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The Oasis: 600 Sq. Ft. Wheelchair-Friendly Home Plans


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This is The Oasis, a 600 sq. ft. wheelchair-friendly home.

Designed by Larry Stauffer, of Larry’s Home Designs.

Related: The Wheel Pad: Tiny Home on Wheels that’s Wheelchair-Friendly!

Wheelchair-Bound Designer Creates Handicap-Accessible Oasis Home Plans

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Images via Larry’s House Plans Guide

Related: 400 Sq. Ft. ADA Shipping Container Tiny Home

Details: 

  • 600 Square Feet, plus 160 Square Foot Front Porch.
  • 2 Bedrooms, 1 Handicap-Accessible Bath, Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen with a lowered section of countertop.
  • Stacked Washer/Dryer in the bathroom.
  • Site-Built Post and Beam Foundation and Floor System.
  • SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) for Walls & Roof.
  • Current insulation design is R-24 Walls and R-40 Roof.
  • 2 x 4 Interior Wall Framing bought locally.
  • Windows and Doors bought locally, openings are precut in factory.
  • Electric conduit and boxes installed in factory.
  • Full Materials List included, all bought locally.
  • Complete Permit-Ready Plans.
  • Design is Code-Compliant.
  • Plan Price – $475.00
  • SIPs Package Price – $15,967.75 plus Tax (if applicable)
  • Shipping will be calculated based on buyer’s location, anywhere in 48 states.
  • Larry’s Home Designs is located in Lancaster County, PA and does custom home designs all over the United States.

Press Release (Excerpted):

Larry Stauffer, the owner of Larry’s Home Designs, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (a neuromuscular condition that severely hinders muscle development) at the age of 18 months and has been living in a wheelchair since the age of 4. Growing up in a construction family, he always had an interest in building things. His father advised him to study home design if he wanted to be involved in the construction industry. He never looked back.

In September of 2016 he stumbled upon the tiny house movement. After browsing through a lot of websites and seeing the compact nature of most tiny houses, ideas for wheelchair-accessible tiny houses began to form.

Why wheelchair-accessible tiny houses?

Larry knows from experience how expensive the handicap lifestyle can be. Wheelchairs, transfer lifts, a wheelchair van for transportation, etc.. Not to mention the day-to-day cost of living in a full-size house.

Unfortunately statistics indicate that the national average of employment levels is significantly lower for individuals with disabilities. A typical house can be financially out of reach for a lot of disabled people, yet the dream of home ownership and the pride that goes with it can still be strong. 25+ years of home design expertise and overcoming the numerous challenges of personal disability has prepared Larry to address this issue.

He states, “Bridging the gap between a dream and the reality of making home ownership affordable for more people through tiny wheelchair-accessible houses is a real mission for me. It is an honor being able to draw upon my extensive day-to-day experiences with disability that positions me in a way that most designers cannot relate with their clients .”

After looking at Tiny Houses on Wheels, and their tighter space as well as the need to use a portable ramp to access it, Larry came up with 2 models for wheelchair-users (or anyone who prefers one-floor living) that provide sufficient space for a wheelchair or walker-user who wants a simple place to call their own.

This is the Oasis. His other model, The Legend, will be shown soon! 

Want to purchase the plans or kit?

Contact Larry’s House Plans Guide:

Resources: 

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Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.

Latest posts by Natalie C. McKee (see all)

{ 23 comments… add one }
  • LISA SETTLE
    July 5, 2017, 3:32 pm

    Not sure why you would put a stackable washer/dryer in accessible unit.

    • James D.
      July 7, 2017, 12:15 am

      It’s because there’s two layouts… One is for wheelchair user, the other is for regular walker user…

      This isn’t just for one or the other, but a flexible design that can accommodate either or both… Either a care giver who lives with the person who needs wheelchair access or a spouse who would also need to live in the same space… Or a wheelchair only layout for a self sufficient wheelchair user…

      The designer has lived most of his life in a wheelchair, so he definitely know how it should all work…

      • Mary McGuirk
        July 7, 2017, 4:35 am

        Yes, i like the idea of the back porch with two doors out to the rear…even a screened porch really raises the quality of life for someone in a chair…need a wheelchair SWING! or glider…obviously those things could be added as funds became available, but framing for the door openings is so simple in the framing stage…just a header and some extra 2 by 4’s…

      • Patricia
        July 9, 2017, 8:18 am

        Very well put, James. I am in a wheelchair and my husband is my caregiver, so the flexible design where it could function for both of us is perfect.

  • July 5, 2017, 4:05 pm

    Kudos!!! For a long time mine was the only tiny house I ever saw with a wheelchair ramp! So glad to see more out there! Your design is awesome!

    • Katie
      June 7, 2020, 2:59 pm

      May be a dumb question, but the house comes already done?

  • Barry
    July 5, 2017, 4:31 pm

    Like it a lot. Nice, open and I can see the flow for the handicapped homeowner.

  • Martino
    July 5, 2017, 5:44 pm

    Drawings really don’t do it here. And what is a SIP.

    • Mary McGuirk
      July 6, 2017, 1:20 am

      a building structure consisting of a sandwich of insulation and some type of OSB or plywood covering on both sides (instead of 2 by 4 studs in the walls)…usually made in 4 by 8 sections, they often put channels for conduit and stuff inside at appropriate locations to make plumbing or electrical simpler. (most of that is probably pretty true, but i am sure the blogger will know more what version of structurally integrated panel are the right words for SIP)

      • July 6, 2017, 5:19 pm

        SIP is Structural Insulated Panel. My brand comes with the electrical boxes and conduit installed per plan. All windows and doors openings are pre-cut as well. It is the most efficient way to build.

  • Betty
    July 5, 2017, 6:53 pm

    Applauding. Finally.

  • Michael
    July 5, 2017, 7:15 pm

    There is not much for handicapped people on the market.
    I like the floor plan in combination with the SIP package.
    Well done.

  • Mary McGuirk
    July 5, 2017, 7:15 pm

    it needs french doors out the master bedroom to a back porch…with a ramp…i am surprised it passed code with only one entrance / exit…many years ago we had to redo some apartment plans to allow for the second entrance.

    • James D.
      July 7, 2017, 12:21 am

      Mary McGuirk, second entrance is only required if the primary entrance isn’t wheelchair accessible… Otherwise if falls under fire safety codes for the area but residential usually don’t require a emergency egress point…

      • Mary McGuirk
        July 7, 2017, 4:37 am

        thanks. the place I built was on a concrete slab in phoenix, az and they required two entrances (but it was long ago, so i don’t remember if one would have sufficed if it has a ramp down the four inches)

      • July 7, 2017, 9:18 am

        James, you are so correct. There is this mindset I keep running into that people think they have to keep the plan the way it is. A designer’s job is not to dictate, but rather guide the client’s ideas so they remain structurally practical. Otherwise the sky is the limit. I could think of a dozen variations to this plan and chances are someone would still say it is not a workable plan. I tell people pre-drawn plans are simply a launch pad for their own ideas to turn my design into something uniquely their own. The light bulb begins to flicker and then gets brighter as they realize I am here to help and not tell them what to do.

  • Mary McGuirk
    July 5, 2017, 7:15 pm

    P.S. I love the layout!

  • Tom Osterdock
    July 5, 2017, 8:24 pm

    looks great but for me it would not work since there are no wheels but for its purpose it is great.

  • Lori
    July 6, 2017, 5:40 pm

    I’d only change a couple things in this house to make it more accessible starting with the washer/dryer: either need to be side by side or a combo unit. Someone in a wheelchair might not be able to reach into a stackable dryer (short folks like my mom). Both bedrooms MUST have an egress window since they don’t have exit doors in case of fire (egress windows are in our local building code and it makes sense–though I’d prefer a door in each bedroom exiting to a back porch). Grab bar on the wall above the t.p. holder in the bathroom for easier transfer on/off the toilet. POCKET DOORS so if you fall the door won’t be in the way of rescue personnel reaching you (had this happen to a wheelchair-bound neighbor in my building–they nearly had to go through a wall to reach him–they removed that door the next day as it was a safety issue).

    FYI: tiny houses on foundations are now LEGAL in the state of Idaho!

    • James D.
      July 7, 2017, 12:04 am

      Yeah, Idaho and one or two other states passed early adoption of the 2018 update to the IRC that includes language for structures 400 sq ft and less structures…

      Previously, the best you could get was a requirement in Idaho for a structure that meets HUD building code and was larger than 150 sq ft…

      On the downside, not everywhere is headed in the right direction… Like in Illinois, a county decided to not hear any debate about changing its policy that an accessory dwelling has to be 820 sq ft or 750 sq ft if it’s on the land of a blood relative… So one tiny house owner who has been living for months there had to give up her Tiny House that she was living in on her mother’s 450 acre farm…

      So some places will require stronger advocacy before things will change for the better…

      • Lori
        July 7, 2017, 1:55 pm

        Winnebago county in IL has a 500 sq ft minimum but the land that isn’t inside someones’ city/village limits are scarce and being annexed in at a fast rate. City/village is 850 sq ft minimum but my village has 2 small lots for sale that a house of even that size won’t fit and still follow the required set-backs. Yet they won’t even hear about granting a variance for a smaller/tiny house on those lots.

        • July 7, 2017, 2:08 pm

          If you can get your hands on the lot plans and the setback lines, I believe I can design something that would work. Unless the area inside the setback lines is less than the minimum square footage allowance. Let me know. Thanks.

  • April 2, 2018, 12:15 pm

    I am very impressed with The Oasis Plan. I would like more information on how to get started as far as building codes, permits on property, power sources, custom options. I did request your newsletter. Any information to move this idea forward would be appreciated.

    Kindly,
    Carol Willis

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