Kaia purchased a building for her new business. She was on a mission to attract all music lovers in the community to her used vinyl shop. The building needed some updates before it would be ready to open. The small bathroom had a broken sink, and the shop entrance needed a new door. Kaia wanted to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when she did the remodel so people with disabilities could visit her business. But she wasn’t quite sure what ADA compliance meant or where to start.

After a fellow small business owner told Kaia about the ADA National Network, Kaia contacted her regional ADA Center. The ADA Specialist told Kaia about the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which describe the minimum requirements for making buildings accessible for people with disabilities. The ADA Specialist also explained that sometimes barrier removal is not technically feasible. For example, it may not be possible to make a bathroom large enough for a wheelchair user to turn if it would require knocking down a load-bearing wall. Kaia also learned that even if a barrier couldn’t be removed because of technical infeasibility, she would still need to make readily achievable changes.

Kaia shared the information with her contractor, and they reviewed the design plans together. After realizing one of the bathroom walls was load bearing, they could not move forward with enlarging the bathroom. Instead, they added grab bars. It was possible to install a wheelchair ramp and lever-style door handles to make the shop’s entry accessible. After the opening day, a group of people with disabilities posted on social media about how they felt welcomed at the new store. Thanks to the ADA, Kaia’s mission was accomplished.