Today’s graying homeowners don’t want ugly grab bars and toilet-seat extenders. They want style along with accessibility.
No one wants to think about becoming disabled or too old to safely stay in their own home. Images of sterile nursing homes abound, with wide linoleum hallways, wheelchair ramps and stainless-steel grab bars. But an increasing number of people are rejecting this gloomy stereotype. They're choosing instead to make their homes accommodate their changing bodies -- without forgoing the stylish creature comforts to which they're accustomed.
The construction, home-furnishings and appliances industries are taking note. According to the AARP, 83% of people over 45 own their own homes. A 2009 AARP survey, "These Four Walls," sampled this group and found that 75% expect to stay there for the rest of their lives; 51% envision making changes so that can happen.
Builders are gearing up. Polling remodelers, the National Association of Home Builders learned that:
• 75% reported getting more requests for "aging in place" projects;
• 60% had done such jobs. Of those: 43% were for customers aged 45 to 54;
• 76% were for customers aged 55 to 64; and
• 67% were for customers 65 and older.
The remodelers reported that clients wanted aging-in-place remodeling because:
• 75% were planning for future needs;
• 53% were living with older parents;
• 46% had acute, age-related disabilities; and
• 23% had acute disabilities unrelated to aging.
The industry group predicts aging will be the second-biggest influence on the remodeling industry in the next five years, just behind finding enough skilled labor.
8 Key Tips for Accessible Remodel
1. Widen Doorways for Wheelchairs
2. Plan for Storage within the optimal reach zone - the space between 20 inches and 44 inches above the floor to a depth of 20 inches away from your body.
3. Use drawers instead of cupboards.
4. Install lever handles throughout the house. They’re decorative and,
for people with arthritis (the most common chronic condition of old
age, particularly among women), pressing down is much easier than
turning a knob.
5. Use hard flooring or choose an attractive, low-pile commercial carpet.
6. When installing grab bars, tailor the exact location to the height of the
people using them. Get your installer to measure your reach from
sitting atop the toilet and sitting in the shower.
7. Place electric outlets higher than usual and switches lower.
8. Install a shelf outside the front door so that you can put down packages
while searching for keys.
Following these guidelines requires a lot of thought and effort. But for your trouble, it might stave off a nursing home.
Stairs
Stairs within a home are one of the primary reasons that individuals are often “forced” to either live only on the 1st floor of their home or leave their home altogether. Fortunately the solution to this problem can be installed in one day and cost significantly less than the money a homeowner will lose trying to sell their home in the current economy. A stairlift can be installed in almost any stair layout and specially designed models can even be installed on exterior stairways. Manufacturers that can produce stairlifts that have continuous bends, up to 180 degrees, and thus can be put into curved or multi-directional stairways. With this new technology and design features, the two-story home is accessible and usable.
(Locally owned and operated in Sparks, Nevada, with twenty seven years of experience in the elevator industry, Koch Elevator prides its self on the ability to respond to our clients needs in a professional manner. Whether it is a new install, service call, regular monthly maintenance or modernization of your current system, Koch Elevator Co. is here to help you!
For more information on Koch Elevator, call Lisa Koch at 775-323-8822.)
