Is it a bad idea to build a second story apartment for retirees?

January 23, 2018 7:00 AM

We are thinking of building a second floor apartment adjacent to my home for my parents (late 70s) and putting in an elevator to accommodate current and future mobility issues, but we're a little worried that we would come to regret not building on ground level, since we all hope my parents will age in place in this apartment for years to come. Awesome Mefites, would you do this or is it a bad idea?

Our family has decided that it makes sense to build a living space adjacent to my home for my parents who are in their late 70s. We put together some plans for a garage connecting our existing house to a one story house for my parents, but the cost estimates we got were more than we want to spend (so much roof and foundation), plus it eats up so much of our yard.

So now we're thinking of building an apartment for my parents above a garage and putting in an elevator, since my dad has some mobility issues that make stairs difficult for him and those issues are only going to get worse as my parents age. We'll also be incorporating other features into the design to accommodate future mobility issues, but that is not what we need help with now.

Even though it seems like residential elevators are not cheap (if you have experience with these, I'd love to hear about it), it seems like this could be a more efficient and economical option, plus it leaves us with more yard for our kids. On the other hand, something feels a little wrong with building a second floor apartment for elders who are hoping to age in place for years to come.
Please help us figure out if this is a good or bad idea!

posted by ElizaMain to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

I know somebody with an elevator in their home. They always talked about how expensive it was to build and maintain, and how it constantly broke down. I can’t imagine the stress of having my elderly relatives stuck in the elevator while I’m away from home.
posted by joan_holloway at 7:14 AM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

People age in elevator apartment buildings all the time. They also age in homes with stairlifts, which might be better in emergencies. Since you have the luxury of planning from nothing, I would go down and talk to your fire department captain about this, to be honest. Fire egress, emergency access and EMT removals (stretchers, stretcher chairs) would be the topics I wanted to cover. They'll be able to talk to you broadly about codes, but also about the specifics of those problems you want to plan for it you can.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:15 AM on January 23, 2018 [18 favorites]

In-home residential elevators are expensive and require expensive frequent maintenance, and when they break down... ugh. People age in place in elevator apartment buildings all the time, but there's usually a backup elevator in case the main one breaks down, and a management company in charge of the maintenance. (Cost comparison link from HomeAdvisor)

Here in Chicago is some of the tight-footprint city lots, I've seen some houses with the opposite of what you're describing - a first-floor apartment built, but with roof space fenced and turfed, with a play area for children, sitting areas, fire pit, etc. No garage, obviously, but it can maintain some play space for kids, and great for property values. If you wanted to build it attached to your house, you could even add an extra walk-out entry point on the second floor of your house and add a stairlift in your own house, if you wanted your parents to be able to enjoy it as well.
posted by juniperesque at 7:32 AM on January 23, 2018 [8 favorites]

So, I'm a little confused. Do you already have a garage and were planning on adding on to that, to connect your parents' living space to yours? If so, could you just convert the garage into the main living area and maybe a bedroom/kitchen, and then add on what's left over?

If you don't already have a garage and were planning on building that from scratch, but the garage plus the home would take up too much yard space, why not just build the garage into a home in the first place and then you can convert it back to garage space later?
posted by cooker girl at 7:40 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

My grandparents had a residential elevator installed in the early 90s that remained in daily use until about 2004. It worked perfectly until something went wrong, then everyone else is right: the maintenance was a huge huge problem. The market is so small for residential elevators that there are just a handful of aging technicians available to service them, even in the Bay Area, which is dense with people of wealth (and therefore more likely to be able to afford an elevator). That said, my grandma loved it. She was stuck in it once or twice over the 15 years she used it. (She passed away before it went out of service.)
posted by samthemander at 8:12 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

I would consider a stairlift instead of an elevator.
posted by amro at 8:56 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

We had a stairlift installed while my Dad was in his last years. It was a great help, took up very little room, we never never had a single problem with it.
posted by mmf at 9:25 AM on January 23, 2018

Anecdata: my father has mobility issues and as he's gotten older and his issues have increased he now refuses to live anywhere that isn't ground floor. He has become very fearful of not being able to get out in the case of an emergency. No amount of discussion will talk him out of it.

On a practical level, would you be amenable to building a room or suite for yourselves above the garage, and letting your parents have an existing room in the house? You could building a separate entry, or even carve out a suite for them using existing space.
posted by vignettist at 9:30 AM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound like a great idea. Maybe if they were currently quite healthy and didn't need the elevator right away, it might work. But the fact that they're already dependent on it, and could live another 10 years there means that the elevator will most likely break down at some point, and it won't be convenient when it does. As someone with a mobility issue, I wouldn't want to be dependent on having an elevator work all the time, and having that be my only way in/out of the apartment.

Yes, maybe a stairlift, but it depends on where that would be. I can't imagine it could be exposed to the elements. Can you build the stairs inside the garage?
posted by hydra77 at 9:30 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

More anecdata: my 84 year old mother (and for all intents and purposes, her 93 year old boyfriend) live in the second floor apt above my brother and SIL, which they virtually always access via the elevator that was installed when the home was built about 80 years ago. While better than having them going up and down the stairs, it's almost more trouble than it's worth, i.e., prone to problems that are difficult and or expensive to fix. And my mother is especially uncomfortable with having to depend on it— I think the fact that it's so small makes it seem sorta toy-like to her and makes her worry abt being trapped in the thing. She always makes sure she has her cell phone on her before she uses it.
posted by she's not there at 9:56 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Really should look into a stairlift.

We've been using one for the past 4 years and it is great. It also has the advantage of removal when its no longer needed or if you were to choose to move.

Good luck with your plans.
posted by sandpine at 10:03 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm 74 and have some mobility issues, especially with stairs (my former orthopedist said: stay away from stairs, so I promptly moved to the mountains). I wouldn't want to live upstairs without something like a stairlift. If you already have a garage to build on top of, perhaps you could build inside the garage and provide a nice ramp; it could circle the walls with an occasional landing to rest on. Or you could do a ramp outside that has a cover. But, yeah, no stairs.
posted by MovableBookLady at 3:21 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Some friends of mine rececently added on an in-law suite to their home but didn't have enough yard space to do it all on one floor, so it's a two story addition with the living space on bottom and bedroom/bathroom on the second floor. They have a small elevator, but crucially there is also a door from the suite to the main house on the second floor, so there is an alternate way out and down if the elevator should ever break down. Could you put a fire escape type outdoor stairwell on the garage?
posted by raspberrE at 3:35 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

The last residential elevator I priced out was something like 25K delivered to the site, not installed. Typical installed price is about double that.
Yes, you might save some on roof area, but it's cheaper to put a roof on a one story building than a two story building. It's cheaper to frame a one story wall than the second floor wall, just due to logistics.
Yes, you might save some on foundation, but the foundation now has to carry two floors, not one, so it needs to be a bit beefier.
Your going to need a beefy structure for the second floor now.
Well, except where the stairway is, the stairway you are going to provide wall and roof and foundation for, even though it can't be living space.
Consider what the built environment looks like - out in the suburbs where land is cheap, things tend to be one story. In town where land is expensive, buildings get taller.
I'm trying to gently say that you are probably kidding yourself that a two story solution is cheaper.
posted by rudd135 at 5:29 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

I wouldn't do it. My mother has dementia, and some technology is just beyond her (even things she's been using for years). You don't want them to fear leaving the house, or to get confused and get stuck outside or inside. You don't mention any mental decline now, but things can change pretty quickly. Also, there are two of them now, but if one predeceases the other there could be new challenges, especially if the one remaining is the one with the mobility issues. My mother has mobility issues and I've seen how she feels about the three steps leading into our apartment (which is on the first floor). It keeps her inside more than it should. raspberrE mentioned a two floor idea, with the bathroom and bedroom on the second floor, and from the experience we had with my father's illness I wouldn't recommend that, either. If one partner gets sick and is too weak to get around, they're going to stay on the level with the bathroom. Which means the other is tasked with bringing all meals to the sick partner from the kitchen on the other level. Hard to carry a tray of food when you yourself aren't the fittest/steadiest/most mobile.

They have modular in-law apartments that you can buy and have installed, and they're designed for elderly needs already with hand rails and wider access for wheelchairs, etc. Maybe those would be more cost effective? There are several types; the linked one is just an example I remembered.
posted by clone boulevard at 10:27 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]