Accessible housing for wheelchairs requires a few remodeling and reorganizing steps concerning your housing foundations and space area. And while it may seem complex, we’re here to narrow down the answer to your question, “How to make your home wheelchair accessible?”
Where to Start?
Accessibility remodeling differs a lot based on the different sorts of houses. So a good way to start would be knowing the foundations of your house. As follows,
Ranch Style and Manufactured Homes: Remodeling these homes is relatively easier. Installation of a long low rise ramp at the entrance, over the stairwell would do the job. These ramps can be removed and placed at any given time.
Split Level Homes: As these homes generally have multiple internal stairways, just a ramp over entrance won’t be enough. Accessibility can be developed by building stair lifts or wheelchair lifts over stairwells.
Multi Storey Homes: The best way to make these houses accessible is to install a private residential elevator which might be a little expensive but will definitely be worth it in the long run.
Widen Your Doorways
For suitable wheelchair passage, doorways should be at least 32 inches wide. But doorways in common houses range from 23” to 30”. In that case you can do the following two steps:
Install Offset Hinges: These would add up to an inch in the passageway by allowing the doors to swing all the way. This is affordable and can be easily accessible. You can install offset hinges with the help of a locksmith or even all by yourself. While installing, pay attention to whether the door can swing fully or gets stopped by a wall. This will have an effect on the width of the doorway.
Trim the doors: It is the simplest way to widen the passageway. Trimming or cutting down the whole door will provide more clearance in the doorway thus reducing the risks of injury or accidents. For ensuring further privacy, curtains can be hung from the doors.
Add Lower Cabinet Space
Rather than high rise cabinets, try to utilize the lower space for cabinets. Lower space cabinets, within reach are easily accessible for a disabled person. Especially in the kitchen and bathroom, add lower cabinet space and utilize.
Remodel Thresholds
Threshold remodeling is an important step in developing accessibility at home. Pushing someone over the threshold takes minimal effort but going over it all by yourself in the wheelchair is a lot of work and might cause unwanted injuries. For this you can minimize the height of the threshold or replace them entirely with cushioned thresholds that are easier to move over in the wheelchair.
Handrails and Grab Bars
Building handrails and grab bars all over the house, especially in the bathrooms and stairways decreases the risks of falling. Moreover, reaching devices to grab objects in high shelves, easy-to-reach storage areas and lever handlers on the doors improve accessibility. The areas that require movement or activity such as the kitchen, bathroom, living room etc. are best for installing handrails and grab bars. This is particularly an affordable solution with amazing efficiency.
Portable Ramps
Portable or foldable ramps will allow you to use them as per your necessities. You can use them whenever you want and fold it back when not needed. These ramps are suitable for travel as well.
Modular Ramps
These are designed for unusual or unique spaces. You can build them without any professional help according to your own needs.
Overall, it would cost about 1000$ to 3000$ to set these ramps up. Mentionable that even though medicare won’t cover these costs, you can explore other programs for funding.
Permanent Ramps
Permanent ramps are the most commonly used ramps. These are generally placed before the entrance beside the stairwell. As per the name, it is non movable and non portable.
Reorganize
Reorganizing furniture and appliances around home catering to your own individual needs is an incredibly smart move. This would lower the chances of accidents and make it easier to move around in a wheelchair.
Install Panic Button
In events of an emergency or accident, panic buttons would allow the disabled person to call for help. These buttons are more important in the bathrooms and staircases.
Automatic Doors
Needless to say that the expense would be a bit more but the efficiency would definitely match up with its cost. These doors remove the hassle and probability of injury while trying to open the door.
No Carpets or Rugs
Carpets or rugs are not quite suitable for accessibility. It’s best to get rid of these as it is very difficult to move over them in a wheelchair.
Replace Door Knobs with Lever Handles
It is actually one of the easiest ways of developing accessibility at home. People with disabilities often find it difficult to rotate a doorknob. But lever handles or French door handles make it easier to enter and exit a room.
Remove Bathing Barriers
Bathroom floors and bathtubs are the places that are more prone to accidents. Make sure your bathroom is spacious enough and pay attention to the barriers. The space inside a bathroom should be at least 60 inches wide; the center should be at least 16 to 18 inches far from each of the walls.
Smart Home Technology
Smart home technology makes it simpler and easier to control household appliances. For example- you don’t need to physically push a button to turn on the lights. Just a voice command will do the job. Using different things as the dishwasher, TV, washing machine, dryers, coffee machines etc are evermore better, easier and simpler with smart technology now.
Financial Aid
Remodeling, reorganizing a house for accessibility could cost a bit. But accessibility is important and worth the penny. Fortunately, there are some scopes for financial aid in these cases. Make sure to explore these before spending.
Conclusion
In the midst of the growing population and accidents, a very frequently asked question is “How to make your home accessible?” Well, remodeling is your way to go but make sure to go through each aforementioned step thoroughly for the best possible results.
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