The Citizen, 2019-01-03, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019.
Business Directory
Free delivery in
Wingham &
surrounding area
PAUL COOK
ELECTRIC
Home, Farm &
Commercial Wiring
BELGRAVE
519-357-1537
BROWN’S PHARMASAVE
SHELVING & RACKING
519-524-1740
Lakeside
Large instock selection of pallet racking,
store shelving, display cases and more for
Industrial, Residential, Farm & Retail
www.lakesideshelving.com
lakesidemarket@gmail.com
33842 Market Rd.,
North of Goderich, off Hwy. 21
D. C. Craig
Excavating
• Snow Plowing
• Snow Removal
• Excavating
• Bulldozing
• Septic Systems
• Drainage
519-523-4966
NEW CONSTRUCTION
AGRICULTURAL
RENOVATIONS
RESIDENTIAL
Call 519-524-0253
Tel. 519-529-7212
Fax. 519-529-3277
RR 2, Auburn, Ont. N0M 1E0
Snowblowers, Quick-attach Buckets,
Sweepers, Woodsplitters,
Land Rollers, etc.
Website: smythwelding.com
Email: info@smythwelding.com
Easy
Prescription
Transfer
Bernard
Enterprises
Authorized dealer for
Central Boiler
Classic Outdoor Wood Furnaces,
Edge Outdoor Wood Furnaces &
Maxim Wood Pellet and Corn Burners
Gasification units available
Inquire about our new edges
Carman Bernard
519-887-6405
RR #4 Brussels
centralboiler.com
Dave
Franken
CONCRETE FORMING
For All Your Concrete Needs!
COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL
• Foundations • Floor Finishing
• Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls
FREE ESTIMATES
RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604
519-523-9971
306 Josephine St., Wingham
519-357-3894
Affordable
CAR AND TRUCK
RENTALS
Large & Small Trucks
fridge carts - piano dollys-
moving blankets
Complete Selection of Cars
Our rates qualify for
insurance replacement
Passenger Vans
full size or mini
GODERICH TOYOTA
344 Huron Rd. 519-524-9381
GODERICH 1-800-338-1134
- COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE -
COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES
MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION
DAN'S AUTO REPAIR
Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell
RR 3, Blyth, Ont. N0M 1H0
(on the Westfield Rd.)
DAN SNELL, Automotive Technician
519-523-4356
• 2 TANNING BEDS •
• MANICURES & PEDICURES •
• IONIC DETOX FOOT SPA •
• SHELLAC NAIL SYSTEM •
• EYELASH EXTENSIONS •
COME IN AND VISIT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD PHARMASAVE
198 Josephine St., Wingham, Ont.
519-357-1629
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 - 6 Sat. 9 - 4
Rear Parking Available
Call 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 to book your spot today!
INSTANT FAX AS FAST AS A PHONE
Send your paperwork by FAX instantly! eg. statements, contracts,
auction ads, favourite recipes, obituaries, messages...
The Citizen has a FAX machine in our Blyth office that lets you contact
any other FAX machine in the world ... instantly.
Our FAX number is also your number so if you want to be
reached instantly — we will receive your messages
as well.
The Citizen
Call Us Today For Details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114
Fax: 519-523-9140
The first time I pushed myself in
my manual wheelchair, it didn’t take
long to realize what a challenge it
would be to live in our two-storey
century farmhouse. It is the kind that
“has character”, including knuckle-
busting narrow doorways, four
different levels of additions on the
main floor and a tiny, u-shaped
kitchen. One saving grace was that
the bathroom was on the main floor.
It’s been three years in the making,
but our new house is almost done,
built right beside our old one. By the
time you are reading this, it is my
hope that we have hosted my family
for our first Christmas in our fully
accessible home.
People have been very curious
about our home and interested to see
what makes it special. I have loved
showing people around and
explaining the features as we go.
Building a custom home requires a
lot of communication and
contractors who are willing to listen.
A lot of planning, research and
discussion has meant very few
miscommunications. As I write about
the new house I want to highlight the
builders that helped make it happen.
Casey Boven of CMB Construction
is our builder, and he has kept
everything running along seamlessly.
A great house starts with a great
plan. We had more than 40 different
versions of the plans before we were
satisfied we had considered
everything. It was hard to maximize
the footprint. We needed access to
all spaces, adequate turning radius,
space for therapy equipment and
room for two growing kids, who, I
will finally be able to tuck in at
night!
Having spoken to friends-with-
wheels living in homes with
elevators (which are an expensive
pain-in-the-butt), we decided that
slab-on-grade was the way to go. We
don’t have space constraints like city
folk do, so we went out instead of
up. This means the house has no
basement; the main floor is the only
floor, and it is made of cement.
Thanks to Mike Siertsema and his
crew at Superior Concrete, we will
have a living space that is so level
that I (almost) don’t need brakes!
A common misconception is that
the building code requires there to be
a step from the garage to the house.
This is not correct. What is required
is a door that seals, is rodent/insect
proof and water- and air-tight. This
will prevent carbon monoxide from
entering the home. The door sills
were all sunken into the exterior
framing of the house so there is no
level change from the exterior to the
interior of the house.
The heating, electrical and
plumbing are all in that concrete
slab. Geo-Teck installed the in-floor
heating loops, Scott Townsend
Plumbing looked after the plumbing
tubing and waste pipes, and Wayne
Smith Electrical did the wiring. This
stage of the build required a lot of
forethought, because once concrete
is poured on top, there is no going
back!
Although a lot of the plumbing
and wiring goes through the walls,
the big decisions like panel
placement, dryer location and need
for hot water had to be correct. We
decided on in-floor heat (rather than
forced air) because of the
consistency of warmth it provides.
One thing my body does not do well
is regulate temperature and now my
family will finally have warm feet!
Lots of sunlight and many
windows was a priority for us,
especially after living in our dark old
farmhouse for 10 years. We located
the new house on an east-west axis
to maximize winter sun and the
roofline provides shade to the south-
facing windows in the summer.
Bring on those sunny days! Window
placement is key, most importantly
having sills that are low enough to
see out of and an operating
mechanism that can be used from a
seated position.
Once the walls went up, the raised
seam steel roof from Whitestone
Building for access
By Julie Sawchuk
A new reality
When Julie Sawchuk was paralyzed from the chest down in a vehicle-bike collision, it spelled
out big changes for her family, including a new house on their Blyth Road property. Some of
the changes include the lower windows and roll-under counters, shown above, which
Sawchuk says are key for accessibility. (Photo submitted)
Continued on page 19