Watch Your Language
When working with older or disabled clients, unthinking comments can easily cost you work, or create undue stress. “Communication can be a minefield,” says Weiss. “It’s easy for a 40-something remodeler to be condescending to someone in their 70s,” such as asking them to talk louder. This mistake can create a lot of friction with the client.
Accessibility also brings with it its own politically correct terms, which you ignore at your peril. “The short stud on the side of the door is a jack, not a cripple,” says Weiss. “It’s better to call the bar in the shower a safety grip than a grab bar.” He also prefers “adaptable remodeling” to accessibility, and advises against using the term “handicap.”
Sell Wants Where Possible
Clients seldom want to do home modifications, and often resent spending the money. To ease the pain, try to give them something they want in the process.
For instance, one of Hunt’s current clients is a middle-aged man who wants to add an in-law suite for his mother. The mother is at an age where she can expect to live another 10 years, at most, so Hunt is working with the client to determine how the space can ultimately be used. If the in-law suite ultimately will end up as a home office, Hunt will install the necessary wiring and power outlets. The space will also be configured for easy conversion: rather than separate kitchen, sitting, and sleeping rooms, it will be one large room with areas designated for these activities. The only separate space will be the bath. That way, the conversion will require minimal demolition.
Hunt says that most clients really appreciate such long-term thinking, as most don’t consider it themselves. “Many times it’s a light-bulb moment,” he says. “It makes the expense a lot more palatable.”
Get Certified
The best preparation for building in this market is to seek CAPS certification. The curriculum is fairly straightforward: it consists of two accessibility classes–one on the design/build aspects of home modifications and one on dealing and communicating with clients–as well as a business class. The certification is open to anyone, and has been taken by many OTs as well as builders and remodelers.
Certification can open doors that would otherwise remain closed. For instance, Renda says that on most jobs the client starts by hiring her and asking her to recommend a contractor. Like other OTs, she prefers to work with CAPS certified contractors because they understand the issues and speak the same language.
