How To Make Your Home Wheelchair-Accessible?
Whether someone in your family has recently had to take up the use of a wheelchair or your child has made a new friend at school who is in a wheelchair, it is important to consider how you can make your home more wheelchair-accessible! One of the main things to consider when making your home more wheelchair-accessible is the size of the wheelchair itself. The chair will need to be able to get around the living areas of a home without bumping into walls or being obstructed by things on the floor. For wheelchair-accessible home designs, corridors are particularly important to consider as the size of corridors can often be too small for larger wheelchairs to fit through.
Another important factor to consider is how the person in the wheelchair will get into the home. Older or more traditional homes may have stairs leading up to the entrance and if you are in a wheelchair, the home will not be accessible. Wheelchair ramps are a great way to help ensure that even those in wheelchairs will be able to get in and out of your home easily!
What Should You Do When Adapting a Home For Wheelchair Accessibility?
One of the most important things to consider when looking at adapting a home for wheelchair accessibility is to think about the size of a wheelchair realistically. Wheelchairs can often be big and bulky, which means that doorways and stairs could inhibit the wheelchair user from getting around your home freely. By assessing the size of entrances, exits and living spaces, you can help to ensure that your home is wheelchair-friendly!
Another thing to consider when building a wheelchair-accessible home is the height of certain things. Kitchen countertops may be set a lot higher than what a person in a wheelchair can reach. Having a space set out or an area dedicated to where the wheelchair user can access a countertop can help to ensure that they are able to function easily within your home. Finding floor plans for wheelchair-accessible homes can help you to adapt your own home to be more friendly to those who may be handicapped.
What Are The Areas Where You Should Pay Special Attention To Its Design?
If you are looking at buying a home or are designing one to build from scratch, you may want to know the key areas to consider when it comes to making your home wheelchair-accessible. The following is a list of wheelchair-accessible to take into consideration when looking to create handicapped-accessible homes.
- Entrance: Getting in and out of your home is a big thing to consider when it comes to wheelchair users. Entrances and exits should have the necessary adaptations to ensure that those who are wheelchair-bound can easily get in and out of your home. One of the best things to be sure that you include in your home is a wheelchair ramp that can help a person in a wheelchair get upstairs! Many homes have stairs leading up to them and it is important that you create an option that is accessible to those in wheelchairs.
- Kitchens: Many kitchen countertops are quite high, with a person in a wheelchair not being able to use a kitchen countertop properly. While you may not be able to redo your entire kitchen, having an area where a person who is wheelchair-bound can cook or cut food can be a great way to solve this problem!
- Corridors: If you do not have an open plan living space and have corridors and doors in the living areas, this may not be ideal for a person in a wheelchair. Widening doors and hallways, or at least making one route easily accessible can be a great way to ensure that a person in a wheelchair can get through corridors!
- Doors: Entrances and exits to a house can often be hard for a person in a wheelchair to get through. Standard doors are often too small for larger wheelchairs to get through, though this is not the case for many of them. It is recommended that doors be 32" wide to be able to accommodate a wheelchair. Widening your doors slightly or having a double door at an entrance or exit can help you to solve this problem!
What Materials Do You Need To Build a Wheelchair-Accessible House?
Home modification for wheelchair accessibility is all about understanding and thinking about how wide a wheelchair is and how it is able to move. The materials that you need are relatively similar to building a normal home, you may just have to widen a few doors and corridors to ensure that a person in a wheelchair can easily get to and from your front door. Building these types of homes is all about creativity and there are tons of different wheelchair-accessible home ideas to consider!
Could Tiny Homes Become Wheelchair-Accessible?
Yes, small homes can also be wheelchair-accessible with a few inclusions! The main thing to think about when it comes to making tiny homes wheelchair-accessible is the size of the space and the furniture you put within it and also consider how you place this furniture. When it comes to wheelchair-accessible homes and spaces within them, an open plan is always best! Having furniture carefully constructed and placed within your smaller home can ensure that a person in a wheelchair will be able to easily make their way through it! Using specific wheelchair-accessible home plans can help to ensure that your home is designed to be accessible by wheelchair.
Are There Grants For Wheelchair-Accessible Homes?
Wheelchair-accessible home renovations can often be costly as there are many different things that you need to consider. When it comes to looking for grants for wheelchair-accessible homes, there are many different types depending on who you are and why you need the adaptations to your home. One of the most popular grants is given by the US Department of Veteran Affairs and Rebuilding Together AmeriCorps. These grants provide the funding that certain families need to redesign their homes when a person has sustained an injury that has left them in a wheelchair. There are many others that are suited to certain people with certain disabilities, ensuring that you will be able to easily make your home more wheelchair-accessible!
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