HOMESTEAD PRESS
Carol Klima will talk about in-law suites, called ohana units in Hawaii, in "Dream Builder" on HGTV tomorrow, at 9 a.m.
Here we call it ohana housing, on the mainland, they call it in-law suites, and we can see how it compares when HGTV's "Dream Builders" series presents "Build Your Own In-Law Suite -- Floor Plans and More," based on a book by the same name written by Carol Klima. Klima’s suite solution
for elderly careBy Ruby Mata-Viti
rmataviti@starbulletin.comNecessity, the mother of all invention, brought Klima at least 30 minutes of fame with this show, airing at 9 a.m. tomorrow on Oceanic Cable channel 38.
Klima, who's also looking forward to an upcoming piece about her book in the Washington Post, said she came up with her "specialized floor plans," when she and her husband Dale, who is disabled, decided to downsize for financial reasons. The sale of their home coincided with her son's need for a bigger home for his growing family.
The two families pooled their resources and bought a Cape Cod-style home in Ohio. The intent was to have her son and his family live in the main home and expand with separate living quarters for herself and Dale.
She sifted and shuffled through buildings codes, regulations and floor plans, only to find few resources available for her specific needs, she said from her home in Ohio. What resulted was her own design based on the information she had gathered.
In her quest to develop a floor plan for her 792 square-foot, two-bedroom home, which connects with the main home's garage, she stumbled across several roadblocks. She addresses them in her book, outlined in a 12-step format. Hers is the only book of its kind, she says.
On "Dream Builders," she talks about the need for in-law suites and how in-law housing is an alternative to high-cost nursing home facilities that often give sub-standard care.
"People are living well into their 80s," she said. "Many families are going to find they will have to take a parent home and care for them. This is a more cost-effective way of elderly care, she said.
Let's face it, she added, we love our families but they can also get on our nerves. "The floor plan is designed so that it avoids friction. They have their own space, yet they are close by.
"It's great being close to the grandchildren" she said, adding that proximity is a plus when in-laws are needed in a pinch as baby-sitters. She also said it is a relief to know that her son and daughter-in-law will be there to help as she and Dale get older.
Her floor plans were good enough to garner a city building permit and "we saved about a thousand dollars for not having to have blueprints made," she said.
What: "Build Your Own In-Law Suite--Floor Plans and More" on HGTV On the air
When: 9 a.m . tomorrow
Her 792-square-foot living space sounds small, but it's so well laid out, she said, that it's spacious. She has 40 floor plans in her book ranging from 340 to 1,064 square feet, and each can be adjusted by a contractor to suit individual needs.
It cost her $4,500 for the addition and she estimated her savings at $10,000. A contractor did the bulk of the work. Family and friends helped where they could by painting and staining. Her son did drywalling, taping and texturing of the ceiling, and friends did carpeting and flooring.
Lori Chee, deputy director of the Honolulu City and County Department of Planning and Permitting said, "In-law suites are not new on the mainland, they used to be called 'granny flats.'" Chee said in Hawaii, ohana units should be an "accessory to the main dwelling unit, intended to encourage extended family living with the idea that whatever is proposed doesn't alter the neighborhood's character."
Every city's building department has its own codes and this book outlines options, Klima said. Most codes are written to make it difficult for the homeowner to turn the units into rentals for outsiders, she added. Both houses need to be connected to keep it a single-family dwelling. Utilities will be on one meter, and tax liability will be assigned to one property, so each family has to make their own tax arrangements.
Klima's book was written two years ago but it's a hot topic, she said, adding she's still being interviewed by newspapers in metropolitan cities on the mainland, she added.
She's in the middle of promoting her soon-to-be published book "Squeaky Clean," and said she's glad her book on in-law suites is helping families plan ahead for elderly care.
"I'd love to get on Oprah with this," she said.
To order the book from Homestead Press, call Carol Klima at 888-769-6335.
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