Rainhandler Rain Dispersal System

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut (July 23, 2012) — Universal design is the home design of the future including environmentally friendly features and features which enable persons with disabilities to easily and comfortably manage daily activities in their homes.

The recently completed Universal Design Living Laboratory (UDLL) in Columbus includes numerous universal design features and will be a learning center for professionals in the homebuilding industry and for individual homeowners.

The UDLL home has been created by Rosemarie Rossetti and her husband, Mark Leder. A spinal cord injury 14 years ago left her paralyzed from the waist down. Quickly realizing the difficulty of managing in her conventional two-story home from her wheelchair, Rosemarie and Mark researched the best practices for making homes universally accessible. The result is the UDLL, a home that is comfortable and manageable for all, including such features as wider hallways, step free entries, multiple heights of countertops and knee space under sinks.

Rainhandler, the only alternative to conventional gutters is proud to partner with the UDLL. The Rainhandler Rain Dispersal System uses an assembly of 7 curved louvers to convert the roof runoff back to rain-sized drops and gently spread them in a 3 foot wide swath away from the home.  They simply add gentle drops to the rain already falling.  Rainhandlers do not catch leaves and debris. As they are mounted on the upper roof of the UDLL, the fact that Rainhandlers requires no cleaning was a very important advantage to Rossetti and Leder. In addition they are virtually invisible and do not detract from the good looks of the classically designed hip roof.

Rainhandlers were not used on the lower roof, as that runoff will be conducted to a storage system for future use, an excellent feature. However, for homeowners who decide not to invest in a rainwater harvesting system, experience shows that because the Rainhandlers gently disperse the rain along the full drip edge of the home, up to 50% more of the runoff is retained on the typical homeowner’s property. This green feature resulted in a national green building award several years ago when installed on a garden apartment complex.

Rossetti and Leder also appreciated the fact that the Rainhandler System is manufactured entirely of 100% recyclable corrosion-free aluminum, 70% of which is recycled with 20% coming from post-consumer sources.  It was also important to them that the entire system is manufactured in the United States. Finally they considered the fact that the Rainhandler System is warranted for 25 years of maintenance-free operation, far superior to any alternative and key to carrying out the concept of low-maintenance universal design.

We look forward to the exciting prospect of having the Rainhandler System viewed and evaluated by thousands of industry professionals and homeowners who will visit the Universal Design Living Laboratory.  For complete information about the UDLL, visit http://www.UDLL.com and for more information about the Rainhandler Rain Dispersal System, visit http://www.rainhandler.com.