Housing and Design Newsletter
Kenneth R. Tremblay, Jr.
Fall, 2006
- House Records Organizer: What Happens to This House ~ Stays With This House
- Healthy Colorado Homes Work Team Meeting
- Help Yourself to a Healthy Home
- Home Indoor Air Quality Training and Reference Toolkit
- Perceptions of Homelike Ambience in Assisted Living Facilities
- Winterization Checklist
House Records Organizer: What Happens to This House ~ Stays With This House
The notebook House Records Organizer was introduced at this year's Extension Forum. It was produced by Healthy Colorado Homes' members Ken Tremblay, Elisa Shackelton, Laura Au-Yeung, and LaVon Blaesi. The 4-inch D-ring notebook is intended to be used as a filing system to:
- Store and keep track of important house documents, manuals, and warranties
- Record facts about the property, the house structure, and its systems
- Update records of maintenance tasks and service history
- Identify safety and health-related concerns
- Keep records and receipts of property improvements
There are tabs, important information, and resource lists for the following topics:
- General House Information
- Indoor Air Quality and Testing
- Property and Landscape
- House Exterior
- House Interior
- Climate Control
- Plumbing Systems
- Electrical Systems
- Home Technology Systems
- Major Appliances
- Emergency Preparedness
The notebook is currently in the pre-test stage. Several members of the Healthy Colorado Homes work team will conduct consumer workshops using House Records Organizer. If you are interested, individual copies are available for free by contacting me.
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Healthy Colorado Homes Work Team Meeting
Seven members of the Healthy Colorado Homes work team met October 19-20 in Frisco. The first topic considered was House Records Organizer. There are opportunities to use the notebook to generate user fees. For example, Jacque Miller is partnering with Laurel Kubin in a contract with Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity to provide training on home ownership/maintenance/safety and financial management. Habitat is paying over $400 for the training and notebooks. Jacque priced the notebooks at $35 for this contract.
Laura is partnering with local service providers (home insurance agents, contractors, home inspectors, etc.) to provide training on various chapters in the notebooks. She is asking business owners to sponsor the training and notebooks.
Also, there was discussion of a variety of items that might be included in an educator's manual to be used by agents using the notebook as part of training. Other issues discussed regarding the future of House Records Organizer included:
- Marketing materials
- Ideas for training and distribution of the notebook
- Additional teaching materials and resources
- Potential types of professionals to recruit as speakers for each section
Training was provided using the revised toolkit from Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes and several speakers shared their expertise on topics ranging from homeowners insurance to mold. There was also an update and discussion of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment grant for radon education.
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Help Yourself to a Healthy Home
An updated version of the booklet Help Yourself to a Healthy Home is now available. The 56-page booklet covers recommendations to make sure your home is safe and healthy for your children. Topics include:
- Indoor air quality
- Asthma and allergies
- Mold and moisture
- Carbon monoxide
- Lead
- Drinking water
- Hazardous household products
- Pesticides
- Home safety
There are special reasons to think about children:
- Children's bodies are still growing. Their young brains, livers, and other organs are more likely to be harmed by chemicals and other dangers than those of adults. If children get sick, it may be harder for them to get well because their immune systems are still developing.
- For their size, children eat more food, drink more water, and breathe more air than adults do. When they get lead in their bodies or breathe in harmful gases, they get a bigger dose than adults would.
- Children play and crawl on the ground. That means they are closer to many things that might cause health problems, like dust and chemicals. Babies and young children also put almost everything in their mouths-things that might have chemicals or lead dust on them.
Copies are available at $1.25 each from the Healthy Homes Partnership Web site: www.healthyhomespartnership.net A Spanish version of the booklet is also available. An on-line, interactive version of the booklet has been established to reach an even broader audience. The Healthy Homes Web Tool takes users through a series of questions about their daily living habits. It then gives a personalized "action checklist" of easy, low-cost steps for protecting children from hazards such as lead poisoning and improper pesticide use.
The Healthy Homes Initiative builds upon the activities of CSREES and HUD that address housing-based health and safety risks. Its network of state coordinators have partnered with state agencies, medical professionals, schools, and community groups to educate families on home health hazards. Colorado is an active participant in this initiative.
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Home Indoor Air Quality Training and Reference Toolkit
An updated version of the Home Indoor Air Quality Training and Reference Toolkit is available. Copies and training were provided to participants at the recent Healthy Colorado Homes work team meeting. The toolkit consists of a CD-ROM with basic information and PowerPoint presentations on lead, radon, asthma, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, indoor air quality, bugs, mold and rot, household products, combustion products, and hidden hazards in remodeling.
A DVD with three PSAs and seven indoor air quality video segments is included as well as a variety of publications. The toolkit is available for $65 each from the Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes Web site: www.healthyindoorair.org I have seven copies available for free if you contact me.
The Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes program was developed to provide basic but comprehensive information to consumers on how to get a handle on indoor air quality in their homes. The goal of the program is to educate consumers about sources, health risks, and control measures related to common residential indoor air problems and to help consumers reduce their health risks from these problems. Colorado has been an active participant in this program during its ten year history.
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Perceptions of Homelike Ambience in Assisted Living Facilities
At the recent annual conference of the Housing Education and Research Association I presented a paper on assisted living. The paper was co-authored with Ronald L. Reed, North Texas University, and Katharine E. Leigh, Colorado State University. Following is the abstract of the paper.
Introduction
U.S. adults 85 and over are expected to triple in number by 2020. This increase is expected to create a growing demand for realistic and viable solutions to residential settings that provide healthcare support to aging residents. The purpose of this study was to collect data that would assist housing and design professionals to determine what environmental elements are perceived as most homelike by residents in assisted living facilities. Assisted living is a long-term care housing choice involving the delivery of personal and healthcare services in a residential group setting. A homelike ambience can be considered as features and feelings reflecting previous independent living in a single-family home.
While independent living models generally invite homelike characteristics and, conversely, long-term care that of a medical care model, assisted living can embody both frames of reference. Since assisted living is a private pay service, facilities' staff, residents, and planners would benefit from a clear identification of environmental elements perceived as homelike. Understanding the capacity of these environmental elements to reinforce the characteristics of home is important in providing for the well-being of residents in assisted living facilities.
Methods
A resident survey was conducted in 2003. Specific interior finishes and elements were used as independent variables: flooring, lighting, plants, furniture, fabric, color, wall finishes, window coverings, accessories, applied detail such as crown or base wood molding, and any other architectural applied ornament. The dependent variable was perceptions of a homelike ambience by residents. A total of 37 older adults (31 women and 6 men) living in three assisted living facilities in Northern Colorado participated in the study.
An observational inventory checklist of the architectural and interior design elements included in the survey was completed at each of the three participating assisted living facilities. The inventory allowed the researchers to check for the presence of environmental elements compared with the responses given by residents to the survey questions. The observational inventory was also used to compare the extent of homelike ambience achieved by each assisted living facility.
Results
The degree of homelike ambience achieved was in part due to the functionality of an environment supportive of individual needs. Residents stated that maneuvering around the main dining areas was difficult with a walker or wheelchair due to tight table and chair configurations. A combination of spatial layout and design features in both public and private spaces can support homelike perceptions when residents' utilization of the space is supported and they are provided with choices.
Kitchenettes were preferred, allowing residents greater choices in food preparation as well as entertainment and socialization opportunities. Larger spaces and storage for housing personal belongings were also highly desired. The Colorado Department of Public Heath requires a minimum of 100 square feet for an individual room. This may need to be re-evaluated (perhaps up to 500 square feet) to provide assisted living encompassing the homelike concept. Increasing square footage requirements creates more opportunity and choices for residents to display personal belongings and bring larger pieces of furniture into their rooms. In order for display of personal objects to take place, floor space to accommodate bookshelves, curio cabinets, or furniture is needed for placing personal belongings.
Results indicated a division of perception of a homelike ambience between soft surface and hard surface flooring. The exception was wood flooring, which may be due to the naturalness and richness associated with wood in residential applications. Wood finishes and stained wood doors were also perceived as homelike. Paint and wallpaper were perceived as most homelike of the wall coverings. The variety of color and pattern offered by these two materials indicates increased homelike perceptions. Homelike ambience ratings for fabric drapery and upholstery in florals, small print, and solid colors suggested that residents used a combination of pattern and texture to indicate hominess. These elements provide contrast, variety, and a softness that may provide the comfort frequently mentioned by residents in creating a homelike ambience.
Personal/family photographs, decorative lamps, books, mirrors, and artwork were also mentioned in creating a homelike perception. Family photographs provided residents with triggers to past memories and important connections to family and friends. Decorative lamps provided lighting to residents for visibility to read and perform daily tasks, and the soft warm glow of an incandescent bulb is reminiscent of a homelike setting (in contrast to the fluorescent lighting generally provided in healthcare facilities). There also was a strong preference for natural light. Books provided residents with entertainment and may have required the use of lamps to aid in reading. These two elements indicated a potential relationship between books and lamps in supporting a sense of a homelike ambience; one is necessary in order to support the other.
Recommendations and Future Research
Based on research results, the following recommendations are offered.
- Focus on functionality of spatial layout providing for good circulation.
- Larger room square footage to accommodate residents' storage needs and display of personal belongings, including larger pieces of furniture.
- Built-in features for display of decorative objects and pictures supporting personalization of space.
- Small kitchenettes to accommodate choice in food preparation and socialization opportunities.
- Use of soft surfaces, wood finishes, and stained wood doors.
- Use of paint and wallpaper with a variety of color and pattern.
- Adequate spatial layouts and architectural design to allow natural light penetration into depth of rooms.
- Ability to select and place decorative lamps and other personal belongings such as books.
Limitations exist in this study pertaining to sample size and location of selected assisted living facilities. Future research should consider a variety of facilities across the U.S.
Additionally, there are two areas that require further investigation into perceptions of homelike ambience. First, individual finishes and materials cannot be seen as contributing to a homelike quality without considering the environmental context surrounding their applications. Further research is needed to determine the appropriate use of these materials to render a true homelike quality. Second, a comparison of other long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and continuous care retirement communities, with assisted living facilities may provide additional data on the success of creating environments supporting homelike ambient qualities.
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Winterization Checklist
The following checklist was provided by RE/Max Alliance:
- Seal open areas around doors and windows
- Seal any holes or gaps in drywall
- Replace old windows with energy efficient windows
- Make sure your attic is properly insulated
- Check your furnace filter
- Check your thermostat; consider replacing with setback thermostat that will program the temperature of your home
- Check your heating vents and vacuum if necessary
- Have your fireplace inspected and cleaned
- Replace loose shingles on roof
- Trim trees near your home
- Prune shrubs and bushes
- Blowout outdoor irrigation
- Clean water and leaves out of gutters
- Retro-fit your vaulted ceiling insulation if necessary
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Any comments, needs, ideas or suggestions can be sent to:
Kenneth R. Tremblay, Jr.
Housing Specialist and Professor
Department of Design and Merchandising
155 Aylesworth
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
(970) 491-5575
Fax: (970) 491-4855
tremblay@cahs.colostate.edu
