subject: Home Improvements For Aging In Place [print this page] CongratulationsCongratulations. You are living in your dream house, and you mean to dwell in it the rest of your life. While we are healthy and working, we tend to concentrate on home improvement choices for active people; paths with stepping stones, spiral staircases and loft bedrooms. What we don't normally consider, however, is how to stay mobile in our homes and appreciate those amenities after we aren't able to move so effectively.
While we don't suggest transforming your dream house into a nursing home immediately, there are quite a few things you might do before you have to have extra help. These suggestions will help you to be comfortable in your home when you age, and those features will additionally permit family members and friends appreciate your home more if they need help getting around.
Your front door ought to be the most receptive place in your home. Imagine the tragedy it would be if a relative or a special guest is required to enter through a garage door all the time, or be pushed over your threshold? Barrier free entrances might be designed into your home right now, making it possible for a person to walk or roll from the front yard to your entryway without having to negotiate unpaved surfaces or steps. Barrier free entrances are able to look just as stylish as any other doorway, yet for certain persons, they look a lot more welcoming.
Doorways and hallways have often been the appropriate width for someone to move through with comparable ease. In cases where an individual is relying on a walker or wheelchair, unfortunately, the required measurements will vary drastically. If you are now intending to upgrade your inside doors or switch a few walls around, plan on adequate extra room for a wheelchair to pass through.
A bathroom is an area where adults don't ever want to request assistance. Not having the ability to use a toilet and a bath on their own will frequently be the reason that homeowners are required to move from their homes. Even if you're not quite ready for grab bars surrounding your toilet, you might put in your new toilet with sufficient room next to it to be available when working with walkers and wheelchairs. Setting up a barrier-free shower enclosure or walk-in tub presently will save some cash later on, and you might be surprised at how helpful these fittings could be for young, strong people who have basically worked to excess in the health club that morning.
There are quite a few other procedures that could make the residence pleasant for particular friends now and maybe for yourself in years to come. Talk to your builder or contractor for more choices, and make some choices now that you may appreciate for a long time.