Category: Atlas Construction Blog

Your aging mother needs care.  She’s not ill. But, she is finding it a bit more difficult to climb the stairs. And, she doesn’t want to move into a home for the elderly. So, you’ve decided she’ll move in with you and your family.  And, you believe that will be achievable by making a few minor renovations to your single-family home.

Not so fast!

Do your research before you attempt to dive into the sea of regulations to which you’ll have to adhere.  Remember, each step requires a permit.  And, you’ll need to find a reputable contractor, unless you intend on picking up a hammer and nails yourself! Even if you do, you’ll need an experienced professional to walk you through the various steps.

Atlas Construction Hawaii is a family owned business that has been serving Oahu for over a decade. We specialize in building multi-generational homes.  But, building an addition to your home, is more than construction. To add a bedroom and bathroom to your home, Atlas first wants to know about the person (or people) who will be living with you.  So, you will tell us what your mother will use the room for, other than sleeping and showering. Atlas always upholds the cornerstones of safety and accessibility when building multi-generational homes.

Additions are our most common requests. However, each client is individual; their preferences are different, and Atlas Construction doesn’t subscribe to the one-design-fits-all solution. So, be ready to answer a variety of questions about the occupant in the new addition, and we’ll design your space efficiently, with safety and accessibility for your loved one in mind.

If you need more information, call 951-9500.

As they say in Hawaii…”THE STRUGGLE IS REAL”. The following are signs your Hawaii home might need help:

1. You have to walk uphill to get to the kitchen
2. You have more wood and plastic covering your windows than actual window
3. There is a tree growing in either the roof or the foundation
4. You’ve convinced yourself the little piles around the house is just dust, not termites
5. Only one person can shower at a time….a day
6. You short out the electricity when you turn on the Rice Cooker
7. You are using folded cardboard to keep the jalousies from falling out
8. You have a system every time it rains, and know exactly what areas of the roof need buckets, pots and towels underneath

Sound familiar? We are a phone call away.

Nathan talks about how he incorporates aging in place modifications in his bathroom designs on Hawaii remodels and rebuilds.

Older homes in Hawaii are full of memories, history, and charm, but they have unique needs when it comes to care, repairs, and maintenance.

Roofing

Keeping your your roof in good repair is crucial, because leaks can start very expensive compounding effects. When moisture is allowed to seep into your roof, an expensive roof replacement bill will follow shortly after. Tiny little cracks, roof plant growth and inadequate drainage all have to be caught early, otherwise, roofing structures become vulnerable to water damage and mold. This can affect your landscaping, health, flooring and even affect your foundation and make you vulnerable to shifting, buckling and cracks.

Have your roof checked out at least 2 times a year.Roof maintenance ensures that your home remains strong and is capable of withstanding tropical weather conditions for years to come.

Painting

Keeping your home painted, especially with a 10 year paint can preserve the wood and prevent against rot, mold, and termites.

Tenting

Speaking of termites, there is nothing more devastating to your home investment than termites. Hawaii home owners should tent their homes every 3 years. Go with a company that offers a warranty and free checks during that time period. They will come and tent again if you show any signs of termites within the contracted period. Watch for signs an stay on top of it. Termite damage is costly to treat and repair.

Outdated Plumbing and Electrical

Electrical wiring and plumbing problems are common in older homes. Before the 1960s, galvanized pipes were used and they commonly get clogged and corrode over time. They eventually need to be replaced with PVC or copper

Old wiring is also common and a nuisance: If you’ve ever lost power when running the microwave and the rice cooker at the same time, then you are familiar with the problem.

Unsafe Materials- Lead and Asbestos

If your house was built several decades ago, there’s a good chance the paint has lead and there is asbestos in the flooring, ductwork, popcorn ceilings, roofing, etc.

Bad Layouts

If you have shopped for homes in Hawaii, you have probably already noticed that the floorplans in older homes vs newer homes are very different. It is more common now to have open floorplans. Older homes have more walls and rooms, many without closets, very small bathrooms and no laundry rooms.  Finding room to grow for your ohana can be hard. Atlas Construction prides itself in coming up with solutions for even the most complicated projects.

Bad Renovation Work History

The older the Hawaii home, the more times it’s been sold.  Each person’s ideas of “improvements” aren’t always made with a disregard to the rest of the structure. Hawaii homes are commonly pieced together. You may have inherited problems you aren’t even aware of yet.

Use this handy HOW LONG STUFF LASTS guide to help you analyze your home and identify issues you need to stay on top of it, and reduce emergency and costly repairs and purchases.

If you are a Hawaii homeowner in a home built before 1970, here is the bad news.

Your home is probably single wall and poorly designed.  It is most likely made with redwood, but with untreated framing which means over time termites and wood rot will take its toll on the framing.

If you have cast iron and galvanized pipes they will deteriorate and eventually need to be replaced with Plastic and Copper AVS.

If you have louvered or jalousie windows you probably have already noticed they cause water damage, costly utility bills, and security problems over time.

The roofs were mostly pitch and gravel, so they don’t  allow for drainage and have no hurricane anchors and ties to protect them from damage.

Bad foundations are common, if you are noticing cracks in your walls or uneven door frames, you will have to eventually deal with your foundation problems.

And the floor plans that were often designed for single family living leave you no room to grow or accommodate aging in place.

These are the most common reasons Hawaii homeowners start needing to consider remodeling or rebuilding so the faster you start dealing with these issues before they become critical the better.

It is common to see laundry rooms outside on the lanai or in the garage in older Hawaii homes.  The reason is because homes in Hawaii were poorly designed.  Laundry rooms have no standard size so they end up in awkward places as afterthoughts. Especially if space is limited. One of the first requests we get when working with homeowners is a better solution for their laundry room.

PROS of an outdoor washer and dryer

• Saves electricity. Hanging your clothes rather than drying can save on your bill
• Washer and dryers are noisy, if they are outside you wont hear them
• Clothes dried outside smell better
• Saves valuable indoor space
• Health issues. A home has between 1 and 2.5 gallons of water in the air at any given time, and a load of laundry releases an additional 1/2 gallons of dirty air that you later inhale such as cancer-causing chemicals and mold spores are 300% higher when laundry was dried indoors. Also humidity is a breeding ground for dust mites that trigger allergies and asthma

CONS

• The weather (rain and heat)
• Machines become vulnerable to rust and weather elements and will need to be replaced sooner
• Not as convenient
• Not as clean
• Privacy

The solution

If you’re lucky enough to have space inside for a washer and dryer in your home, having it indoors is more convenient and comfortable. If you decide to remodel your older Hawaii home, your contractor should easily be able to design something that fits into your home. If you like drying your clothes naturally and are concerned about the health issues of indoor drying, you can get an outdoor clothesline. Tell the contractor so they can come up with the best location that makes it convenient to take clothes outside.