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I don't know the intricacies of Canadian code enforcement, but in the US building codes for private homes are only relevant at a few points: New construction, s

I don't know the intricacies of Canadian code enforcement, but in the US building codes for private homes are only relevant at a few points: New construction, substantial renovation, certain not-wholly-private use cases, and certain types of financing when buying. New construction is where it's strictest. In a case like this, your contractor may have to install handles to pass inspection, but nothing stops you from changing them out for knobs if you want to.

jerf 13y ago
"In September, Vancouver council adopted new amendments to its building code, effective next March, that, among other things, will require lever handles on all doors and lever faucets in all new housing construction." ... "Will Johnston, the former Vancouver chief building inspector who wrote the changes in consultation with the building industry, doesn’t see this as the inevitable death of the doorknob because the rules aren’t retroactive. People can also still buy doorknobs and put them back on lever handle-equipped houses."
- minikites 13y ago
  So why is this a 1984-esque rights trampling? New houses have to have lever handles. I'm sure they also have to be wired safely. Why should someone who is disabled only have a subset of houses to choose from?
  - mortenjorck 13y ago
    Honest question: Should all new private residences be required to have ramps or elevators to be wheelchair accessible? If not, where do you draw the line?
    - jtbigwoo 13y ago
      I think you could do a cost/benefit analysis on this sort of thing. How much cost does it add to a project and how much space does it take up vs. how many people benefit and what's the scale of the benefit? In the case of lever door handles or something like returns on stair railings, it's not very expensive and provides a benefit in accessibility or safety. On the other hand ramps are fairly expensive (thousands of dollars to hire a contractor to build one) and take up a lot of room (usually height:length of 1:12 or 1:16, not counting landings). Elevators are even more expensive (tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars plus maintenance) and take up a fair amount of room.
    - DanBC 13y ago
      I'd happily force anyone building > X new dwellings to make sure that Y% of those are wheelchair accessible, or to have other accessible features.

jerf 13y ago

"In September, Vancouver council adopted new amendments to its building code, effective next March, that, among other things, will require lever handles on all doors and lever faucets in all new housing construction." ... "Will Johnston, the former Vancouver chief building inspector who wrote the changes in consultation with the building industry, doesn’t see this as the inevitable death of the doorknob because the rules aren’t retroactive. People can also still buy doorknobs and put them back on lever handle-equipped houses."

minikites 13y ago
So why is this a 1984-esque rights trampling? New houses have to have lever handles. I'm sure they also have to be wired safely. Why should someone who is disabled only have a subset of houses to choose from?
- mortenjorck 13y ago
  Honest question: Should all new private residences be required to have ramps or elevators to be wheelchair accessible? If not, where do you draw the line?
  - jtbigwoo 13y ago
    I think you could do a cost/benefit analysis on this sort of thing. How much cost does it add to a project and how much space does it take up vs. how many people benefit and what's the scale of the benefit? In the case of lever door handles or something like returns on stair railings, it's not very expensive and provides a benefit in accessibility or safety. On the other hand ramps are fairly expensive (thousands of dollars to hire a contractor to build one) and take up a lot of room (usually height:length of 1:12 or 1:16, not counting landings). Elevators are even more expensive (tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars plus maintenance) and take up a fair amount of room.
  - DanBC 13y ago
    I'd happily force anyone building > X new dwellings to make sure that Y% of those are wheelchair accessible, or to have other accessible features.