Patrick Simpson knows why homes have thresholds and why we should be done with them all together.
Simpson, executive director of the SAFERhome Standards Society, was in Smithers recently to promote the SAFERHome Standards, a collection of guides which make homes more accessible and sustainable.
In short, a home that people can live in longer and is safer and more accessible to all generations, children to adults alike.
The threshold, for instance, is a relic of another generation of building standards that are no longer needed, said Simpson.
One hundred or so years ago the thresh, or straw, is what made up a person’s home.
The threshold was a block of wood that held it in place, preventing draft and grazing farm animals, he said.
“We’re still building with thresh holds and we don’t need them,” said Simpson.
There are ways to make a home better included in the SAFERhome manual, which has a 19-point checklist for people to bring their homes to a new standard. The checklist covers things from the home’s wiring to the height of electrical outlets. (An outlet 18 inches off the floor, rather than 12, is more ergonomically friendly, the manual states).
Simpson spoke to the community at public events, including a Smithers town council meeting and a gathering at the Northwest Community College.
He was hosted by Smithers’ Measuring Up the North committee.