Aging in place in Venice

We match across Sarasota and the surrounding Sarasota and Manatee county communities, so the contractor you are introduced to is one whose crews actually work your part of the county.

Permits, utilities and local rules for Aging in Place work in Venice

Venice is unusual on this list in a way worth knowing before a permit is pulled: the question is not the county but the city line. Inside the city, a curbless conversion or a ramp is permitted by the City of Venice and water comes from the City of Venice Utilities department. Two streets outside the city the address is unincorporated Sarasota County, permitted by the county and served by Sarasota County Public Utilities - and the same is true of the large communities that use a Venice mailing address without being inside the city, including South Venice and Venice Gardens. The other fact that shapes the work here is the age of the residents rather than only the age of the houses: this is one of the strongest retirement concentrations in Florida, so the demand for shower conversions, grab bars and no-step entries is steady rather than seasonal, and the housing it applies to is largely single storey. In the villas and low-rise condominiums near the beach the review sits with an association as well as with the city or county, and that approval is usually the slower of the two.

Municipal reference: City of Venice Utilities

Getting an accessibility contractor out to Venice

Venice is reached on US-41, Tamiami Trail, which runs south out of Sarasota along the coast and becomes US-41 Business through the historic downtown, with the Venice Bypass carrying through traffic around it. From I-75 the way in is Jacaranda Boulevard or the River Road interchange to the south, or Laurel Road at the northern end of the city. Inside the city the named streets are Venice Avenue running east from the beach through downtown, Center Road further south, and the island streets of Venice Beach behind the Gulf. Two scheduling facts decide a Venice day. First, the season: from January through April the downtown blocks, Venice Avenue and the US-41 corridor carry the traffic of a town that fills up in winter, and an appointment timed badly costs an hour. Second, the spread: an address can be inside the city, in unincorporated Venice, in South Venice to the south or Venice Gardens to the east, and each of those is a different permit counter and, in places, a different utility. River Road south toward Englewood is the other local line worth knowing, because it is the one that ties a Venice day to an Englewood one.

What Venice's housing stock means for aging in place

Venice is largely villa, low-rise condominium and single-family stock, and it reads differently for accessibility from the older city stock further north. The single-storey villas and coach homes that make up much of this area were built with an open plan, tile throughout, a step down from the living area to the screened lanai, and interior doors of 30 to 36 inches; the master bath usually has a garden tub plus a separate shower, and it is the tub that goes first, because a 14 inch apron in a corner is the hardest thing in the house to get over. Wall construction is concrete block and the exterior walls are stucco, so grab-bar blocking has to be planned rather than assumed, and the exterior doors are sliders or impact-rated units sitting on a track that is itself a trip point at the thresholds. The older houses inland, in the city and in the unincorporated surround, still carry the classic pattern: one hall bath, a tub combination and a 28 to 30 inch door. The low-rise and mid-rise condominium buildings near the beach add association rules, shared walls and elevator or stair access to the question. Whether a floor can be recessed for a true curbless base depends on the structure, and that is a contractor and engineer call, not a website one.

What accessibility work does a Venice home need most?

Which Aging in Place services can we match in Venice, FL?

How much does aging in place work cost in Venice, FL?

Sources

Aging in Place tools & calculators

Aging in Place resources