CASE STUDY

Sutton Extension, For Young Wheelchair User

Our Challenges

Buying a property that’s right for you, your family and your budget can be challenging enough. But our property had to accommodate our severely disabled son, who has mobility issues, so our search was far harder.

We knew it would be almost impossible to move straight into a new house. That’s why when we eventually purchased the one we wanted, we had to prepare for a big renovation project.

Unfortunately reputable and reliable contractors with experience of adaptations for disabled people are in short supply. And at the time we were looking, Brexit, Covid and the surge in home improvements made the situation worse.

Proposed solutions

To make the space work for us and help us navigate building regulations, we hired a surveyor. He then introduced us to Adept Adaptations who have years of experience in the building trade and came highly recommended.

The surveyor drew up the initial plans, but Adept Adaptations collaborated closely with him to realise and make improvements to the plans.

The layout of the property was not ideal: the footprint downstairs was too small for our son, his carers, and us. So the solution involved:

Adding a single storey extension with level access – this would contain an open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge
Removing the existing kitchen – to create space for a therapy room and a wetroom with a graded floor
Converting one of the reception rooms into a bedroom – the stairs meant we needed a ground floor bedroom. Removing the old fireplace also allowed Adept Adaptations to fit floor to ceiling wardrobes
Relocating the utility room – to make additional space for a carers’ area, comprising a kitchenette, shower room, and rest/break room
Widening most of the internal doorways – to enable wheelchair access
Constructing two external ramps – one built up from the driveway to the front door threshold in the same paving stones and one from the rear patio to the garden

How Adept Adaptations were able to help

As professionals and people, Adept Adaptations were an absolute pleasure to work with.

Communication – this was far superior to any tradespeople we’ve ever dealt with. We were pleasantly surprised by their suggestion to set up a WhatsApp group for communication between meetings. This worked really well
Expertise – Adept Adaptations pride themselves on bringing in a trusted team who they either directly employ or regularly partner with. This gave us confidence in the quality of their work and made us feel comfortable about the people going in and out of our home
Integrity – contractors need to have a broad knowledge base, but they can’t know everything. Adept Adaptations always had a view on different approaches and how to resolve unforeseen issues, but when they needed the specialists within and outside of their team to advise, they would say so

The difference it’s made to our lives

Living in a rented house for eight years that we had to share with our son’s carers was less than ideal. We had no privacy and there was no separation of space.

Our new, beautiful home has two cleverly designed areas. When we choose to, we can close off the spaces or open them up using the adjoining doors.

It’s easy for your home to feel claustrophobic when you’re reliant on disability equipment. However, the ceiling track for the hoist is neatly integrated into three rooms and makes transfers quicker and more convenient. There’s also plenty of space to manoeuvre and park our son’s indoor and outdoor wheelchairs.

We’re really looking forward to the warmer weather so that we can all enjoy the garden, which is fully accessible.

Our son’s disabilities have been life-changing for us all, but the home in which we now spend so much of our time has become a sanctuary.