Get matched with top architects in Atkinson, NE

A home elevator is a fantastic way to improve your home’s accessibility. Elevators allow anyone, even those who use wheelchairs or walkers, to safely move between floors within your home.

Dumbwaiters may allow you to move items up and down floors, and stair lifts can move people up and down, but elevators are the best option if you need space for people, their belongings, and/or mobility aids such as wheelchairs.

That said, home elevators cost more than other options, such as stair lifts. Consider your needs and your budget when deciding the best way to make your home more accessible to a person with a disability or a person who is aging in place.

The primary reason homes have crawl spaces is so the foundation can reach down below the frost line to avoid dangerous soil movement and structural damage when the ground freezes. They’re more popular in colder climates where the ground freezes down to a few feet, and slabs are most popular in warmer areas where there is no frost line. Crawl spaces also provide a space for utility lines to run where they’re at less of a risk of freezing.

Whether you’re building a new home or building an extension on your existing property, you will likely need both a structural engineer and an architect. A structural engineer will determine what loads your foundation and framing can safely handle, and an architect will draw plans according to those structural calculations to simplify the building process. You can start by contacting a structural engineer near you, as many work alongside architects and can get all of the prep work done at once.

The best way to start designing a house is to know what you want before designing. Making a list of your biggest priorities in a home will help. Designing a house without an idea of what you need or want in a home will lead to many trials and errors that could make it harder to figure out what you need in your design.