The majority of homes aren’t built with wheelchair access in mind. This means if you want to make your home wheelchair accessible, you’re going to potentially need to make some pretty big changes. The good news is, if you do find you need to renovate the home, financial help is often available. However, even with the financial side covered, there’s still the question of how to make the home suitable for wheelchair use.
Here, you’ll discover some of the best ways Realty Management Inc recommends to renovate a home for wheelchair accessibility..
The big changes to consider
There’s a few big changes you’ll likely need to make in the home to make it wheelchair friendly. The main ones include:
- Widening doorways
- Lowering countertops
- Adding wheelchair ramps
- Altering the toilet
Widening the doors is one of the most important changes you’ll need to make. Standard doorways don’t offer enough space for wheelchairs to get through. So, you’ll need to take off the frame and cut the wall boards to provide adequate space. It’s worth installing sliding doors too as this can really boost the space in your home.
Lowering countertops helps to promote independent living, as does increasing the height of the toilet. Both are fairly straightforward tasks. Perhaps the most challenging renovation to make is adding wheelchair ramps.
The first ramp you’ll need to add is one which leads up to the front door. Ideally, the ramp will lead right down the garden. If you’ve bought a wheelchair friendly vehicle from a company such as Allied Mobility, a ramp leading down to the vehicle can make the world of difference. However, you’ll also want to consider installing ramps within the home as a replacement for stairs.
Small, simple changes you can make
It’s not all about the big renovations. There’s also a few smaller changes you’ll want to make too. Ensuring the furniture is well spaced out and suitable for wheelchair users is also a priority.
Similarly, altering the door knobs may be required for wheelchair users who may have issues with dexterity. Instead of knobs, handles would be a much better option. If you don’t fancy adding permanent ramps in the home, you could also invest in portable ones. These are especially useful at helping wheelchair users to enter and exit the home.
One thing that’s easy to forget when you’re renovating the home to make it more wheelchair accessible, is the flooring. All carpets should be replaced with either hardwood or vinyl. Laminate can be used, though it will become scratched quite easily.
Overall, when renovating the home to make it more accessible for wheelchair users, you need to consider both the large and the small renovations needed. The above are the main things to consider, though the renovations will need to reflect the individual wheelchair user.
