How Long Does It Take To Build A Granny Annexe In Your Garden?
If you are thinking about investing in a granny annexe, you will have plenty of questions, including “how long does it take to build a granny annexe in your garden?”.
Read moreArchive for month: November, 2021
Pros And Cons Of Building A Granny Flat
Having an elderly relative move in with you is a great way to make sure they are safe, and you know that they are getting all the care they need. However, you might find that your house is not suitable for an older person to live in and that they may struggle to live in your home unless you make some major modifications.
What Is A Granny Flat?
A granny flat is a room or section of the house that has been modified for an older person to live there without assistance.
A granny flat is usually built somewhere like a garage or attic, where the resident can feel like they are not in the way and aren’t taking up a valuable room in the house.
Building a granny flat can have its benefits, but it’s not without its downsides either. Here are the pros and cons of building a granny flat.
Pros of Building a Granny Flat?
There are many pros and benefits to building a granny flat. You can keep your loved ones close by and always be near to them if they ever need help or you just want to check up on them.
This can be especially useful if your loved one has a serious disease or is living with a complex illness. The night is not so ill that they need to go into a home or need round the clock care, but you can always be on hand and keep a regular check on their condition and progression.
Your loved one might not be ill at all. Sometimes as we age certain tasks just get harder and it becomes difficult to resume regular household chores like cooking, shopping the other activities that require a lot of standing or moving about.
If your loved one is struggling to manage in their home but doesn’t need home care help or to move into a care home then a granny flat is the perfect solution.
A granny flat can be modified so that your relative and manage and live there with ease. You can make simple modifications like adding an easy to use stove or safety precautions like handrails and bars.
Cons of Building a Granny Flat?
There are unfortunately cons to building a granny flat. by asking your loved one to come and live with you they are bound to feel like they are losing some of their independence.
When you convert a part of your house into a granny flat you will need to make some major adjustments and modifications to your home. This can mean completely redoing some areas of your home or renovating an entire room.
This can be both very expensive and inconvenient as you will end up living in a building site for however long it takes for them to renovate.
Is There An Alternate to a Granny Flat?
If a granny flat sounds like it had all the pros and benefits you need, but you don’t want any of the cons, then there is an alternative to a granny flat. A granny annexe has all of the great features and pros of the granny flat but without the cons.
A granny annexe is an external addition to your property and is often built in the garden. This means that you can still keep your loved ones close and be there for them when they need you, but you don’t have to keep them in your house where they may feel constricted.
A granny annexe is designed to function as a small house, and they are perfectly manageable for an older person to navigate and feel comfortable in.
Your loved one can line a happy, comfortable, independent life, but you can always be nearby in case they need any help, and they can always call on you and your family if ever need help or just a little bit of company.
Get In Touch
If you would like to find out more about granny annexes, get in touch with Family Annexe. We have six unique annexe models available, each providing a safe and cost-effective solution to elderly care.
Family Annexe has an efficient seven-step process, designed to make your annexe experience stress-free and enjoyable. This starts with a free, no-obligation consultation!
How To Support Elderly Parents Without Taking Over?
Caring for elderly parents can be tough. As children, we want what is best for our parents and of course, we want to repay them for all they have done us.
Knowing how and when to step in and care for elderly parents can be tough. We want to help them as they get older and start to struggle but it can be hard to take a step back and not take over.
This can especially difficult when it’s clear our loved ones or elderly parents need help but don’t need to go into a home or require full-time care. Knowing how much care to give and how involved to be in an elderly parent’s life can be a tough one so here is our advice on how to support elderly parents without taking over.
How To Help Your Elderly Parents Keep Their Independence
Independence is important to everyone, no matter how old you are. It’s something we spend our lives trying to get so it can be difficult when this is taken from you.
As our loved one’s age, you might notice that they are struggling to do tasks that they once found easy. Sometimes simple tasks and chores like climbing the stairs, standing for a long time to cook, or leaving the house for shopping can suddenly become huge tasks that they might struggle with.
If your loved one is struggling to complete some of these tasks, they might need some extra help around the home or they might need to move into a home that is more suited to their needs. This way they can still live on their own and remain relatively independent but still have access to help and facilities if they need them.
How To Support Elderly Parents Without Taking Over?
It can be difficult to know how much help a loved one needs, especially if you don’t get to see them all the time and can’t properly gauge how much help they need. It can be very tempting to want to move your loved one closer, to sheltered housing or to a bungalow or flat nearby that is more suitable for their needs.
Sadly, it can take a long time to find a place like this that is available and even then, you might not be eligible or have to wait a long time before you are accepted. So, moving a loved one closer can be a challenge and isn’t always the best solution.
It might be better for you to move your loved one closer, but that doesn’t mean you should move your loved one into your house. Having a loved one move into your house might seem like a good idea. You can keep an eye on them and always be there if they need you, but having an elderly loved one move in with you can have its downsides and challenges.
Your house may not be suitable for an older person to live in, especially if your house covers multiple floors, has a lot of stairs, or is only designed for a small number of people to live in. On top of this, your elderly loved one may need extra facilities or additions to make their time in your home more comfortable. If this is the case, then you might have to spend time and money converting certain areas of your house and adding features like handrails and stairlifts to your home.
Most of all, having a loved one move in with you can damage their sense of independence. It’s important that your elderly parent still feels like they have some sense of independence and to do this they need to have a place of their own.
How Can A Granny Annexe Help?
A granny annexe is a great way to move your loved one in with you but still give them their own space and let them live independently.
This way they will always be easy to reach and close enough that you can easily pop round to help with anything and to just check on them if ever you worried. A granny annexe is a perfect way to keep a loved one close and in your care without needing to share your home plan your day around visiting them and travelling to see them.
With a Family Annexe granny annexe, you can keep your loved ones safe and close for as long as they need meaning you don’t have to worry about them being out of reach. Without the uneasy stress and worry of not knowing how your parents are doing, you can enjoy this new chapter of your lives together as a family.
Get In Touch
If you would like to find out more about granny annexes, get in touch with Family Annexe. We have six unique annexe models available, each providing a safe and cost-effective solution to elderly care.
Family Annexe has an efficient seven-step process, designed to make your annexe experience stress-free and enjoyable. This starts with a free, no-obligation consultation!