The Ultimate Guide: Home Remodeling Projects for People with Disabilities

Keep your home a safe haven for special family members.

Owning and maintaining a home on top of everything else can be challenging. And suppose your household is one of many with an elderly family member or someone with special needs. If that is so, finding a home that suits the family and can cater to their needs can be overwhelming and daunting, not to mention expensive.

Fortunately, with this guide, you can be at ease. No need for you to wonder where to start as well. You also don't have to remodel your whole house all at once. Instead, you can focus on the most important and common places where everyone in the family will mostly be coming and going.

Here are some home remodeling projects you should prioritize for people with disabilities.

Ensure Safety and Ease of Use in Bathrooms

Bathrooms are places where slips and falls are prevalent. Without proper precautions, accidents can happen more often than not, even to someone with no special needs. For the elderly and family members with special needs, the risk of accidents is higher.

Therefore, you have to be more careful in ensuring their safety.

You should also make it easier for them to use the facilities alone. Here are some modifications you can make to your bathrooms to make them safer and easier to use.

Laying Anti-Slip Mats: Some bathroom floors become dangerously slippery when wet. Lessen the chances of slips and falls when using the bathroom with rubber mats that are also comfortable on the feet.

Bars and Hand Grips: It's up to you whether you choose permanent or temporary bars. No matter your choice, having these installed in your bathroom will give users more stability and accessibility.

Walk-In Tubs and Showers: Put a stop to the struggles of walking over the side of the tub. Instead of buying a new shower for ease of access, you can modify your tub and turn it into a walk-in shower.

Making the Kitchen More Accessible

The kitchen is another part of the house that receives much traffic, even more so if the dining room is also there. Make things and facilities more accessible and easier for your elderly and family members with disabilities with the following.

Touch-sensitive or Hose Faucets: Getting hose faucets make it reachable for elderly and disabled family members to have access to water. And implementing lever handles or touch-sensitive features makes it less strenuous for them to turn the water on and off and adjust its temperature.

Lower Storage, Countertops, and Sinks: Lowering your countertops and sinks makes items easier to find and just within their reach. Having your countertops at least 28 to 34 inches tall is ideal. But that can also be customized depending on the user's needs.

Lower Power Outlets

If the countertops, storage, and sinks have already been lowered, you can also have your power outlets adjusted. This will make plugging and unplugging appliances and gadgets more convenient.

Easier Navigation, Pathways, and Routes

Other than rooms like the bathroom and the kitchen, hallways and doorways receive the most foot traffic at home. You can make the following modifications to make navigating from room to room more manageable for those with mobility difficulties.

Wider Doorways and More Floor Space

More floor space and wider doorways are helpful and more convenient for those using the wheelchair. For a wheelchair to fit through the doorway, you might want to adjust the width of your door to at least 32 inches. Remove or transfer wires from the floor and arrange furniture for more space. This way, they can navigate around more comfortably without worrying about bumping into something.

Motion-Detecting or Accessible Lights

With motion-detecting lights, you don't have to struggle and fumble along the walls in search of lights. An alternative is where you move your light switches lower so members can have easy access to them.

Stairways, Ramps, and Railings

If you have long hallways, you should install railings, be it temporary or permanent. This will stabilize those with mobility issues, like the elderly family member. For those with wheelchairs, ramps, and stairlifts are more appropriate for easy moving from one floor to another.

Whether your home needs a couple of modifications or a complete overhaul, you don't have to do everything all at once. You can make the changes one room at a time. This makes things more manageable and less overwhelming.

If you want additional help and guidance when it comes to planning and remodeling your home for family members with disabilities or with elderly families, contact us. Our remodeling contractors at Grand Rapids Remodeling Pros are at your service!