Revolutionizing Home Access: Jared Chevraux on Beautiful Design, Industry Trends, and Smart Tech Innovations

Jared Chevraux, CEAC the executive vice president of Jtek Solutions Group and owner of Jared Chevraux Consulting, discusses his background and motivation for specializing in home access consulting.

He shares his design philosophy and how he markets to clients without urgent needs.

Jared emphasizes the importance of making accessible design beautiful and introduces the future of accessible design.

He also discusses his collaboration with the VGM Network and the trends in the home access industry.

Jared recommends various products for accessible bathrooms and discusses innovations in smart home technology.

He also touches on the expansion of his company into kitchen design and the recognition he received at KBIS.

Takeaways

Making accessible design beautiful is key to attracting clients without urgent needs.

The home access market is growing and becoming more accepted and understood by the general population.

Smart home technology, such as digital shower valves and voice-activated controls, is a growing trend in the industry.

Best Bath is a recommended product for accessible bathrooms, offering plywood reinforcement and a 30-year warranty.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
01:00 Starting JTEC Solutions
02:31 Motivation for Home Access Consulting
03:28 Marketing to Clients without Urgent Needs
04:07 Making Accessible Design Beautiful
05:09 Introducing the Future of Accessible Design
06:17 Collaboration with VGM Network
07:48 Design Philosophy and Background
08:12 In-House Designer and Cost
09:35 Industry Trends and Demand for Home Access Solutions
10:47 Collaboration with Other Home Access Companies
11:45 Working with VGM Network
12:08 Product Recommendations for Accessible Bathrooms
13:23 Differentiating Wall Panel Products
14:34 Innovations in Smart Home Technology
16:16 Best Bath Product Features
18:12 Cost of Best Bath Products
19:03 Expansion into Kitchen Design
19:32 Smart Technology in the Kitchen
21:52 Universal Design in Kitchen Redesigns
23:45 Appliance Garages in Small Kitchens
25:30 Recognition at KBIS
28:09 Future of the Home Access Market

Transcript

Janet (00:02.688)
Hello everyone and today we have Jared Chevro. He is the executive vice president of Jtech Solutions in Canton, Ohio and he is also the owner of Jared Chevro Consulting where he helps home access professionals create better bathroom designs for the home access community. Jared, thank you for being with us today.

Jared Chevraux (00:28.386)
Yeah, good morning. Thank you so much for having me.

Janet (00:32.624)
Yes, I am very interested in what you do because you've been doing this for a long time. I know that your father is the one who founded JTEC Solutions and you guys have been doing amazing work. I looked at your website. You just have a beautiful showroom and really nice examples of aging in place solutions.

Jared Chevraux (00:56.47)
Yeah, thanks. So yeah, dad did get this started back in 2011. I was actually in the heavy highway construction and asphalt industry at the time and thought that was going to be my career. It was comfortable, but not very exciting.

Janet (01:00.832)
So tell me a little bit about that company.

Janet (01:11.206)
Okay. Okay.

Jared Chevraux (01:22.118)
And then dad kept, you know, incrementally growing and asking for help. So it started as a little side gig part -time for me. And I really fell in love with it and took the chance to make the switch. Yeah. So we were just a, you know, kitchen table contractor at that time. And, um, you know, it took it head on and we were able to grow and build out this showroom and, um, actually working on our second location right now.

Janet (01:41.164)
Oh wow, and where in Ohio is that? Okay, I was going to ask you my I have family that lives in Columbus, so I go there about once a year and they always talk about Canton, Ohio, so I knew it was like somewhere.

Jared Chevraux (01:50.982)
We're gonna head down to the Columbus Market. Yeah, we're just about two hours north. Yep.

Janet (02:07.744)
in the area? Okay, okay, great. So Jared, what was your background and motivation? Share with us what inspired you to specialize in home access consulting. I know you've been doing this work with your dad, with the JTEC Solutions, and now you've also transitioned into your own consulting business. So what motivated you to do that?

Jared Chevraux (02:31.73)
Yeah, sure. It really just stems back to when we decided to do the showroom. I wanted to kind of break the status quo of what the typical mobility showroom looked like. So between my designer and I, we were focusing more on kitchen and bath and even some other like...

Janet (02:38.984)
Okay.

Jared Chevraux (02:58.79)
candle studio he did and we looked at some luxury, even luxury auto showrooms just to see what the experience could look like and how it could be different. So we wanted to be very designer forward yet we wanted everything to be very hands on and let people come in and show them how it'll actually work for them in their space. And that, you know, took off, went really well. And I got to thinking, you know, maybe I could help.

Janet (03:15.216)
you

Janet (03:21.404)
Okay.

Jared Chevraux (03:28.646)
some other home access companies, get some of that retail business, because everybody's doing great with, you know, third party payer and waivers, but everybody's always asking, how do we get that cash sale? Well, I found that if you offer people what they want, they buy. So, and what they want is a bathroom that looks like it belongs in their home and not so much a hospital or nursing home.

Janet (03:30.048)
Exactly.

Janet (03:59.844)
Accessible design can be beautiful, especially if it's done with time and you plan for it. Then you can hire the right people and choose the features that you want in your bathroom. And it doesn't look like an afterthought or like it belongs in a hospital or a senior living facility. And just like...

Jared Chevraux (04:07.718)
Sure. Yeah,

Janet (04:27.616)
It's I think 56 % of home improvement sales are spent by baby boomers. And so if they're already investing in home improvement and the bathroom and the kitchen are two of the main areas that they're investing in, then why not also make it accessible, right? Or adaptable for the future and you can sell them both, right?

Jared Chevraux (04:51.042)
Yeah, exactly. You just find the crossover appeal between products of, are they marketed as luxury and convenience, but do they play well in the home access space? That's usually the best equation.

Janet (05:06.632)
Yeah.

So tell me how do you introduce that subject? Because this is something that we go over in CAPS 1 is how do you market to the client without urgent needs, which seems like that's the clientele that people want to serve because that's their cash business. So how do you communicate to that client?

this message that we can get you an adaptable bathroom, accessible bathroom, although you don't need it right now. Okay.

Jared Chevraux (05:47.406)
Yeah, basically we just more market towards the luxury market and then have the conversation about the future once they're standing in the showroom and looking at everything because several of the displays, what most of the displays here don't really scream home access, but we talk about, hey, you know, let's talk about a grab bar or you need some storage. This shampoo shelf is also a

Janet (06:17.212)
Mm -hmm.

Jared Chevraux (06:17.638)
Oh, it's there when you need it in the future. You know, you'll save money now. I've found that the baby boomer generation, especially in the past three or four years, has been much more open to the conversation about aging in place or accessible design. I think a lot of that has to do with they're the generation that helped their parents and their parents were very much the independent and honestly,

Janet (06:25.156)
you

Janet (06:33.12)
Mm -hmm. Yeah, that's a very good point. So what is your design philosophy? And I want to ask you,

Jared Chevraux (06:47.398)
generation of not needing the help and I think they don't want to put their own kids through that.

Janet (07:02.784)
Did you have experience or any training in design that helped you be able to marriage accessibility with aesthetically pleasing design? Okay.

Jared Chevraux (07:18.486)
Sure. Now, I have no formal background in design or decorating. It's just kind of a, it developed into a passion throughout my career. And then in bringing on an interior designer, I learned a lot from him and working together. He just, I guess, really rubbed off on me. And through that, I've just curated, you know, better looking product that works in the home access.

Janet (07:35.824)
Okay.

Jared Chevraux (07:48.102)
for our design studio. We do. Yep. Yeah, so I can usually knock out the layout and most tub to shower conversions, I don't need to lean on him too much. But the really, really big remodel projects, a lot of times...

Janet (07:50.132)
Right, okay, well that's great. So you do have a designer in -house that does help with the process.

Jared Chevraux (08:12.646)
The clients just love that they have the option to bring in a designer. It makes it a more exciting, more fun experience for them too. So it's only an extra cost if, uh, if there's going to be time involved visiting other showrooms or supply houses to pick out material.

Janet (08:14.448)
Yeah, yeah, I mean I would certainly and is it something that is an extra cost how do you fold that into your business model? Okay.

Jared Chevraux (08:42.114)
We did a really good job of the products we chose to be in this space and coming up with some pre -selected pairings and that. So usually it can be a one -stop shop here for someone's bathroom.

Janet (08:45.88)
Oh, well, that's wonderful. So how do you see the industry trends and the demand for

Jared Chevraux (09:06.214)
Sure. I don't worry about it too much. I think.

Janet (09:08.25)
home access solutions, considering our aging population, the real estate market. It's so expensive to move. It's not financially smart to get into a high interest rate if you will have a mortgage. So how do you see that?

Jared Chevraux (09:35.59)
that this is a growth field regardless of what real estate's doing, being need -based and being more and more accepted and understood by the general population every day. Like I said, I think it's an upside a growth market no matter what.

Janet (09:37.96)
Good.

Janet (09:51.016)
Yeah, I agree with you. But those facts, you know, do play, maybe they are accelerating the growth of remodeling for aging in place because...

Jared Chevraux (10:05.662)
Sure. Yeah, we, I certainly do. And I, you know, we get just as many clients walking in here looking for standard remodeling. Those are the ones that I introduce universal design or home access to. Um, and that's, that's been real steady, especially with, with the really, um, the really hot housing market right now.

Janet (10:19.488)
Okay, all right. Well, that's great to know. So tell me about your collaboration with VGM, the VGM network, and can you discuss your experience?

Jared Chevraux (10:36.224)
Maybe.

Janet (10:47.424)
working with other home access companies.

Jared Chevraux (10:50.35)
Yeah, absolutely. So we've been a VGM member since pretty much since the company started. And Jim Greater X, the VP at Live at Home, asked me to basically just present on a couple topics over the years. And that friendship grew. And then he got the idea to bring on some consultants. So I'm one of four VGM consultants.

Janet (11:00.268)
Mm -hmm.

Janet (11:09.44)
Oh.

Jared Chevraux (11:20.038)
So basically my niche is to help other home access companies find that retail buyer. And we do that through either designing their showroom or helping them curate wall systems or certain products that again have that aesthetic appeal that a lot of designs have been lacking up until recently.

Janet (11:29.856)
you

Janet (11:41.652)
Okay, and.

Jared Chevraux (11:45.542)
And yeah, it is a part -time thing for me. The focus still here is at Jtech for the most part. But I am right now working with a great company in Pennsylvania and actually doing a complete redesign of about 3 ,400 square feet of space for them.

Janet (11:50.72)
Mm -hmm.

Janet (11:56.126)
Oh.

Janet (12:08.448)
Oh, well, that's great. And what is I'm just wondering the cost for someone who already has a showroom and is interested in perhaps not changing their entire showroom, because I imagine the cost would be significant, but including one example of that.

Jared Chevraux (12:25.022)
Sure.

Jared Chevraux (12:31.686)
So yeah, I kind of have packages put together on my website, but I believe it's for, it's well under 10 ,000. I'll come do two shower or bathroom displays and then help you set up vendor relationships with the right products for your market and kind of put a training or I'm sorry, a sales program together for that. And then if you're a VGM member, there's a nice discount on that as well.

Janet (12:34.368)
Okay.

Janet (12:47.168)
you

Janet (12:57.208)
Okay. So I know that you focus on bathroom solutions and I was looking at your website and I saw that you have some images of bathrooms with wall panels. What kind of product are you recommending? Because I know that you specifically mentioned the fiberglass inserts, which I really hate.

Jared Chevraux (13:04.23)
Mm -hmm.

Jared Chevraux (13:23.196)
Yeah, right.

Janet (13:25.14)
So, and you talked about bridging the gap between that and tile. So what products are you using? Okay.

Jared Chevraux (13:36.262)
Yeah, and that's honestly been the biggest success for us is bringing in some quality wetwall systems that are going to be a quicker installation. So we're in people's hair less on the job and you're going to get a much better warranty than you'll ever get from a tile installation and better, easier maintenance, which is a, you know, a big part of the aging in place equation is.

Janet (13:55.392)
you

Jared Chevraux (14:05.606)
is this end result, what we did easy for the end user to take care of. So we've been installing Best Bath, the made order, made in America product since 2011. Love that product. And then we've also brought on Fibo, which is a Scandinavian HPL click lock system. A lot of cool examples there from them. And then I've got a few more from a company called Sam Mueller.

Janet (14:10.712)
Right.

Janet (14:20.544)
Okay.

Okay. Yes.

Jared Chevraux (14:34.694)
that we're really enjoying as well that are mimicking full porcelain panel slabs or some nice granites and subway tile patterns as well.

Janet (14:46.424)
So what are the difference between those three products from those companies that you just mentioned? I know a little bit about the Fibo because I had Mike Foddy on the on my podcast and he told us all about the product and how it has a great warranty, you know, won't fade, won't crack. So how are these other products?

Jared Chevraux (14:54.63)
I'm sorry.

Jared Chevraux (15:01.316)
Oh sure, yep.

Janet (15:15.518)
different or similar.

Jared Chevraux (15:16.582)
They're all similar in that you're going to get a surface that's easier to maintain and take care of, and it's grout free. Where they differ is going to be how they're constructed. What we love about Best Bath is they are aging in place or universal design at their core. So they actually have plywood sandwiched between fiberglass and then a gel coat finish. That plywood allows...

Janet (15:25.322)
Okay.

Jared Chevraux (15:46.65)
accessories or grab bars to be installed anywhere in the shower at any time. So it's future proof as well. And they also make the best roll -in entry barrier -free pans on the market, in my opinion, as well. So they're our bread and butter. They're always our go -to. We use, in fact, we use their shower bases with all of our wall systems. And then, you know, the Sam Mueller ones, they're all sheet products. It's just a matter of how they're

Janet (16:01.768)
Hello?

Okay.

Jared Chevraux (16:16.478)
manufactured. And then on our end, we make sure that if it's not blocked or backed in the shower, that we're taking care of that before the walls go up so that we don't have any issues of putting a grab bar or any other accessory anywhere in that shower. Now we're into the future.

Janet (16:38.238)
That's very interesting. So going back to the Best Bath product and you said that it's lined with plywood or it's sandwiched into the product. Do you know the thickness of that plywood?

Jared Chevraux (16:54.758)
Yeah, it's three, I believe it's three eighth inch plywood and with the fiberglass on each side of it, lit hand laid. It's really a rock solid. Great product. Super strong. Yep.

Janet (16:58.38)
Oh.

Janet (17:07.232)
Okay, okay, so, okay, and that's a great advantage because if you're going to, let's say, add plywood reinforcement and it's recommended that you use three fourths of an inch plywood that is going to subtract from the space you have in your bathroom.

Jared Chevraux (17:26.118)
Sure, certainly. And that can lead to fitment issues with shower doors or anything else you're trying to put in there.

Janet (17:32.264)
Yeah, or if you need to achieve a certain space, a certain turning radius, you know, unfortunately, most bathrooms don't have enough real estate. And so that can be quite an issue. So I really like that about that product. And then the fact that you can place bathroom safety equipment anywhere on that panel.

Jared Chevraux (17:38.278)
Sure.

Yeah, absolutely.

Jared Chevraux (17:59.622)
Yeah, and you know, a 30 year warranty, it's one of the fastest and easiest installed shower systems as well. It's definitely our, like I said, our favorite.

Janet (18:07.136)
really.

Yeah, and how about cost -wise?

Jared Chevraux (18:12.964)
Cost -wise, it's at a premium compared to other systems. Yeah, I believe the list price on most kits hovers around the $5 ,000 range. So it's not completely out of the norm or out of reach, but it is at a premium. And that is because each one is made to order here in the USA.

Janet (18:16.606)
Okay.

Janet (18:36.244)
Okay. Okay. Well, fascinating. So tell us, how do you see this market going? Do you see any new innovations that? Well, you know, I want to ask you beyond the bathroom. Do you see your company stepping into that space where you also do things for the kitchen?

Jared Chevraux (19:03.238)
Yeah, we've done a few universal design kitchens. In fact, every kitchen we've done is a repeat customer that we did at least one bathroom for, which I think speaks pretty well to our model and our people. So yeah, we've done a few universal design bathrooms and then several other, or I'm sorry, kitchens and several other just standard kitchens as well.

Janet (19:15.124)
Oh, okay.

Jared Chevraux (19:32.886)
Where I see new trends and new products entering the market is probably on the smart home side of things. Kohler and Moen have great digital smart shower valves. Delta's, I think they're working out some bugs on the one they bought from Steam Mist, so that one will be on the market soon as well.

Janet (19:41.65)
Mm -hmm.

Jared Chevraux (19:58.342)
But yeah, to be touchless or to be able to preset your, the time the shower starts or your preferences for temperature all digitally or just by your voice, by just, you know, through AI, just talking to your phone and your phone talking to everything in the house. I definitely think again, it's, it's marketed right now as, as luxury and convenience, but the crossover appeal for

Janet (20:05.792)
You

Jared Chevraux (20:26.79)
home access is just so obvious.

Janet (20:29.3)
Mm -hmm. Yeah, and I have to say that I think one of the best uses of the smart technology, especially in the bathroom, is for people with cognitive impairment. And now we know that cognitive impairment has actually increased and has is there's more people with cognitive impairment than people with mobility issues. And that didn't used to be the case.

Jared Chevraux (20:42.622)
Absolutely.

Janet (20:58.33)
So having a smart shower system, for example, especially when you have caregivers and you're going to have different caregivers coming to see that person and not everyone is going to get the temperature right. And so now with that smart shower system, you don't have to because it's already preset. And that's the beauty of it, especially when it comes to showers that that is such a people with dementia.

It's a very traumatic experience to enter the shower and get wet. And so that's going to lower the stress level. So I love that product for that reason. What about in the kitchen? What kind of improvements and specifically universal design have you implemented in kitchen redesigns?

Jared Chevraux (21:52.302)
Yeah, so Delta's Touch 2 .0, FOSA technology, and even voice activated for both. We did one where we did the oven, microwave, and FOSA that were all controlled by voice. So I thought that was great. Other just universal design favorites are appliance garages. Again, not marketed as universal design, but to be able to...

Janet (22:16.064)
Mm -hmm.

Jared Chevraux (22:18.694)
not have a cluttered countertop, but not have to bend over or lift your small appliances. Just slide up the little door is a great universal design advantage. I haven't had as many requests for varying, or for, I'm sorry, for the lower counter heights that universal design specs, but doing a taller island and lower.

surrounding counters or doing a lower dining height surrounding the island have all been ways where we found we could give varying heights and roll under seating capability without going too down the rabbit hole of ADA and UD specs.

Janet (22:53.984)
in my.

Janet (23:03.36)
Yeah, I saw a couple of images on your website and I really did like how that looked, how you blended the higher and the lower countertop, especially when people don't have enough space in their shower. I'm sorry, in their kitchen. You cannot dedicate a space to an island and then a lower counter space for sitting.

Jared Chevraux (23:25.862)
Sure.

Janet (23:28.832)
So I really like that. Now, tell me a little bit about the appliance garage because that I want to ask you, does someone have to have a particularly large kitchen in order to incorporate the appliance garage?

Jared Chevraux (23:45.446)
No, it really just builds right on top of the countertop and kind of bridges the space between your upper cabinetry and your base cabinets. And they come in varying widths to match your cabinet widths as well. So it's just a matter of how many appliances you have on the counter. And if you don't mind them being visible, then you're good to go.

Janet (23:56.256)
Okay.

Jared Chevraux (24:13.766)
to do clutter free. It's a great way to to tuck it away without actually moving it.

Janet (24:20.512)
Right, right. Just the downside is that you lose counter space if you need that counter space for prep.

Jared Chevraux (24:24.294)
You will lose some counter space. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah. So you don't want to go overboard with them, but one on each end of a typical triangle kitchen can go a long way if someone does use the toaster or coffee maker every morning, but don't want them sitting out.

Janet (24:31.264)
Right.

Janet (24:40.672)
Right.

Right. Yeah. Well, thank you, Jared. That was so informative. I loved learning about these other companies that I really wasn't aware of, especially Best Bath. I'd love to invite them on my podcast. Maybe you can talk to the CEO. And okay, well, great, because I'm really interested in that product. But thank you so much for coming on.

Jared Chevraux (24:56.23)
sure.

Jared Chevraux (25:00.614)
Oh, I've got, yeah, absolutely. Anybody over there. We're family. Yeah.

Janet (25:13.69)
and educating us. And I look forward to hearing more about how your consulting business grows and, you know, VGM's partnership. Do you find that there's a big interest in?

Jared Chevraux (25:30.438)
I've had, yeah, I've had several companies reach out and so it's just a scheduling thing. Cause I, like I said, it is, it is kind of a side gig for me. So I'm trying not to take on too much at once. I will say I enjoy a really healthy work -life balance and not looking to change that.

Janet (25:46.336)
Yeah. Yeah. And you have three kids, you tell me. So you're you're a busy man. All right, Jared. Well, oh, I wanted to ask you about your recent exposure that you had at KBIS. Tell and how and the award that you won for twenty twenty three. Tell us about that.

Jared Chevraux (25:50.47)
Right.

Jared Chevraux (25:55.142)
Yeah, yeah, not gonna sacrifice that.

Jared Chevraux (26:05.606)
Oh yeah, thank you.

Jared Chevraux (26:10.982)
Yeah. So, um, I was nominated, I think by my dad, but he hasn't admitted it yet, but I was nominated, um, for the person of the year, which I thought, forget it. Like that's such a long shot. Well, um, I was, I didn't get person of the year, but I was selected as one of eight praiseworthy picks. So a runner up of sorts. Uh, so I did go out to, uh, KBiz two weeks ago and I got to meet a few other.

picks and the editor that chose me and spent some time with Narid, the KBiz person of the year. But I thought it said a lot that they chose me, you know, a home access guy, not necessarily a kitchen and bath guy to, you know, to be a voice or face of the industry. It's definitely telling me that.

Janet (26:55.966)
Mm -hmm.

Jared Chevraux (27:05.318)
they believe home access is a direction that that industry is moving toward.

Janet (27:11.328)
Yeah, and I can second that belief because I submitted an entry to present for the national NKBA webinar series and my entry was selected and it is on accessible and beautiful bathrooms. So definitely I agree with you. And then we did a webinar last year.

Jared Chevraux (27:29.348)
Yeah.

Janet (27:41.088)
for NKBA on universal design. And that was voted the number one webinar for their series for the entire year. And there wasn't even one designer on that panel. It was just two OTs. It was Becky Wright from Ponte Giulio and Heather Evison that's a real estate agent and a CAPS professional. So.

Jared Chevraux (27:51.014)
Oh, awesome. Sure. Right. Right.

Jared Chevraux (28:01.958)
Sure.

Janet (28:09.024)
And all of us are CAPS professionals and people just loved it. So that just tells you, yeah.

Jared Chevraux (28:11.27)
Yeah.

Jared Chevraux (28:16.71)
Well, if you're a home access provider, pay attention to that because you don't want to lose business to KMB. So you better get your designs in order. Yep.

Janet (28:26.706)
Exactly, exactly. Yes, because they're also becoming CAP certified or, you know, earning some type of aging in place certification. Well, that's great, Jared. Thank you so much for sharing so much valuable information with us.

Jared Chevraux (28:35.494)
Yeah.

Jared Chevraux (28:46.022)
Yeah, this was a lot of fun. Thank you so much, Janet, for having me today.

Janet (28:50.112)
Yeah, you're welcome.