Outdoor Living Areas
Cook Remodeling has developed many strategies for you to extend your living space to the outdoors. Here in the Valley of the Sun we have close to seven months, from October to April, of average temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees. Do you have an inviting outdoor living space to take advantage of this gift?

Design ideas to consider:
Column Removals: We have column removals down to a science so you can enjoy unobstructed views and have more use of your patio.
Outdoor Living Room with Fireplace: We can create an outdoor living room and fireplace, taking the comfort of home outdoors.
Gazebo: Perhaps you always wanted to have your own Gazebo in your yard. We’ve had the pleasure of building a few of those around town!
Patio Enclosure: Maybe you’d rather enclose your patio or do a garage conversion to have an additional climate controlled living area.
Outdoor Kitchen: Cook Remodeling can design an outdoor kitchen to meet your needs, including a wood fired pizza oven! How fun!
Universal Design & Accessible Homes: Universal design is an area we at Cook Remodeling specialize in. Simply put, it is the design, or re-design, of your home to make it usable by all people. A common reason for a universal design remodel is to care for the elderly. Let’s face it; people are living longer these days. In fact, every 8 seconds another baby boomer reaches the milestone age of 60. There are more people that are over 65 years old than under the age of 25!

The majority of people prefer to avoid living in an assisted care facility.  As we age, our vision, mobility, and strength change. Making a home an ideal environment to age in place will be a marketable bonus when it is time to sell your home.
When a person is unable to live independently in their home, and sometimes that happens suddenly, the next choice, typically, is living with one of their adult children. Close to 30% of the population is involved with caring for the seniors among us, with over 16 million of them caring for both their children AND their parents in their home, making them the “sandwich generation”. How ready is your home if you had a loved one in a wheelchair?
Unfortunately, few homes are built with entries, hallways, or bathrooms that are easily accessible. You can make remodeling improvements using universal design elements to your home to make it user friendly whether you, or a visitor, are navigating a stroller or a wheelchair. It is much less expensive to consider making your home user friendly for everyone at all ages and abilities at the time of remodeling, than trying to retrofit later.
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, over 70% of homeowners doing a remodeling project are planning ahead for future needs for themselves or their parents. In addition to the popularity of adding grab bars when doing a bathroom remodel and widening doorways when doing a home renovation, sixty percent of the projects include in their remodeling design upgrading to a curb-less shower, and enhanced lighting and task lighting.
At Cook Remodeling, we encourage our clients to plan ahead and remodel smart by utilizing our Certified Aging in Place Specialist or Universal Design Certified Remodeler. Consult our Certified Aging in Place Specialist on staff.

Here are some significant changes you can make that will mean a lot when you need them:

-Have at least one zero level entry into your home.  Fill in sunken rooms.
-Having interior doors with a minimum 32” wide opening and 36” hallways are not only great for wheelchairs to pass through, but also for those carrying laundry baskets or sacks of groceries!
-In the kitchen, raise the height of the dishwasher, oven, and have base cabinet shelves roll out; your back will love you for it! Incorporate visual cues in the floor or countertop to help prevent accidents.
-Raise the level of the washer and dryer too, as well as electrical outlets. Faucet and door handles should be levered hardware for ease of use.
-In the bathroom, brace walls around the tub, shower, and toilet for grab bars. Have anti-scald controls, adjustable/handheld shower-head and a fold down shower seat.
-Gaining in popularity is having dual master bedrooms or a mother in law suite in the home, with at least one on the first floor with a universally designed bathroom.