Innovative Building and Remodeling Solutions
for Independent Living

Many seniors and people with disabilities who want to adapt their homes to their changing needs and lifestyles will have to call on the services of a remodeler in order to continue living comfortably and independently. Before you do, though, be certain that your remodeler has completed a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) course, like Harry Burns, president of Home Evolutions, did in 2006. This prestigious credential means that Harry is one of the remodeling industry’s top professionals, with knowledge specific to home modifications for the aging-in-place movement.

CAPS is a designation program from the NAHB Remodelers of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in collaboration with the NAHB Research Center, NAHB 50+ Housing Council, and AARP.

According to the NAHB, the CAPS program graduated 449 students in 2007, giving them a total of 1,629 CAPS designees around the country.

The three-day program teaches students about the technical, business management, and customer service skills necessary for those who are entering into the fastest growing segment of the residential remodeling industry: home modifications for the aging-in-place movement.

Through the CAPS program, Harry was trained in:

• The unique needs of the senior and persons with disabilities populations;
• Aging-in-place home modifications;
• Common remodeling projects;
• Solutions to common barriers.

CAPS also teaches the strategies and techniques for marketing, designing, and building aesthetically enriching, barrier-free living environments.

Last fall, the NAHB recently revised two of its CAPS courses: “Marketing and Communications Strategies for Aging and Accessibility” and “Design/Build Solutions for Aging and Accessibility.”

The Marketing and Communications Strategies for Aging and Accessibility course begins with an introduction to universal design (a design system enabling nearly anyone to use a facility without special adaptation) and its seven principles:

1. Equitable use
2. Flexibility of use
3. Simple and intuitive operation
4. Perceptible information
5. Tolerance for error
6. Low physical effort
7. Size and space for approach

Students learn that CAPS should consider all these elements of universal design, along with the unique requirements of seniors and persons with disabilities. Students also learn about the physical, cognitive, and emotional changes seniors encounter as they age, and how these changes may be mediated by aging-in-place remodeling work. The course concludes with students learning about marketing techniques and strategic partnerships.

The second course, Design/Build Solutions for Aging and Accessibility, goes deeper into the details of universal design applications for aging-in-place. Wider doorways and roll-in showers are two examples of this.

After analyzing plans and viewing completed remodeling projects, students draft their own remodeling plans. Additionally, students learn about home assessments—how to address the customer and what to look for in a home for aging-in-place solutions.