Home Senior Accessibility

Bathe Safe Home Remodelers has many products that can help our clients get in and out of their homes.  We also have products that make moving around and staying independent in your home manageable.  In fact, adding some form of wheelchair ramp or vertical platform lift to your home’s entrance is one of the best ways to make your home more accessible for those with limited mobility. But once inside, what can you do to make sure those with limited mobility can easily navigate your home?

There are several ways to make changes to your home to increase its wheelchair accessibility. Some of these are do-it-yourself projects that are relatively inexpensive, but others will require professionals to complete the work. You may not need to do all of these, but here are some ideas that might help you.

Basic Home Accessibility Improvements

Many Long Island homes were built in the 1950’s and have very small door ways and hallways.  The first major thing you can do to allow for lesser mobile people and people wheelchair bound, is to widen doorways.  Many times bedroom doorways are too small to get in and out of with a wheelchair, and can be widened to allow for wheelchairs.  Bathrooms on Long Island are usually the smallest doorways, measuring 24″.  A Long Island New York bathroom door, we like to open to a minimum of 28″.  Long Island Front doorways usually measure 32-36″ which should be fine for allowing a wheelchair or walker through and wont need to be changed, although some screen doors do get in the way.

Bathroom Accessibility Improvements

In the bathroom, something as simple as raising the toilet seat’s height can make it easier for someone in a wheelchair to get in and out of their chair if they need to use the toilet. Another way to improve safety in the bathroom is to add grab bars to the tub or shower, which will make it easier for someone in a wheelchair or scooter to transfer from the chair to the tub.  We also recommend taking out any existing bathtubs, as these are usually very hard to get in and out of, and are usually impossible to actually bathe in.  Walk in bathtubs and Barrier Free Showers are also great ideas as they make it easy to bathe and to get in and out of.  Walk in Bathtubs also have many great health benefits including improved blood circulation, easing of aches and pains, and increases your ability to sleep at night.

Home Modifications for Accessibility

Throughout your home, other changes can be made to make it easier to navigate for someone in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, but these will require a bit more work. Doorways can be widened to accommodate the width of a wheelchair, typically to 32” or 36”. Kitchen countertops can be lowered to allow more access and make for an easier reach for someone with limited mobility. Finally, lowering cabinets and widening doors may mean that electric outlets have to be rearranged