WA S H I N G T O N B E A C O N — A P R I L 2 0 1 6
Say you saw it in the Beacon | Housing and Homecare
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Adapt your home to be livable for years By William Hirsch As people age, many choose to stay in their current homes near friends, family, places of worship and other places that have become integral parts of their lives. This is part of a growing trend toward “aging in place.” The term applies to those who want to live as they have in their current home for as long as possible. As we age, our mobility and capabilities change. Steps can become a challenge. Our balance, vision, hearing and mental processes can deteriorate. We lose strength. Can your current home accommodate your physical changes? Normal everyday things that once seemed benign might become obstacles and hazards. The good news is that a number of relatively simple modifications to your home can make it more pleasant and safe to live in for many more years to come. You may not know what your future challenges might be. But we do know that most people will experience a decrease in mobility. Here are a few things you can do to make your house easier to live in should you become less mobile. Plan for one-floor living. Stairs will be your biggest obstacle. If your bedroom is upstairs now, take a look at your plan and see if there is a way to alter the use of the rooms to let you live on the
first floor and leave the upstairs for guests. This might require adding a bedroom and bathroom suite onto the first floor. Or you might be able to convert a seldom-used formal living room into a bedroom. Make other floors accessible. If one-floor living is not feasible, look for ways to add an elevator or stair lift. Is there a closet that can convert to an elevator? Less costly than building an additional bedroom suite, an elevator can be deferred and installed quickly if the need arises. The point is to look into the possibility and plan for one now. Make the entry accessible. You need at least one entry door with no step. This entrance should be covered to shelter it from snow and rain. Often this is the door into the house from the garage. If you have a few steps up to the house now, a ramp can be built. Eliminate tripping hazards. Be sure to remove any raised thresholds at interior doors or uneven transitions between rooms. These small level changes can be particularly hazardous because they are easily overlooked and create tripping hazards. Make sure your doorways are wide enough. A wheelchair may be in your future, even if it is only temporary while recovering from an injury. You’ll want to be able to
pass through your doorways. There are some misconceptions about the required width for access. The Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA, mandates a clear opening width of 32”. That would require a 36” door, since a door opened to 90 degrees would protrude into the opening and reduce the clear width by about two inches. You probably have only one door that wide in your house — your front door. Breaking through walls to widen doors is often not practical. Fortunately, your home does not have to comply with the ADA requirements like public buildings do. Typical wheelchairs are only 24” to 27” wide. The 32” requirement is meant to accommodate all wheel-
chairs, even extra-wide ones. So unless you are a very large person, there is no need to have doors that wide. I recommend you make sure your doors are at least 30” wide (though 32” is even better). If the opening is still too narrow, you can rehang the door with offset hinges to allow it to swing further out of the way. Maneuvering space is essential. The ADA requires a five-foot diameter clear floor space in all rooms, particularly bathrooms, of public buildings. The swing of a door cannot intrude into that space. The purpose of this clear area is so that, should a person fall to the floor and not be able to get up, another person could enter See AGING IN PLACE, page B-5
Spring Open House April 23rd, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and April 24, 12 - 4 p.m. Spring over to Waltonwood to preview floor plans and learn more about the carefree lifestyle and upscale services and amenities we offer.
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A SHBURN
Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care 4 4141 Russ e l l B r a n ch P k w y. , A s h b u r n , VA 2 0147
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