Why Aren’t Homes Built Accessible? Rethinking Housing for Our Future with Adam Arsenault

What if the homes we build today are the very thing limiting our independence tomorrow?

In this eye-opening episode, Valerie sits down with builder and entrepreneur Adam Arsenault to explore the critical gaps in accessible housing—and why so many homes still aren’t designed for real life across the lifespan.

Adam has always been interested in building. He started at the beginning with how to read a red tape measure to studying every trade in the industry. After a decade of learning, he decided to turn his passion for building into a business. 

Adam shares his journey into accessible construction, inspired by both industry experience and personal experience with family. After witnessing firsthand how traditional homes fail people as they age or face mobility challenges, he set out to challenge the status quo and create better solutions.

Together, Valerie and Adam unpack:

• Why accessibility is still not the standard in home building
• The surprising role basements play in limiting accessibility
• The concept of level-entry, no-step homes and why they matter
• The stigma and mindset barriers that prevent proactive planning
• The pros and cons of renovating vs. building new
• Why “one-size-fits-all” (universal design) often falls short
• How ADUs (Additional Dwelling Units) can create independence while keeping families connected

Adam also introduces innovative approaches like building without basements, incorporating future-ready features like residential elevators, and designing homes that are both functional and beautiful—without looking “accessible.”

Valerie brings her lived experience as a parent and former physiotherapist, emphasizing the importance of planning early and thinking long-term—especially for families raising children with disabilities.

Key Takeaway:
Accessible housing isn’t just for “someone else.” It’s for all of us—if we’re willing to think ahead.

Whether you’re considering renovations, building a forever home, or simply starting the conversation, this episode will expand your perspective on what’s possible.

Connect with Adam:
Website: redpladhomes.com
Instagram & Facebook: Red Plaid Developments

Valerie’s Reminder:
Start planning early. The best outcomes come from informed, proactive decisions—not reactive ones.

Live with Intention - Embrace the Journey.

Connect with Adam

www.redplaidhomes.com

Connect with Valerie

info@foreverhomeconsulting.ca

Music Acknowledgement: Audio Coffee - Denys Kyshchuk

Editor: Scott Arbeau

Link for book: The S.H.I.N.E. Principle: The special needs mom's path to strength, hope and happiness by Valerie Arbeau

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CW18ZXGX (Canada)

https://a.co/d/03hFdZI4 (United States)

Learn more about your host at:
https://coachingwithvalerieanne.com/

Transcript

Valerie

Welcome to the show today. We are so thrilled to have you here. And we're just so grateful that you tune into us. And we hope that what we're bringing is being helpful and giving you some ideas as you move along your journey about creating a forever home for your child. So, thank you for tuning in. And thank you for those of us that are sharing this with other people, we just so appreciate it. 

I have a lovely guest with me today. His name is Adam Arsenal. Adam has always been interested in building. He started at the beginning with how to read a red tape measure to studying every trade in the industry. After a decade of learning, he decided to turn his passion for building into a business. Adam has always felt a need to help others in building accessible and non-traditional homes, that focus on improving someone's quality of life allows him to do just that. So welcome Adam.

[00:01:40:18 - 00:01:42:10]

Adam

Hi Valerie, thanks so much for having me.

[00:01:42:10 - 00:01:52:03]

Valerie

You are so very welcome. All right, so please share with us Adam, how you came to get into this line of work with working with people with disabilities.

[00:01:53:14 - 00:01:59:23]

Adam

Sure. It was a bit of an evolution, happened over kind of a long period of time.

I always knew that there was sort of a hole in the market when it came to accessibility.

You know, through all my years of construction, I could just see that. I worked with a number of different groups in the past who would build housing for seniors. And I always thought that the homes that were built for seniorswasn't a great product. It wasn't an accessible product.

And then just something in my own experience were my grandparents. They were in a non-accessible home, of course, and unfortunately, they didn't want to move and then there was an accident and they deteriorated very quickly.

And that was kind of a real nudge for me to say, you know what, this is kind of crazy, the way that we're,building housing the way that we're sort of assuming that people will move out of their homes, their communities. And through that work, or from that kick, I was doing a lot of research and trying to find so what is the solution. And that brought me into contact with a lot of different disability communities. And that really, really opened my eyes to an even further gap in our in our market, which is, you know, there's accessibility for aging in place and seniors, but of course, there's persons with disabilities as well. Those communities were very welcoming to me. So I did a lot of research, learned a ton over a number of years. So now I really have a passion for, you know, being an entrepreneur, you just want to solve a problem. So, I see that there is a big problem when it comes to accessible housing. And I'm determined to do the best I can to solve that problem.

[00:03:52:06 - 00:04:15:04]

Valerie

Yeah, well, thank you so much. And I'm just so grateful that you saw the gap and decided to fill it. Congratulations. And I'm just so thankful that you are doing this kind of work. And I'm sure it's fulfilling.

[00:04:16:10 - 00:04:17:18]

Adam

Yeah, it's very fulfilling. It's much more fulfilling, I guess, as a builder than to just sort of do what everybody else is doing. But also, yeah, when you do get it right, and you see how you can change someone's life through housing, yeah, it is very fulfilling for sure.

[00:04:32:10 - 00:06:32:23]

Valerie

Absolutely, absolutely. And you make a point that, you know, a lot of people have lived in the houses, just going back to your grandparents lived in their houses for 20, 30, 40 years, even more for some people. And why should they want to have to move just because their mobility is not what it was 30, 40 years ago. So I am with you on the fact that yes, people should be being more aware of how can we help people to age in place. And as you say, why should they have to move? And I know that they're building a lot of these senior’s places and they are needed. I get it, I get it. But not everybody needs to do that. I had the fortune of working in Homecare as a physiotherapist, physical therapist for our American viewers. And I got to see what it was like for some of these people in their homes, and how small bathrooms are. Hello! No room for a walker, no room for a commode. And how the spaces are just not wide enough, or large enough to accommodate any type of equipment. And then the other thing I was chatting with an architect, and he's going to be on our show as well. And he was saying the resistance to equipment in the home to make things a little bit more accessible. And I just thought, yes, I saw a lot of that too, and I was working in the community. And so then translating that to people with disabilities, because of modern technology, and you know, the advances in medicine and all that kind of thing, they are living a lot longer. My daughter, our oldest, was given a year to live, she's now 23. And she is as healthy as anything. And she'll probably be around for a while. So yeah, we had to start thinking long term, what is her care going to look like? And how can we manage that in the home that she's living in? So, I'm just so grateful that, you know, you're starting to build houses. Now, do you do much in the way of renovations?

[00:06:35:04 - 00:06:38:20]

Adam

Yeah, we do renovations as well. Ultimately, it just depends.

So a big theme, and I'll probably mention it a few times in this podcast is that, and one of the challenges of accessibility, is that everybody's situation is unique.

So it depends. We do do renovations, it's not always the best option for someone. I guess our whole belief, our mission is to show that accessible housing can be, if we change sort of the traditional ways we build housing, then we can have accessible housing infrastructure in general. So you mentioned senior centers, community living, yes, they're important. But what we're really missing is that in between stage. So you're in your home where you raised your family, and now you're ready to downsize. Well, where do you go, right? So that's what we're missing, that third living situation where you know, you're not ready for home, you don't want to go to home, you don't need to go to a senior community. So what is there? Well, the answer is there isn't anything, right? So that's really our mission is to create something that becomes more normalized, more encouraged, but basically a home design that wouldn't require as many people to renovate because there was a different solution. There was a way to add true way to age in place with a home that was designed for that.

[00:08:07:08 - 00:08:18:02]

Valerie

Yeah, cool. So might seem like a random question, or a question that really is not that sensible. But why aren't all homes built accessible?

[00:08:20:16 - 00:08:31:01]

Adam

There's two big reasons. In Alberta, where we are, the biggest reason why homes are not accessible is because homes have basements.

So it's the basement that causes a home to not be accessible. Okay, I won't get too much into it. But basically, we don't need basements. But traditionally in the past, say when we really started building housing 75 years ago, we needed basements. Now we don't. But the idea was basements get below the frost line. But the result of that is that's how our entire infrastructure was designed was for every home to have a basement. And basements when they're done are generally a foot out of the ground. Plus, you add your floor system, and your two, three feet above the ground. So our homes are not accessible because of basements. If you take a basement away, and build a house without the basement, you don't need any steps.

So the biggest barrier, the biggest thing we think of when we think of accessibility is stairs, right? So I know there's so many other things in a home. But at a small basic level, if you can eliminate stairs, from even just entering and exiting the home, it's a massive step forward for accessibility. But it's also good for 100% of the population. So it doesn't negatively affect anyone.

So it's actually basements and our entire system, our entire construction system is designed around homes having basements here in Canada. And that's a very, very difficult thing to move past.

And the other thing is, as the stigma is around it. It's very difficult for someone to think proactively and say, I'm going to change my situation now so that I protect myself for the future. In my experience, that has been a very difficult hurdle as well.

[00:10:35:13 - 00:10:44:22]

Valerie

Interesting, interesting. I had no idea it was all just going back to your first comment, all about basements that just would never have occurred to me at all.

[00:10:44:22 - 00:10:52:08]

Adam

Wow. Yes. So, so we've been building for six years now, accessible housing, we've never built a house with a basement.

It's not that you can't build an accessible home with a basement, it's just then you would require ramps or lift.

And so for many people, an accessible home, they would consider to be a bungalow. Right. So a lot of times when people downsize, after their family is moved out, and they don't need four bedrooms anymore, they're looking at a bungalow. Yes. Well, bungalow has a basement, right? And it has four to six steps to the front door, four to six steps from the garage into the home. A bungalow is not accessible. It's just sort of what we have for our next phase for that last third, right.

And what we're saying is that if you take a bungalow, it just lifted up out of the ground, and don't have the basement, and we put in like a residential elevator inside, then actually, you could have the same amount of space as a bungalow, and it could be fully accessible. So it's actually not a major change. It's just that we aren't doing it. And, you know, municipalities aren't used to it. There's bylaws, there's building code, all this stuff. It's all based on how we have always done it.

[00:12:00:15 - 00:12:01:03]

Valerie 

Yes.

[00:12:01:03 - 00:12:13:00]

Adam

So to frontier and try and push through with something that's unique like that, there's just a lot of hurdles. And our hope is that over time, we can overcome those. So yeah, a home with a basement can be built accessible, but it would require lowering everything down. So the basement has to go much deeper. Our infrastructure just isn't designed for that. Oh, you know, so like, for example, the sewer at the at the road, if you go too low, well, now your sewer isn't flowing to the road anymore. Right? It's going the wrong way.

[00:12:36:07 - 00:12:36:24]

Valerie

Right.

[00:12:36:24 - 00:12:51:01]

Adam

Right. So our infrastructure is not designed for accessible homes with basements. Right. So again, we've been building the same way for 75 years. And it's just how we do it.

And the bungalow is the best we have, which again, I find to be unacceptable. But it is definitely most certainly a battle to try and change that perspective.

[00:13:04:16 - 00:13:29:24]

Valerie

I can believe it. The other thing that came to mind as you were talking Adam, is the space to build the bungalow because we have built bungalows. So Melody-Anne as I mentioned, that's our oldest, is 23 uses a wheelchair. When she was born, we were in a two-story house, and then we built a bungalow, knew nothing about basements. We had a basement. She was little at the time, so we could still carry her in.

So how are you managing to build basement free homes in cities?

[00:14:25:12 - 00:14:33:19]

Adam

Yes, it's really no different. Like I said, if I were to take your house now where you're standing, and I had the machinery to lift it out of the ground, it would still be the exact same size and shape. In Canada, you can't just build a house on the ground, it needs some sort of support that goes at least four feet down. So, so we still do that, we use what are called screw piles. But essentially, we anchor the house, you know, 10-15 feet below the ground. And it allows us to put concrete right on the ground.

Really, it's on stilts, so to speak. But it would be the exact same size and shape. So, so what I'm saying is if you picture your house, you know, being lifted up right now, it can and it would be exactly the same. So the biggest difference is now it becomes a two story. So, so that's why all our homes that we do come included with a residential elevator or, the ability to add one. So basically, we do an elevator shaft and everything that's required for an elevator and maybe we don't put in the equipment just yet. So what ends up happening is we'll do stack closets. So you have a closet and a closet. And then when someone says, you know what, we're ready for an elevator, you take the floor out between the two closets. And now everything is there, the electricals there, the framing is there, they just bring in the equipment and you have an elevator, right? So that's  part of our initial plan.

So that allows us to not have any steps. So we have what's called level entry.

And it's it's an amazing and from the outside, it doesn't look any different. Like from the outside, you wouldn't know, right? You just think this is a beautiful two-story home.

We can also do one story, a lot of times we'll just do, you know, one story, no basement, especially for garden suites, which we'll talk about. But yeah, so really good opportunity, but people don't know what exists. Right. And then there's also the education portion. 

Some of the homes we built in different municipalities are the first time ever they've had a home built with no basement. Wow. Right. So we have to overcome that even with the inspectors and the city and because it's just different, right? Yeah. And they, and to their credit, which makes it difficult, they hold us to a much higher standard, you know, because it is different. It protects everybody. Our engineering is much more in depth. Everything we do has to be much more in depth, because like I said, it's not a cookie cutter thing. However, after you do it once, it gets easier, right? But yeah, you could drive around a neighborhood and you would never find it. But if it's there, you know, the only thing you would notice is that there's no, if you're looking for it, no steps to the front door. And a lot of times people don't even notice that. 

[00:17:54:05 - 00:18:07:24]

Adam

Structurally, it's actually far superior to a basement. My engineer has gone on record to allow me to quote him on that, you know, it's the best residential foundation we can do. 

Any lot you could build a home, you could build a home with no basement, an accessible home as well in the same size and shape.

[00:18:47:08 - 00:19:08:04]

Valerie

So I guess I was a little confused as I was talking earlier, because I was thinking, okay, my basement, I'm going to lose my basement. So what you're saying is you lift up the basement and the bungalow house. And so you still have all that space. It's just same space. Yeah, it's just looking a little bit differently. So thank you for clarifying that because I was kind of confused, thinking, how's this going to work?

[00:19:09:08 - 00:19:15:13]

Valerie

So I guess one of the things you could do too is just have more closet space if you wanted to put

things away that you've of course, there's so many different things you can do, right? 

Adam

Yeah, yeah, that's just getting a little bit creative with the spaces, right? And sometimes it can be just a little bit flipped. So it's things you might have in the basement might be on the second floor, you know, in a storage area on the second floor. It doesn't mean all of a sudden, you're gonna have boxes in your kitchen and your Christmas tree on the counter. You just have to think a little bit outside the box. Everything we do is unique and custom. There's so many different things we have to do. 

[00:19:59:16 - 00:20:02:15]

Valerie

Yeah, so you can just let your creativity go wild, right?

[00:20:02:15 - 00:20:19:15]

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah. A lot of homes we do that are two story, there's a reverse floor plan. So the kitchen is on the second floor. So people like it especially if you're, you know, overlooking a field or trees or whatever.

Again, the nice thing about it is that your all your living space is above grade. Yeah, right.

So you have more, more nice windows, more natural light. You don't have to worry about water in the basement. There's a lot of benefits. 

[00:21:04:22 - 00:21:35:07]

Adam

We will be attempting something in the spring. We are doing a basement with an accessible home. And we'll have to actually have a pump for the sewage because we have to go so deep on the basement. It'll be really good learning experience for us.

[00:21:35:07 - 00:21:42:11]

Valerie

Yeah, cool. Well, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. So do you see that there'll be more accessible homes being built in the future?

[00:21:44:13 - 00:22:11:20]

Adam

No, not really. No. It depends what we're talking about when we say homes, right? So sometimes it's confusing. When we say homes, are we talking about apartments or condos? Or are we talking about like a single detached, you know, single family home? So yes, we will see more accessible housing in the future for apartments and condominiums. And that's largely because of the federal government, the different incentive programs that are being run.

Right now the biggest priority is affordable housing. But there is also some encouragement for accessible housing as well. Okay, it's not the highest priority, but it is there.

And there can be low interest loans and subsidies for large projects that incorporate, you know, a certain percentage to be accessible.

[00:22:38:04 - 00:22:39:06]

Valerie

Okay.

[00:22:40:14 - 00:23:12:01]

Adam

So in that sense, over the next 20 years, I believe that there will be more condos and apartments. However, there is absolutely nothing regarding single family. I don't see anything changing there. Because of a lot of the hurdles and sort of headwinds that I had mentioned earlier, about the stigmas in society, some of the pushback from the general public, the barriers within our sort of subconscious regarding bylaws and zoning and all these things.

So all that to be said that it will be 20 years from now, if nothing really changes, I believe we'll still be building the houses the exact same way we built them now.

[00:23:42:22 - 00:24:10:12]

Adam

So really, the increase, like I said, will come in that multifamily, condominium apartment. So yeah, in that sense, but it is a shame in that, you know, I always believe that some of the disabilities should have the same housing options as someone without, right? They just want to find a home.

So rather than looking for certain accessibility features, it would be more “I'm just looking for something that's three bedroom or four bedroom,” just like an able bodied person, but don't see that changing.

[00:24:58:15 - 00:25:19:08]

Valerie

Interesting, interesting. The house that we have for our forever home for our oldest was built by a family that the mom was a MS patient or an MS person. And I believe yeah, she was in a wheelchair at the time when they bought that home or they built that home because I remember there was a big huge ramp in the garage.

So she they had thought about what they were doing, they had the wider doorways and all those kind of things. So I see that that's kind of happening. But people have to be forward thinking. And I just don't know that there's many builders that are thinking that way. Although it makes sense. It makes it so much easier to get furniture in and out when the doorways are wider.

And I've mentioned this before on the podcast, bathrooms, people did not think about bathrooms when they were building in the 90s. I love what you're saying, as a person with a disability, I'd like to be able to just go buy a house and know it's going to work, any home. I don't have to be like really narrowing down where I can look.

Because that's not going to allow a person to pick an area that they may want to live in, because there may not be anything that they can live in, in the area that they want to live in. So yeah, so that's a shame. I'm hoping things will change faster than you think that they're going to change. But I think it's just like you say, it's the awareness.

[00:26:29:00 - 00:26:33:15]

Adam

Yeah, and I think, I don't believe it's on the builders.

Because if there was a real want in society for accessible housing, there would be accessible housing. Right. So, so if nobody's asking for it, and in fact, it's generally opposite. So I've had more situations where I can count where I propose accessible features or propose, you know, an accessible template, and it's met with like a real repulsion. Wow, you know, more of like, who am I to judge. So it's a very delicate thing, you know, so ultimately, the builder is staying away from that. 

[00:27:31:06 - 00:27:40:13]

Valerie

And is that because people don't want to think about them not being as able bodied as they are now. 

[00:27:40:13 - 00:28:03:10]

Adam

Yeah, yeah, that's a big part of it. 

If I just sum up my entire experience over the last six years of trying to build accessible housing, every conversation is we most certainly need accessible housing, you know, 25% of population has disability. Seniors is the highest demographic. “Yes, but not me.”

It's all but not me. Like, I'm good. Yeah, every single time. I'm good.

[00:28:10:09 - 00:28:11:00]

Valerie

Really?

[00:28:11:00 - 00:29:04:00]

Adam

The general public at large, you know, and even a lot of the disability community where they've learned to adapt, it's always for somebody else. Interesting. So until that sort of outlook changes, I don't see any real major impact.

Accessible can be really done well. And we're trying to show that. But even the terms and the implication, the implied circumstance, it's not in any way in a place where builders who are looking at growth, and more volume, there's no, there's no reason to get into that.

[00:29:43:13 - 00:29:55:11]

Valerie

Right. I get it. I get it. Well, thank you for explaining that and helping us to understand that a little bit better. So I know I've had this question. Do I build or do I renovate? Can you, you address that? What are the pros and cons?

[00:30:01:13 - 00:30:16:23]

Adam

Sure. Yeah. Every family situation is unique. You know, it can be unique factors as far as accessibility, disability and needs for the house itself. But it can also be unique factors regarding finances, where you live and what type of property. 

In a general sense, building is better because you can get exactly what you want. So a renovation will always have limitations based on, you know, how it was previously built, and the needs that you might have, you know, so obviously to put an elevator into an existing home is much, much, much more expensive than to put it in when you're planning from it right from the beginning. 

Can a bathroom be made bigger? Can a shower be made to be, you know, level entry, or walk in shower, you know, maybe, maybe not, right.

 Another thing about a renovation is that it can displace people for a potentially long period of time. And of course, it can be it can be quite disruptive, quite expensive.

There's kind of a point there where if you're doing a major overhaul renovating, sometimes you're better to just start from scratch.

So all I can say is that it's best to talk to someone, you know, an expert and just go over all the options, right? 

 Ultimately, for us at Red Plaid, we just want to improve someone's quality of life as best we can.

But of course, we love the new construction because we can get it just the way you like it.

[00:32:41:17 - 00:33:03:08]

Adam

You know, everybody's accessibility requirements are unique as well. You know, I don't believe in universal design. I believe in unique solutions for unique problems. 

So a new construction allows us to do just that. 

[00:33:03:08 - 00:33:45:22]

Valerie

Cool. Okay, well, thank you. So you heard it, audience, you heard it. And I know that not everybody, as you mentioned, is in a position to be able to afford to build new. And so yes, we have to work with what we have. But if there is a possibility, I would totally agree. We were fortunate with the house that our oldest is in that it was already done by somebody that was in a wheelchair. So as I say, they had thought through the whole thing, the house is beautiful. And so very open, the bathroom that my daughter has is amazing. So much room and skylight and walk in shower, there's a big tub, all the tracking systems. So there's enough room to have, you know, enough tracking system to take to the toilet to the tub.

So yeah, so it was well thought out. So I do agree that if it's something that you're considering, talk to somebody that's had experience with either renovations or with building, just to give you all the options so that you can make an informed decision because we're talking big dollars here, big dollars, so you want to get it right.

[00:34:06:13 - 00:34:08:20]

Adam

Yeah, unfortunately, construction is expensive.

I wish I wish it wasn't so. We definitely do our best to try and keep costs down, but it is expensive and sort of always going up.

[00:35:12:03 - 00:36:00:02]

Valerie

Yeah, cool. Thank you. So I just want to reiterate to my audience that this is why planning early is critical. This is why planning early is critical. Scott and I, we didn't do the planning, we had thought through, you know, about our daughter having a forever home when she was 12. And then we dismissed it because we figured we couldn't afford to do it. And then we were kind of forced into a situation where we had to think about it when she was 16 or just before she was 16. So we were fortunate that we were in a wheelchair accessible home that she could just continue on in. But I so wish that we had done the talking to different people looked at our different options when she was 12 when we first thought about it. So I just want to remind our audience and I can't stress enough, start the planning early!

[00:36:01:11 - 00:36:16:01]

Valerie

All right, so you've mentioned about ADUs and I was like, what is an ADU? I'm glad you said additional dwelling unit. So tell us about what these different options are for families to consider when they're creating a forever home for their child with a disability.

[00:36:17:23 - 00:36:54:12]

Adam

Yes. So, you know, a lot of times, families will modify their home when a child is young. And while they're the primary caregiver, obviously, that makes a ton of sense. However, there's always a hope for independence. Yeah. And it changes from family to family. But sometimes a really great solution can be an additional dwelling unit. So they go by a lot of different names, garden suite, alley home, carriage home. It's all sort of describing the same thing. Essentially, what it is is a second home on the same property.

So it can it can provide independence for both the parents and the child, you know, to have some separation, but not so far away that there can't be that caregiving portion right there, right. So it can be a really great solution as children get older, and move into adulthood. And there's a lot of benefits, you know, it allows you to build something, it doesn't have to be very big, but build something that's specific. Now you're well aware of what a great living space would be for your child. So now you can start from scratch with all the lessons learned with everything you've gone through. You could say, you know what, let's make something that we know will be perfect for him or her. Yeah. And again, working with a qualified contractor to help work through all that. And it becomes a separate space, it adds a lot of value to the property. Sometimes renovations, I probably should have mentioned this in the renovations part, but sometimes renovations don't add any value when we're talking accessibility, sometimes it can even do the reverse, and it can take away value.

But an additional dwelling unit has a lot of value. So so as families grow, it can be a really, really great solution, you know, parents, they want a little bit of independence as well. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Talk to, of course, your municipality, your city officials, and see what is possible. But this type of housing solution is becoming incredibly popular. So there's very few places now that don't allow something like that. So it is encouraged. However, each place has different rules around it. So again, that's where the builder comes in and says, actually, you can only build something that's this big and this tall. And then you design and you work within those parameters.

The cost can be, you know, it can be the same as a major renovation.

We really, really believe in that product, that ADU product, we believe that every secondary dwelling that is built should be built accessible. Yeah, even if someone's just building it as an investment. Yeah, it's a chance to rebuild our cities again, you know, we call it a city within a city. Yeah, and it's a chance to allow people with disabilities to live anywhere in a city. Yeah, because we were adding this infrastructure. Unfortunately, they're being built right now and very few are being built accessible, because there are no real incentives, you know, and everything we talked to before. But you know, it can be a really great thing. Even if it's for families that don't have a child with a disability, but they're thinking about for a parent or grandparent again, we talk aging in place. Yeah, it's really great to bring families together, the parents move into the backyard, the children move into the main house. Again, there can be a caregiver scenario in the future, families helping each other, the parents stay in their community where they want to stay.

[00:41:26:00 - 00:41:37:00]

Valerie

Yeah, no, I love that. Love that. So excuse my ignorance. So if you're building something on the backyard, so I'm just thinking water, sewage and all that kind of stuff. So it just taps into the main house.

[00:41:38:06 - 00:41:39:01]

Adam

That's correct, but a lot of times it can be separated. The garden suite or ADU would have its own water meter have its own gas meter, but it shares the same sewer.

That's actually a large part of the planning is how do you get the utilities? It just depends how it's all located. But yeah, it's, it's becoming very, very common.

[00:42:30:08 - 00:43:25:14]

Valerie

Love it. Love it. I remember seeing a documentary in England, they were doing a lot of this kind of stuff. But it wasn't necessarily for families, it was for homeless to help the homeless people have a place of their own. So there were small little ADUs that people were putting in their backyard to be able to help somebody that was homeless. So I love the idea of that in England, but also for here. Because you're helping your family, you're keeping your family close together. In our home, we have our basement, which half of it is a legal suite that we did for our youngest who has ADHD and autism. They're not ready to move into that. But that's okay. So we've rented it out. We weren't really thinking about it too much, but that is potentially a passive income for us when we retire.

So there's that benefit as well. Plus, yes, our property taxes are a little bit more. But it does add value to our home for when you know, if we do have to sell it. And then the other beautiful thing is the other half of our basement where our youngest is still, we've kind of created more of an independent space for them. And so, if Scott and I want to age in place, and we need assistance, then maybe once our child is moved out, then we can have someone who's going to be our caregiver, be down there, and they can have their own separate space as well. So, so we're thinking future. But I think that's probably because both my husband and I are healthcare professionals. So we see it, we're around it, we're aware. But if you're not, I can understand why people are resistant and not forward thinking because they don't see themselves in the future. They just see themselves as now and I can still do everything I need to do.

[00:44:21:05 - 00:44:40:08]

Adam

So yeah. Yeah, exactly. And that's very forward thinking of you. And so it's that kind of idea, right? So instead of a suite in your basement, it's a suite in the backyard, right? And, again, depending on the municipality, some of the garden suites and ADUs that we've built are quite large.

So all of a sudden you can have a beautiful accessible home, you know, right in a nice mature neighborhood that would have never had one previous, right? 

[00:45:25:13 - 00:45:44:23]

Valerie

And I know in Calgary, I don't know if it's the same in Edmonton, but those older homes, the lots were so much bigger. So there is this space to do it. The newer builds now they're on like postage stamps, what I call it, the lots are so small. 

I have a question for you before we have to wrap up. Why is the name Red Plaid?

[00:45:46:12 - 00:46:23:02]

Adam

Yeah, no, that's a fair question. It's actually a homage or tribute to my grandpa. So he was the one that that fell and passed away shortly after. So he would always wear red plaid all the time. It's just sort of how I remember him, like to chop wood and do that sort of things. And he always kind of had this like old red plaid jacket with sawdust on it. 

It just felt like, you know, working with your hands getting dirty. So that's, that's where that came from. So now I wear red plaid all the time. I have my own beaten up red plaid jackets.

It just, I guess just feels right. Yeah. For me. And yeah, and to remember him and sort of why we keep doing this. 

And it's very Canadian as well!

[00:46:39:20 - 00:46:41:14]

Valerie

Very Canadian.

Well, thank you for sharing that. And I love that you're keeping your grandfather's legacy going and his memory. So that's beautiful. Thank you. 

All right, Adam, where can our audience go to find out more about you?

[00:46:54:10 - 00:47:27:00]

Adam

Yeah, it's just redpladhomes.com. We have information there about different types of builds. If you're in Northern Alberta, we have places where you can book, we like to do tours. So again, education and showing so you can come see builds in all different progress, whether it's at foundation or framing or insulating, you know, you name it, we try to be incredibly transparent, people can see what goes into it. And we're at Redplaid Developments on Instagram and Facebook as well. So any of those places.

info at redpladhomes.com is our email. And yeah, we have no issue just providing information. Yeah, if you have questions regarding anything to do with accessible construction, you know, we're really, really trying to be an open book, provide information without any sort of sales pressure at all, we're just happy to pass on what we learned and continue to learn from people in the community as well. 

[00:48:14:07 - 00:48:21:12]

Valerie

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. So before we conclude our conversation, what pearls of wisdom do you have for our audience?

[00:48:23:14 - 00:48:27:20]

Adam

Well, I think, you know, you had mentioned it too, it's the biggest one, is to start planning early.

I hope that you have someone qualified in your area, or of course, reach out to us if you should ever have any concerns. But the biggest thing is just get all the information you can.

Prior to making decisions, there are a lot of options, a lot of different innovations, a lot of things you might not have thought of, you know, and, and so before just jumping into a renovation, I think you definitely want to look at all the different options that might be available and weigh the pros and cons there. That would be my pearl wisdom, get yourself informed. There is a lot of information out there, but it's kind of all scattered around when it comes to accessible housing. It is hard.

The planning is important because you don't want to be in a situation where you spent all this money and then the renovations, they're not working for you or you now need to move and you're taking things apart, trying to put things back to the way they were.

[00:49:38:05 - 00:50:08:16]

Valerie

Yeah. Okay. Well, Adam, thank you so much for being here for sharing with our audience. I've learned a lot. I'm sure our audience has learned much as well. So thank you so much for all the work that you're doing. Best of luck with it as you continue. And my hope and prayer is that people will start to recognize, hey, we do need to start thinking about our future. Let's plan for our future, when we can't walk around like we used to, when we can't get around like we used to and sort of start pushing this agenda of accessible homes. 

Thank you so much, Adam.

[00:50:08:16 - 00:50:11:06]

Adam

Thanks for having me, Valerie. Really appreciate it. It's a pleasure.

[00:50:11:06 - 00:50:16:08]

Valerie

You're welcome. You're welcome. 

So audience Live with Intention - Embrace the Journey.