Finding qualified tradespeople and firms
Skilled tradespeople play a key role in age-appropriate home conversions because the work is usually performed by small firms run by professional painters and decorators, carpenters, bricklayers and plumbers. The expertise of orthopaedic technicians and metalworkers is also required when performing age-appropriate conversions in the home.
There are now tradespeople and firms who specialise in conversions catering to senior citizens and are registered as certified experts. Such certification documents that a business complies, for example, with Germany’s DIN Standard 18040 on the construction of accessible buildings and dwellings, and has special knowledge regarding elderly people’s needs.
Tips:
To find local tradespeople and firms with experience in completing age-appropriate conversions, contact your regional Chamber of Crafts & Trades (Handwerkskammer) or the respective trade guilds (Innungen).
Information on the applicable DIN standards is available at: www.nullbarriere.de
A list of certified tradespeople and firms is available at: www.dincertco.de
Both DIN CERTCO (the certification body of TÜV Rheinland Group and DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V.) and various chambers of architects and academies (such as the Academy of Engineers [Akademie der Ingenieure]) award “DIN-certified specialist for accessible construction” certification to architects and tradespeople. Crafts and trades businesses that offer generation-friendly products and services can be awarded the “Generation-friendly company – service + comfort” (“Generationenfreundlicher Betrieb – Service + Komfort”) trademark. The trademark is sponsored by the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts and is awarded to businesses that have acquired knowledge and skill through training, or have acquired special expertise in some other way.
Tip:
Information about the trademark can be found at https://www.zdh.de
The following questions may be helpful when looking for a suitable tradesperson or firm to conduct an age-appropriate access conversion in your home. You should be able to answer most of the questions with “Yes”.
Checklist: finding suitable tradespeople and firms
- Can the tradesperson or firm name reference projects to show experience with accessible building work?
- Was the company recommended to you, for example by a housing advice centre?
- Have you viewed previous conversions performed by the company concerned?
- Can the company you are considering offer the crafts and trades needs from a single source?
- Have you talked about the conversion with a friend or acquaintance who knows about building and construction, or with experts in that field?
- Have you obtained several offers for the same items of work for comparison purposes?