ADA Compliance

[cowboyjwc]

If you are building a home for a handicapped person why would you not make the panel accessible? Are you suggesting that:

205 Operable Parts

205.1 General. Operable parts on accessible elements, accessible routes, and in accessible rooms and spaces shall comply with 309.
EXCEPTIONS:

1. Operable parts that are intended for use only by service or maintenance personnel shall not be required to comply with 309.

means that making the panelboard inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair is fine?

As I understand it, owners of homes often operate circuit breakers prior to contracting for service or maintenance personnel. Why should the handicapped be treated differently?

Well as an inspector ADA does not apply to SFD. So if you were building a house for a disabled person, you could pretty much do what ever you wish.

 

[fmtjfw]

Well as an inspector ADA does not apply to SFD. So if you were building a house for a disabled person, you could pretty much do what ever you wish.

I don't recall mentioning inspection anywhere. You are correct that single family dwellings are exempt from ADA requirements. However the ADA specification are a body of knowledge on how to design accessible buildings and items within buildings.

In situations where ADA legally applies to dwelling units, there may be 24-hour maintenance staff. In a single family dwelling the maintenance staff may well be the dwellers. In that case it still makes sense to adapt the design to the users.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I don't recall mentioning inspection anywhere. You are correct that single family dwellings are exempt from ADA requirements. However the ADA specification are a body of knowledge on how to design accessible buildings and items within buildings.

In situations where ADA legally applies to dwelling units, there may be 24-hour maintenance staff. In a single family dwelling the maintenance staff may well be the dwellers. In that case it still makes sense to adapt the design to the users.

Again, you can do what ever you wish. There's no reason now that you can't put all of the switches and receptacles at 42", you just don't because that's the way you've always done it. Same reson you don't have 5' turn radius in a resi bathroom just isn't done as a rule, but nothing says you can't do it.

 

[G._S._Ohm]

. . .a strait answer. . .

Because no person who is being paid to make difficult decisions wants to make even a single decision, and according to the Dilbert cartoons you shouldn't even be in the same room where and when a decision is made.
I almost trapped a USAF Major into making one but he escaped at the last minute.