Accommodations

[fabrisse]

So, what accommodations do you think should be standard for residential buildings, either new builds or renovations?

I know that my top two are: banisters, preferably on both sides, including exterior steps, and grab bars in the shower/bathtub. Raised toilets and two grab bars around the toilet would also be useful, but for some people the raised toilets are less comfortable.

But I want to know what other people feel are the most needful accommodations.

Comments

[temve]

Wide interior doors/corridors - the walls in the in-laws' house were basically trashed from a wheelchair going around too-tight corners for 2 years...

[fabrisse]

Oh, yes. Wheelchairs, knee scooters, crutches, even canes can all benefit from wider walking spaces.

[kathmandu]

Seconding this. And providing at least one double door entrance is also helpful.

And stairless entries are hard - either you replace stairs with a long ramp, or you have bad problems with flooding every time it rains - but stairless entries mean wheelchairs can at least use the first floor.

[dewline]

Ramps and elevators rather than stairs.

[fabrisse]

I was shocked at how inexpensive pneumatic elevators are. They don't require anything on the roof or a basement. (looked at them when it seemed we wouldn't be able to find a single story.)

Ramps can be more difficult for some conditions, but at least one ramp entry whether in the garage or at the front makes sense.

[siderea]

Counters in bathrooms that are the right height to put a chair at or roll a wheelchair up to. Most people don't think about how there's no knee space under most bathroom vanities, so it's not possible to sit at the sink and brush your teeth. Doesn't necessarily have to be right at the sink to be helpful, it can be next to it.

Generally having a counter in a bathroom that you can use as a vanity from a chair or wheelchair, with the mirror all the way to the counter so you can see yourself, seated, is very helpful for those of us who struggle to stand to brush our hair or get dressed. This is not specific to wheelchairs, old people who get tired standing appreciate such a thing as well.

This can be helpful in kitchens as well, but a lot of kitchens either have room for a kitchen table which serves the equivalent purpose, or have a kitchen bar with stools. That said, I recently learned that there's such a thing as ADA height kitchen counters (and dishwashers that fit under them). Problem with that concept is different heights suit different people and different disabilities.

Having a couple full height kitchen cabinets - meaning no counter in the middle, stretching from floor to as high up as they go – helps optimize middle height storage, which is useful for people who can stand but not bend or reach. A problem with a lot of kitchens is they don't have a lot of storage at the height of the surface of the counters, which is often the easiest level to grasp something.

I've recently discovered the wonders of pull down racks that can be put into upper kitchen cabinets.

Generally speaking, drawers – whether cabinetry, in the refrigerator, in the dishwasher, or in (built-in) furniture – that requires very little draw strength to open or to close are more accessible to people who have trouble gripping or pushing, which includes people who are weak, who have poor leverage because they only have one or no limbs on the ground, or because exerting force causes pain.

I don't know if there are any disabilities for which knobs are a good thing; but there are an awful lot of disabilities for which having levers – for the taps on sinks or for the knobs on doors – are vastly superior, because they do not require fingers to operate and they require, because of mechanical advantage, less strength to operate. Also when your hands are covered with raw chicken, it can be nice to turn on the faucet with your elbow, which you can do with a lever but not a knob.

On cabinetry and appliances, bar grips are more versatile than knob grips or groove grips: they literally can be grabbed more ways and are more easily adapted to people who have problems gripping (for instance by tying toggle pulls on them).

There will inevitably be cabinets and drawers close to the floor in kitchens and bathrooms. They are more accessible if there is room in front of them to put a low stool without obstructing the swing of the door. Likewise it's helpful if there is sufficient space when opening up a dishwasher to put a low stool next to the open door, so someone can sit while loading it.

Even in multi floor single family residences that can't have an elevator, it can be useful to the mobility impaired to have a dumbwaiter and/or laundry chute, to spare those who use canes or need to hold on to the railing from having to try to carry things up and down the stairs in their arms.

This may come as a huge shock, but it is actually possible to put an outlet at waist height in a wall, so one need not bend over to plug things into it.

Ceiling light fixtures that lower on a pulley so their light bulbs can be changed without getting up on the ladder are also very helpful for people who are not so good with ladders. It would be awesome to also do that for smoke detectors and CO2 detectors.

Something I saw done in every AL we visited is that long hallways had what looked like a kind of ornamental rail along both sides, that was actually a functional banister.

When there is a walkway between the main building and the parking, if that walkway is covered, reduces the chance of ice up here in the land of darkness and snow, and ice is of course one of the biggest threats to people who are not sure on their feet. Covered front steps and walkways to the sidewalk are also helpful for the same reason.

It's really great when the washer and dryer are on the same floor as where residents change clothes.

Large flat light switches are easier targets than the little conventional ones for people who have a hand-eye coordination problems or, again, pain when gripping, or no fingers.

Having light switches close to doors so they can be operated right on entry or exit is really great for people who have to count every step. (If I want to close the door when I go to the bathroom, I have to enter the bathroom, turn on the light, walk back to the door to close it, and then proceed back in. Or do it in the dark. I resent this every time I have to do it.)

I appreciate that corded Venetian blinds were strangling children and had to go. But the new cordless blinds cannot be easily raised with only one hand, which means somebody who needs to keep a hand on a cane to stand has trouble opening them.

Generally speaking, making windows, doors, drawers, etc, fully operable with only one hand is useful for cane users.

Entryways having enough room to have some sort of seat or bench to sit down on, to rest or to put on or remove shoes, is useful. Also entryways should have enough room for dressing for outside, and the associated storage of things people wear outside. In addition to coats and such things as might hang in the closet, that includes shoes, and socks, and masks, and umbrellas. This doesn't all have to be built in, but the space needs to be there for the necessary furniture.

Some people like to be able to park their walker by the front door, because they do not use it in their home. I like to have a cane stand near my front door (or primary egress if different), because I use different indoor and outdoor canes. These also require space.

Bathrooms don't generally have enough storage in them, or room to put storage furniture in them. That's not just a disabled person thing, that's a human being thing, but it impacts disabled people more because having to carry things into the bathroom every time you go costs more when it hurts to carry things or you can't carry very much at one time. Also, there are many forms of disability that result in one needing a profusion of supplies of various types that typically wind up in bathrooms, only there's no space for them: extra supplies and equipment for bathing or toiletting, additional sanitation supplies, large amounts of medication bottles, large amounts of first aid supplies, etc.

It's really great to have a place to store the kinds of things that wind up in a medicine chest, only that you don't have to reach across the sink to get to.

A magnifying mirror on an extendable, height-adjustable mount so one can get one's face close to a mirror without leaning across a sink is it useful for a variety of disabilities.

Height adjustable shower heads - the kind that are detachable and handheld, but also which clip onto a vertical bar, so they can be set at any height and then used hands-free.

[fabrisse]

I have a very chic umbrella stand that I use for all my different canes.

All of this will go in my spreadsheet. Thank you.

ETA: I miss vanity stations in bathrooms. They used to be standard. They make good sense.