Garage/Entry/Circulation
A. Entre View
Front or back, you want a zero-threshold entry — no wooden ramps. In front, a covered drive might work, and in back, a sloped walkway. Suggest an exterior door with sidelites and a door bottom to seal out water and stop air leaks.
B. Back It Up
Take the steps out, but be sure you have the space for a sidewalk ramp, typically a 1:12 grade; dropping down 36 inches means you need 36 feet horizontally. If the entry is too high and you don’t have the space, you may have to install a lift.
Outside In
Increasing accessibility includes making the exterior accessible to the interior as this screened porch does. Avoid tripping hazards and improve circulation for a baby carriage or a wheelchair user, for example, by making all flooring level.
Width Love
Suggest wider doorways for projects where walls and door will come down anyway. If needed right away, doors with offset hinges work well — moving the pin several inches from the door so the pivot point is in a different location.
Step Away
Remove the steps from the garage to the house. Pour concrete in a gentle slope away from the home. Check codes, as some states don’t allow this. Install alarms and motion-sensor exhaust fans to prevent carbon monoxide from entering the home.
Going Places
Helpful options for homeowners with restricted mobility
AARP’s recent study of 45- to 65-year-olds showed that 80% want to remain in their homes for 10 more years. That, combined with changes in health care that will include telehealth and other innovations, will enable more people to recuperate at home. As a result, demand for stair chairs, in-home elevators, or, for the severely disabled, bath track systems will likely grow. Several options are available for in-home elevators. And the bath track system (above, right) can be a great help to caregivers, enabling them to lift a person from toilet to bath tub. However, each of these systems requires specialized installation, and the equipment can be costly — a
pneumatic elevator alone costs more than $20,000.
Experts Interviewed for this Story
Greg Buitrago, owner, Hammer Contractors, Olney, Md. | Wes Carver, owner, Wes Carver Electric, Lansdale, Pa. | Gary Case, Signature Elevators & Accessible Design, Rockville, Md. | Bob Cole, owner, Worldwide Stereo, Philadelphia, Pa. | Robert Criner, owner, Criner Remodeling, Newport News, Va. | Russell Glickman, owner, Glickman Design Build, Potomac, Md. | Bryce Jacobs, vice president, Dave Fox Design Build Remodelers, Columbus, Ohio; national trainer for the National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s universal design course | Cynthia Leibrock, author, lecturer, designer, founder of Aging Beautifully | Bill McHugh, owner, Tier 1 Group, Leander, Texas | Deborah Pierce, architect, principal at Pierce Lamb Architects, in West Newton, Mass.; author of The Accessible Home | Rosemarie Rossetti, designer and owner, the Universal Design Living Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio | Louis Tenenbaum, founder, Aging in Place Institute
—Stacey Freed is a senior editor at REMODELING. Find her on Twitter at @SFreed or @RemodelingMag.