Yes. When you sue someone, the onus is on you to prove your damages. We offer a variety of services that concisely prove your current and future damages as part of your claim. As always, our reports are unbiased – we tell it like it is. We are always prepared to testify as an objective expert witness.
Yes, and we can do it. If your pre-accident lifestyle involved using a vacation property, Home Accessibility Reports should be completed. Adapt-Able Design Group regularly conducts assessments of cottage properties, winter homes and even mobile homes. Our recommendations are site-specific and reflect your accessibility needs to ensure a return to your pre-accident lifestyle.
Barrier-free home modification costs following an accident are a substantial portion of an individual’s claim, and are not limited to those only using wheelchairs. If your disability results in you having difficulties in the home, then an assessment should be completed. We can assess your home to address reduced memory, distractibility, concentration skills, sequencing and organization, increased physical/verbal aggression, and sensitivity to sounds, light, and smells. We can also address mobility or endurance limitations, including the ability to bend, squat, stoop, kneel, and climb stairs. We also can assess your home if you have vision or hearing limitations.
We offer one of the most in-depth reviews available. We take your accessibility requirements very seriously. We will come out to assess your entire home and talk to you about your specific needs. The barrier-free home recommendations are tailored to your abilities and unique living situation.
We can help after you’ve moved from your home where the accident happened. Our assessment team will attempt to gain access into the pre-accident home in order to provide the information required for the Home Accessibility Report, including accessibility costs. Adapt-Able Design Group will also review the current residence to determine whether your needs are being fully met, and that the new location is meeting your needs as a barrier-free home solution.
We work with many Occupational Therapists. We prefer, whenever possible, to work with your treating therapist(s) and doctors. They understand your unique needs, and can offer valuable information to help us create the ideal barrier-free, accessible home for you. If you do not have a therapist, we can recommend one who can provide service in your area and who is experienced in understanding your specific abilities and limitations.
We want to ensure you get the maximum disability benefit available. The amount of the housing benefit that can be made available to you in a future home is based on what it would have cost to modify the home in which you lived at the time of the accident. If you cannot quantify the cost of home modifications, you may have difficulty accessing these funds for a future home.
Most people injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario are protected by no-fault insurance benefits through their auto insurer. One of the benefits available allows for home modifications to accommodate your disability-related needs. The benefit is based on what it would cost to modify the home in which you lived at the time of the accident including houses, apartments, condominiums and seasonal properties. If it is not practical to modify your ‘pre-accident’ home, this benefit can be redirected to a different housing solution.
Adapt-Able Design Group can complete an assessment of your home to determine what home modifications are required to accommodate your accessibility needs, and to find a true, barrier-free solution. This Home Accessibility Report is required even if you know your home cannot be appropriately modified. The report is necessary in order to quantify the amount of the housing benefit that should be made available to you for a different housing solution.
We do not bias our reports, and rely on objective medical information to make our recommendations and draw our conclusions. This means we have a high degree of credibility, and this is the key reason why we are often called to testify as expert witnesses in arbitration and court hearings.
If your disability results in you having difficulties in the home, then an assessment should be completed. We can assess your home to address reduced memory, distractibility, concentration skills, sequencing and organization, and sensitivity to sounds, light, and smells. We can also address mobility or endurance limitations, including the ability to bend, squat, stoop, kneel, and climb stairs. We also can assess your home if you have vision or hearing limitations.
With over 27 years of experience, our design team is trained to identify safe and appropriate accessibility features and to make the appropriate barrier-free recommendations. Consideration is also given to Ontario Building Code Standards and local building by-laws. Adapt-Able Design Group’s goal is to accommodate you in accordance with safety, accessibility and independence, as well as considering client-specific needs. Essentially, while you may know what you need, you may not know what’s available to you in creating a barrier-free home, or what obstacles you may face. We’re here to help.
We offer one of the most in-depth reviews available – we take your health and happiness very seriously. We will come out to assess your entire home and talk to you about your specific needs. The barrier-free home recommendations are tailored to your abilities and unique living situation.
Yes. We can complete an independent search or work with you and your real estate agent to help you short-list possible barrier-free homes. Then, once you have negotiated a conditional offer to purchase, we will inspect and analyze the property, including a quick design to show you what changes are possible to make the home more accessible, and give you a budget range for the required work.
Absolutely and we do this frequently. The key is to involve us in helping you choose a model and negotiating changes to the design before you sign a contract to ensure accessibility and barrier-free home solutions.
Yes, depending on the size of the apartment or condominium needing barrier-free design, the ability to move walls as required, and the willingness of the Property Manager or Condominium Board to allow the changes.
No. We believe there is a conflict of interest between making recommendations to resolve the accessibility needs of people with physical limitations or disabilities and being the contractor who profits from increased work required to accommodate your needs. That’s why we’ve established ourselves as a 'middle-man' with in-depth expertise in barrier-free home design – we protect you, and work to find your ideal, accessible home solution.
As a design firm specializing in barrier-free housing solutions for people with unique needs, and we also offer Project Management services to oversee construction. As designers, we base our recommendations on meeting your needs and we choose products (when applicable) to suit you. We are not a vendor of any product lines. That said, we can normally assist you by offering 'preferred pricing' on products.
As Project Managers we do our own internal budget pricing, tender to local contractors, analyze bids, check insurance and WSIB coverage, award contracts, complete regular site visits, oversee construction, problem solve whenever extra work is required or your contractor has on-site questions, and pay your contractor only when we are satisfied that they have fulfilled their obligations. Our approach allows us to manage construction projects anywhere and to understand multiple markets and local costs. In essence, we are here to protect you.
Absolutely. Life-changing situations, medical bills and more can have an impact on your budget – we’ve seen it countless times, but we still work to find the right solution for you. We design according to your budget, so one of the first things we need to know is how much you can comfortably spend. If your plans appear to be too grand for your budget, we’ll be up front and tell you. Honesty is key to us – we’re a family business. We treat your family like it’s part of ours.
Additionally, there are resources available to people with physical disabilities, limitations or handicaps that many people don’t know about or how to access. We’re experts at helping you find and leverage these resources. You may qualify for government grants or loans, and if you have enough equity in your home, you may be able to secure a reverse mortgage that becomes payable when you sell your home.
Example Funding Programs:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Home and Vehicle Modification Program administered by the Ontario March of Dimes
Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP) for homeowners 60 and over.
Sometimes 'extras' are legitimate and sometimes they’re not. You can’t always see what may be hidden inside your walls, such as bad wiring, but hopefully you will have included a reasonable contingency in your budget. However, you need to be wary of ‘extras’ by a contractor. You have the right to stop the job if the contractor is not fulfilling his responsibilities. The Adapt-Able Design Group can help. As unbiased consultants, we can ensure you’re paying the right price, for the right product.
If you choose to work with us from the beginning, we will analyze barrier-free design and construction bids before awarding the job. Throughout construction, we oversee the work and administer payments to the contractor on your behalf, only after we are satisfied that they are fulfilling their obligations. We’re there to help you with barrier-free home design expertise that’s been developed over 27 years, from stair lifts to home elevators to wheelchair lifts and more. When extras are identified, we determine the most cost-effective solution, obtain pricing, and help you understand your options. Local authorities have no obligation to ensure the contractor is following your plans or is treating you fairly, except where it relates to the most basic elements of structure, insulation, electrical wiring, plumbing, heating etc. That’s why we’re there.
As designers and project managers, we can help ensure the plans meet your specific needs. Most contractors and designers refer to the accessibility portions of the Building Code for guidance. However, the Building Code is not designed to meet your specific needs; you need expert advice. As the Adapt-Able Design Group is not a construction company, we can work with your contractors to ensure a successful project.
About 90% of our work is in Ontario; however, we have traveled, out of province and outside of Canada on many occasions. We have also worked with clients in the United States, Barbados, and South Korea. We’re willing to travel the distance to create your barrier-free home.
