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Handicap accessible meeting questions (1 Viewer)

Nickz

Nickz

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So, I was thinking about this earlier...

What is necessary to make a house handicap accessible for a meeting? I know I have seen several meeting threads where the belief is all that is needed would be something to get up the step or 3 to the front door. Is this really all that's needed or are there other potential issues that I haven't thought about? Forgive my ignorance on the issue.

If it were just a portable ramp for a few steps is this something the club could consider purchasing? Obviously there would need to be discussions and BoD voting.

I unfortunately live in a split entry so it wouldn't work here but if it could add in even a few meetings a year for people it would be a great thing and very worth it in my opinion.
 
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To truly be handicap accessible the bathroom would need to be wide enough for a wheel chair as well as hallway obstructions. Some houses with older doorways on the interior might not be wide enough as well.


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The left the portable ramp up to anyone coming to my meeting that might have needed one, but my biggest limiter was my main floor bathroom.
 
souk said:
also, bath needs a 5' turning radius under ADA
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I'm not looking for legal requirements so much as what is workable for our members to be able to at least attend meetings. I'm pretty sure nobody is going to go out and modify their homes for a single meeting. I do know if I end up moving someday I will be looking at some handicap accessibility if possible. I have also had thoughts of hooking up a video camera to view the tanks and placing an acceptable size monitor in the garage to incorporate that into the meeting, now way for me to do that by Saturday but was a thought for the future... Not quite live enough but would be able to include everyone to a point at least.

For that matter, does a meeting that counts toward membership have to be a "house meeting" or could it be in a public type place, a park for example?
 
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Nickz said:
For that matter, does a meeting that counts toward membership have to be a "house meeting" or could it be in a public type place, a park for example?
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I know there have been meetings at businesses and alike w/o tanks - design and theory meetings. I'm not 100% sure if they counted towards membership, pretty sure they did but I'll defer to someone smarter than I.
 
So, short of a big lecture about ADA (public accessed buildings) vs. Private home accessibility. It depends on who you want to make it accessible for, crutches, wheelchair or other. Typically you need a minimum of a 2'-8" door for a wheel chair to fit thru but 3'-0" is preferred. You will not see a private home with an ADA bathroom unless it was specifically designed for it, I have done a few they are bigger than normal and cost more. That being said many people with disabilities have learned to adapt to a regular bathroom perhaps with the adaptation of a few grab bars. Again it depends on the disability. I have been Designing homes and Commercial buildings for about 10 years. I would be happy to help however I can regarding this, feel free to ask me questions.
 
Do we know who in the TCMAS organization or family members would need accommodations and what those are. I am pretty sure that most people would be willing to make adjustments or provide extra help if needed.
 
danknuc said:
Do we know who in the TCMAS organization or family members would need accommodations and what those are. I am pretty sure that most people would be willing to make adjustments or provide extra help if needed.
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We have at least 2 members that I am aware of that are wheelchair bound and we do try to accommodate where we can.

Nick is thinking a TCMAS owned ramp that members could use at thier meetings would help make attending meetings more possible.

My concern is once getting in the door via a ramp - how accessible are most homes. hallways etc? Do most homes negate the ramp due to being inaccessible once inside anyway? Know what I mean?
 
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acharpenter said:
My concern is once getting in the door via a ramp - how accessible are most homes. hallways etc? Do most homes negate the ramp due to being inaccessible once inside anyway? Know what I mean?
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I do know what you mean, but meeting hosts would need to know the wheelchair dimensions to figure out if access inside the home is possible. Also, I do not know how everyone in a wheel chair feels but I do have an uncle that is fine with people assisting him up and down a few stairs without a ramp.
I am definitely not opposed to TCMAS purchasing a ramp and would be glad to help getting it to and from meetings and getting it set up.
 
I would really like to see some input from those that are in the situation even if it is only to help me/us understand what is actually needed. This all just came from a 5 minute drive last night and sounded (in my head) like a good idea to potentially open things up more for people.
 
Hello, everyone and thanks to Nickz for bringing this subject up. Every persons disabilities are different . In my case I have a my own ramps and don't need a bathroom. Most people who need a ramp own one. I appreciate the discussion but unless you're in a rambler or a walkout basement or a business I am pretty much out of luck. Close up pictures are greatly appreciated
Thanks again Kent
 
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