People with disabilities face plenty of challenges as they go about their daily lives, whether it’s navigating the aisles at the grocery store in motorized carts or figuring out the complexities of securing safe, reliable transportation. Considering the stress and discomfort they so often face, these folks deserve a chance to be able to relax and unwind just like everyone else. Unfortunately, even finding comfortable ways to enjoy recreational facilities can be difficult for those who are disabled.
With up to 50 million disabled residents in the United States alone, making sure there are accessible amenities for them to use should be a high priority. Anyone who can reasonably afford to make accommodations for their special needs ought to seek out ways to do so. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has made it mandatory for many public spaces to be more user-friendly for people with disabilities, but what about private spaces, like backyard swimming pools?
Even though it may not be a legal requirement, adding some specialized features to your pool to make it handicap accessible could open up an exciting door of opportunity. Once these improvements are finished, your pool could become a way for you to enhance the lives of your disabled friends and family members. In this article series, we’ll offer you some practical tips for making your pool an ideal recreation spot for those who have disabilities.
Both New Pools & Existing Pools can be Successfully Transformed
Some people are under the impression that you have to start from scratch with a brand new swimming pool if you’re going to be able to make it handicap accessible. Thankfully, that’s not at all the case. Though it’s less complicated to start out making sure a pool is ADA-compliant to begin with when you put it in your yard, existing pools can also be modified so disabled people can use them. How successful these adjustment efforts prove to be will depend in large part on your budget and how much space is available inside and around the pool for you to add the necessary handicap accessibility features. Any extra time, money, and effort expended in this endeavor will be well worth it when you see how much joy your thoughtful additions bring to the lives of the people you love who have disabilities.
Adding Disability Accommodations to Your Pool Can Increase Your Whole Home’s Value
Besides the obvious short-term benefit of getting to help out your disabled family members and friends who may want to use your pool, there’s an additional long term benefit you may want to keep in mind. It could end up greatly increasing the value of your home. That’s because, should you ever choose to sell it, your home with a handicap accessible pool will fit relatively rare criteria that certain people are hoping to find. If there’s a person with a disabled family member who’s in the market for a home with a pool that’s turnkey ready for their unique situation, your home will automatically be at the top of their list. Since you’ve already made the investment in the handicap accessible equipment, they’ll likely be willing to pay a higher price than they would if they had to buy a home with a pool that lacked such accommodations.
In our next article in this series, we’ll take an in-depth look at some of the specific features you’ll want to include in your pool to make it handicap accessible.
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Lyon Financial
Since 1979 Lyon Financial has made the backyard resort dream come true for over 400,000 families across the U.S. Through our solid relationships with more than 3,000 pool contractors and our continued commitment to putting our clients first, we have built a reputation as the first choice in providing pool financing solutions. For more information, visit lyonfinancial.net or call (877) 754-5966 today.
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