Before+After: Second Chance

Homeowner John Carmean and his wife, Chris, are no newcomers to tragedy. Their daughter, Kerry, was just over a year old when a car accident in 1974 broke John's back, paralyzing him from the chest down, putting him in a wheelchair for life.

Twenty-seven years later, when a natural gas leak at the meter fueled a fire that severely damaged the couple's central California ranch house, they did their best to rebound from their newest tragedy. After all, they'd gotten out safely, alerted by neighbors' insistent rapping at the door.

Chris Carmean's first call was to Lori Bentley, who with her husband, Bruce, runs Bentley Design & Remodeling in Hanford, Calif., midway between Sacramento and Los Angeles. The Bentleys had built a 352-square-foot, $50,000 accessible master bath addition for the couple three years earlier.

Photo Credit: William Helsel Architectural Photography

Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

“When the fire department was mopping up, Lori was right there,” says John Carmean.

Acting quickly and working with adjusters, the Bentleys discovered that clay roof tiles were weakened and falling in and that 60% of the attic trusses were charred, making them unsafe by building code standards. Before the Carmeans' belongings were removed, Bruce and lead carpenter Randy Shaw obtained a permit for temporary power and built roof support systems, pulling tarps over the roof to prevent damage from rain. After the home's belongings were taken out, Bruce and Randy used dehumidifiers, driers, and fans to remove water used to extinguish the fire.

BEFORE

It would be seven months until the insurance claim was settled and another five months before the Carmeans, both of them teachers at area schools, resettled. But when they did move in, it would be the first time in 27 years that John could really use the kitchen and move about with comfort and ease. Odd as it sounds, the couple had the fire to thank — not to mention the Bentleys' unique perspective.

When the project wrapped, Lori Bentley, who has multiple sclerosis and occasionally uses a wheelchair, rolled through the finished job. “I wanted to test drive what I designed,” she says. She and the Carmeans were delighted with the results.

When the Carmeans had their house built in 1976, the determined “handi-capable” John had been burning tracks in his wheelchair just a few years (he used to wheel a mile to school each day). Not knowing what they needed in the way of accommodations, the couple worked in basic universal or accessible elements: a design as open as the 1,808-square-foot house allowed, a flat floor plan with no stairs, and wide halls and doorways. But neither they nor their builder thought of the little things.

So while the fire presented a second chance, it put gentle pressure on the Bentleys to use their 17 years of client attentiveness to reconstruct the house in a way that completely understood its homeowners' requirements — and to do so in a way that took into consideration John's complete distaste for anything looking institutional.

The Bentleys worked with insurance adjusters, explaining the severity of the damage and helping to push the payout up from $119,000 to $165,000. Bruce Bentley says the insurance company ridiculously underestimated the charring of the trusses, which made it more cost effective to replace the entire roof. Smoke damage required removal of all drywall. The remodelers had to rewire and re-duct a good part of the house, too, because when the trusses came out, the wiring and smoke-damaged duct work came, too. The fire had gotten so hot that the solder in the joints of the copper plumbing was melted, so the house had to be re-plumbed.

Amazingly, only the master bath didn't suffer severe smoke or fire damage.

Lowered countertop heights and open areas under the counters mean that John Carmean can actually use his kitchen. All the modifications were made with an eye toward aesthetics: The kitchen doesn't look institutional at all — one of the Carmeans' wishes.Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

The Carmeans matched the $165,000 insurance payout in order to make their house more comfortable and accessible and to make aesthetic changes — adding cathedral ceilings, bumping up the entryway's headroom from a brow-busting 81 inches, and shedding the home's Mediterranean look for a Craftsman-style portico.

The parties decided on a cost-plus contract, because of unknowns caused by fire, smoke, and water.

The seven months the Carmeans lived in a room at the Comfort Inn during the insurance adjustment process seemed interminable, but it gave them time to talk about design features with Bruce and Lori and to figure out and find helpful gadgets and appliances to incorporate into the home, especially the kitchen.

Lori Bentley went through every room, asking her clients what annoyed them, thinking ahead, because they plan to live out their lives there. She measured John's wheelchair and the length of his arms.

Photo Credit: William Helsel Architectural Photography

Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

Lower sink and countertop heights work for them both because Chris is 5 feet, 6 inches tall. “As long as your electronic devices are between 18 and 48 inches off the floor, everyone is happy,” Lori Bentley says.

The 19-by-11-foot galley kitchen was troublesome, with its tight layout and 36-inch-high countertop. John couldn't use the counter, sink, or microwave.

By knocking out walls and opening the floor plan, the Bentleys had room to design an angled island, giving John clearance to roll between stovetop, sink, and refrigerator.

The remodelers dropped a plumb bob from where the stove's chimney hood would exit through roof joists and Lori Bentley designed the island around that space. Lori needed 5 feet of clearance around the island for John to easily move.

The beauty of the kitchen isn't as skin deep as its quarter sawn white oak cabinetry. What's nice about the changes is you can't tell they're universal or accessible. Everything is so well designed, the features are nearly always hidden.

Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

A dishwasher drawer system allowed the remodelers to drop the countertop 2 inches from the standard 36. The shallow sink, with retractable doors underneath, allows John to slip underneath and lets him look out the window, which fell from 45 inches off the ground to 34. All cabinets and pantry doors have barrel hinges, allowing 180 degrees of swing, well beyond the typical 90 degrees, to allow for ease of use. Remote controls power a skylight, its mini-blinds, and ceiling fans.

The microwave is at a height easily operated from a wheelchair, and the cooktop also has space underneath so John can cook. The stove hood fan switch is under the countertop.

Elsewhere in the house, switches, outlets, and thermostat heights were placed where John can easily reach and see — no periscope required.

Daughter Kerry, a Hollywood sound editor, provided the Bentleys with a system they installed throughout the house so John, a Cubs fan, can turn on a game and listen in any room.

Replacing the plumbing allowed installation of a Vanguard system, which has a home run from each valve to each fixture. This means if John finds a leak, he can go into the manifold closet and turn off the water with an easy clip of a line.

Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

Some features, like the fireplace and the exterior chimney and entryway, were made for purely aesthetic reasons. Cultured Stone replaced the “slump stone,” or adobe brick, of the mantel and the exterior chimney. Ten Craftsman colors accentuate the design.

One feature that isn't Craftsman-inspired is the 12-inch-square Mexican paver tile throughout the house, easier for John to navigate, versus fighting carpet pile. The pavers posed one of the job's challenges. Because of removed walls and the reconfigured floor plan, additional tile was needed. The Bentleys took a few existing tiles 187 miles north to the original manufacturer in Lodi, Calif., and picked through about 600 pieces to find 150 tiles that were a close match. “The Bentleys are total perfectionists,” John says. “That is something else. Nobody would do that.”

Life has changed for the Carmeans. “John now can cook, he can access the microwave,” Lori Bentley says, “He's always offering you something — ‘Can I get you a glass of water, heat it up for tea?'”

The results fit nicely with her goal of remodeling for clients for life — “not just looking at the tip of your nose but the whole picture,” Lori says. “So when we do another project, we're not tearing out work we've done. We really do remodel for life.”

A nice footnote to the story is that the Carmeans just became grandparents, with their daughter, Kerry, giving birth to a baby girl, Sophie, on Oct. 26. “And just like the fire, I was one of the first people they told,” Lori Bentley says. “It makes me feel good.”

And especially because now, John can go into the kitchen to warm up a bottle for his granddaughter — an experience he didn't have much chance to savor years ago, with his own daughter, in his nearly impassable kitchen. —Joseph F. Schuler Jr. is a freelance writer in Gaithersburg, Md.

The hard facts of remodeling for someone who needs home modifications due to medical reasons is that often they don't have the wherewithal to pay. The person may have lost a job or be on disability.

But for those who can afford it, remodelers should suggest that they seek tax advice. In certain circumstances, homeowners can recoup nearly 30% of a project's cost due to medical reasons.

According to George Saenz, a Miami CPA and contributor to BankRate.com, any improvement needed for medical reasons that doesn't increase a home's value can be claimed as a medical deduction. However, the homeowner must already itemize deductions, such as mortgage interest, state taxes, and charitable donations. About 35% of Americans itemize deductions, typically homeowners with more than $30,000 in annual household income, Saenz says.

Medical deductions, including the remodeling work, must exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.

As an example, take a couple earning $150,000, in the 28% tax bracket. They'd pay $26,000 in federal taxes and $9,200 in state taxes in California. Contracting for a $50,000 bathroom remodel that included such things as a roll-in shower and grab bars, they'd subtract their $11,250 in deductions (or 7.5% of their income) from the bathroom remodel's cost to arrive at a medical deduction of $38,750.

Homeowners Chris and John Carmean (left) and remodelers Lori and Bruce Bentley.Photo: William Helsel Architectural Photography

That would drop their federal taxes to $16,000; their state taxes would be cut to $5,500. They'd receive a $10,000 IRS refund, and $3,700 from the state. So, in this example, the homeowners would recoup 27% of remodeling costs.

Saenz says oftentimes modifications detract from resale value and that it's not hard to prove to the IRS that changes are needed for medical reasons. Experts suggest getting a prescription from a doctor as a permanent record that home modifications are medically necessary.

“The last thing the IRS wants to do is split hairs with someone in a wheelchair,” Saenz says. (To learn more, download Publication 502 at www.irs.gov.)