Jan
31
2010

Designing Your Home to be Wheelchair Accessible

Currently, it’s a buyer’s market with regard to houses, so purchasing your dream home shouldn’t be hard, right? What will it change, though, if that dream home has to be Electric Wheel Chair accessible? Getting an existing home that is also wheelchair accessible it hard to do. It’s more realistic to stick with the home you already own and, if feasible, customize certain rooms to be wheelchair accessible. A simpler option, though not really cheaper, is to build a new house. Whichever of those options you choose; here are several universal bits of advice to think about.

Naturally, a two-story home is almost never called wheelchair accessible. Staircases will become barriers, and even motorized lifts must have significantly more space than residential staircases were supposed to take up. If you could stay away from upstairs sleeping quarters or basement rooms in a home; do it. Ramps are helpful for sunken living rooms, but significant variations in floor level will give you more problems than they solve. So you really have to be careful.

If you already own a second story, it’s worth finding out if a small elevator is an option. After your floors are settled, though, you ought to plan your floor coverings. Accent rugs won’t be a good idea, because they are notorious for being wrapped up in wheels. Carpets should function well, so long as they are wall-to-wall carpets or they have a chambered trim edge made to be affixed to the floor. It is really easier than it sounds.

If you’ve used a wheelchair for any amount of time, you know that entryways and table heights are very important. A wheelchair accessible doorway need to be no less than 32’ wide, and any work counters for the Mobility Chair user needs to be approximately 34” from the ground. A wheelchair user will have difficulty grabbing anything over 48” off the ground, so upper cupboards or shelving should not contain anything important. This is something that is often overlooked.

A bathroom is meant to be an oasis of peace in today’s hectic world, consequently, your bathroom is not the room where you ought to be constantly working around your limitations. If it is feasible, a 3 x 4

Written by admin in: Health and Fitness |

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