supposed to be ADA compliant and it missed the mark--which is a real shame---doing that type of work usually only happens once and needs to consider current and future needs...

We have home that has some aspects for ADA--because people who designed/built it had mother of one of couple living with them who used wheelchair at times...
Her bedroom has wider hall leading to it, wider door into her room, closet that is wide vs deep w/two doors that give very wide opening...her bathroom has roll in shower even though it doesn't have an ADA toilet nor open access under the vanity sink...but those can be changed easier than a roll-in shower curb...
Even the dishwasher in the kitchen is raised 18 or so inches so that you don't have to bend down so far to add/remove dishes
The cabinets have roll out shelves on bottom row where dishes are stored very close to DW which facilitates access
There is a roll in ramp vs a step in one garage to facilitate wheelchair access...

So yes--I thought many aspects of the design was actually flawed from true ADA

[gentlearts]

I did notice that the desks seemed high for the children, but I just assumed that they made them for the long haul, not for small children. It’s not as if they are going back every year to raise the table height.

[Robino1]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

I did notice that the desks seemed high for the children, but I just assumed that they made them for the long haul, not for small children. It’s not as if they are going back every year to raise the table height.

That was my thought also. Kids grow rapidly and if you think about it, ADA compliant is usually based on an adult size.

I did like that the showed the boys using the grab bars in their bedrooms to access the play wall. I bet it helps them to exercise those muscles while they are still able.