Improving access to your home may be a choice made from necessity or one that prepares for a visitor or guest. Walking around your house with the eyes of someone who might need a wheelchair or frame or someone with limited sight is a wake-up call for most of us. We realise that we take our ability to move freely through spaces for granted. While many major renovations to improve accessibility should be left to the professionals, some do-it-yourself tasks can help your home become a welcoming place for all.
Garden Accessibility
The route to your front door could pose challenges for someone with accessibility issues. For instance, you may have gravel on your driveway. Gravel is a tough surface for people in wheelchairs or with walkers. Replacing this with a smoother surface can make a significant difference, especially if you ensure that any uneven or broken slabs are corrected.
You may also have a step up to your front door. Adding a ramp here is a surprisingly simple DIY project, especially if you are looking to add something temporarily. However, if you want to change the access to your front door on a more permanent basis, you might want to bring in a professional to do a more secure job.
Bathroom Accessibility
When you visit a toilet that has been adapted for those with physical disabilities, you realise the amount of adaptation you might need in your bathroom. For instance, it is important to put grab rails next to the toilet, near the bath and the shower. It is also a good idea to include a shower seat. Making the bath safer for those with disabilities is likely a job for a professional, as it will require a different type of bath or some specialist winch.
A simple job is the replacement of taps. For some, gripping the faucet is difficult, so a lever is a better option. The same sort of levers can be applied to the bathroom cabinets too.
Finally, though not exhaustively, the door to a bathroom can cause accessibility issues. Bathroom doors tend to open into the room and so lessen the space. It is a good idea to reverse the door so that it opens into the hallway, making it easier for those with access issues to come in and leave the room.
Kitchen Accessibility
As with the bathroom, the kitchen is another area where much can be done to make it accessible to all householders. The sink faucets can be changed for easy switching on and off.
A truly simple hack can add a lazy Susan to the shelves of fridges and cupboards. The turn table can be used to move things from the back to the front and make it so that people do not have to reach too far in.
A more advanced project might be to lower the surfaces or have a mechanism that means key facilities in the kitchen are available to all. This is likely a job for a professional.
Accessibility Throughout the Home
The biggest issue you need to address is accessibility throughout the house. There are likely level changes in your home, meaning moving from one room to another is difficult. You can create mini ramps throughout. Lowering and changing the handles on doors can make this movement even easier.
The more open plan you can make your home, the better. Equally, lifting rugs and creating clear travel lines through your home.
Summary
You can undertake more adventurous tasks, such as widening doorways and lowering light switches, though it is likely these should be left for professionals. However, the small changes suggested here will make a significant difference.
