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Builder Magazine: Builder Interview

"Future-Proof for Technology"

No matter the stage of life your clients are in today, it will not always be the same. The choices that your clients make when building or remodeling a home not only affect them today but down the road as well.

“I always tell my clients that it is imperative to future-proof their homes,” said Victoria Martoccia, president of Martoccia Custom Construction Inc “Even if it isn’t in the budget right now, you still need to discuss the dream home ideas as well as the "what if’ scenarios so that you can design a home that can handle whatever the future might bring.”

Creating a home that can accommodate a young family, an aging parent, and/ or a disabled friend simultaneously is a concept that is gaining traction throughout the United States. Simultaneously, homes are becoming more dependent on technology components. As Generations X and Y, who grew up using computers and cell phones, start to take responsibility for their baby boomer parents, it will only become more important. Ensuring that each and every home builder has the foresight to pre-wire homes to support new technologies is paramount to survival in the industry.

Listen. Plan. Design. Build.
Victoria Martoccia Custom Construction
http://www.SheBuildsit.com

There are four major steps to ensuring a home owner’s lifestyle today and tomorrow are addressed when building or remodeling a home. First, the builder and ESC must sit down with the homeowner to ask questions and listen to gain an understanding of how they need the home to perform. Second, all parties need to discuss available technology options and plan ahead for future additions. Third, the ESC and home builder ought to work together to design the desired systems. Finally, when all of those steps have been completed, to the approval of all parties involved, the project can officially begin.

In terms of building and remodeling homes, it is imperative to spend time with your client, asking important lifestyle questions before commencing with any project.

The Importance of "Give and Take"

It is impossible to build one style of home with one set of features that suits every lifestyle. But, it is possible to create a space and pre-wire for future technology. Dialogue between the homeowner, builder, and ESC ensures that all possible options are discussed and addressed throughout the building process and beyond. Questions to ask are:
How long do you intend to live in this home?
Do you have health concerns? This could not only lead to a discussion about increasing the doorway widths and non-slip flooring, but also lighting control, remote access entry points, whole-home speakers, and telehealth options.
Where do you spend the most time in your home? This could lead to discussions about home theaters, multi-room audio, or upgraded kitchen appliances located at different levels to accommodate a wide range of heights and abilities.
“Life is anything but predictable. It is imperative that all builders sit down with their clients to have frank discussions about the future,” said Martoccia. “The best builders and ESCs work together with their clients to determine how to best future-proof their designs. This includes pre-wiring with Cat5 cable throughout regardless of which technologies are in the original budget. We need to work together to think of everything with an eye toward utilizing it for a later function.”

“When building or remodeling a home, it is difficult to think about future resale value, but that’s really an important aspect of future-proofing,” said Anika Ruff, project manager for Electronic Systems Design (ESD). “Things happen every day to affect your daily life including possible job relocations or a younger family outgrowing their residence. By future-proofing homes through universal design and aging in place concepts — with pre-wires and well-thought-out design aspects — your homeowners will insulate themselves against costly renovations and retrofit options that will appeal to the population at large.”

In the words of American movie rebel James Dean, “Dream as if you’ll live forever; live as if you’ll die today.” Dean was incredibly perceptive in that you should always dream big, but be aware that things happen in your life and you should enjoy what you can today because tomorrow is an entirely new day.

As more Americans approach retirement age over the next five years, builders and ESCs alike need to address the changing needs of the nearly 78 million seniors of whom nearly 90% want to remain at home. With this in mind, the use of technology and universal design concepts will help ensure that this is a possibility.