Home Adaptations And Disabled Alterations | More Ability

Published: 11 November 2015

Making drastic internal and external home alterations and adaptations for a disabled occupant can be the difference between living independently and living with limitations and restrictions, greatly affecting you and your carer (if required).

There are a number of changes that can be implemented within your home making it safer and more accessible for the elderly with limited mobility, all the way through the disabled. Some alteration and adaptation projects are bigger than others, depending on the amount of work required, however all can make a huge difference with regards to quality of life.

In no particular order here are 5 of our preferred projects to undertake when it comes to adapting your home, choosing which to undertake first and foremost would depend on your situation and needs:

• 1.Bathroom Adaptation

Adapting your bathroom, making it safe and accessible, is high on our priority list. The bathroom is the most problematic room in the modern day home for anyone suffering from any degree of mobility restraints. 90% of slips, trips and falls in the home occur in the bathroom only highlighting the importance of making changes.

A number of adaptations are currently available from walk-in baths through to bespoke bathing solutions, wet floor showers with slip resistant flooring, walk-in showers, auto cleaning toilet bidets and rise and fall basins – whatever the problem you are looking to overcome you can be rest assured there will be a solution available that meet your specific wants and needs.

• 2.Kitchen Adaptation

The kitchen for us is of secondary importance, closely behind the bathroom. Due to the nature of this room there are hazardous risks that, without precautionary measures, can cause serious harm and injury for someone with mobility issues using an un-adapted setting.

Kitchen adaptations come in the form of slip resistant flooring, rise and fall units, design-led layout solutions which would ensure everything is reachable from a sitting position if required, wheel-chair accessible units, easy grip solutions, colour aided designs for those with visual impairment and designs that overcome cognitive conditions.

• 3.Internal Widening – Wheel Chair Accessible

As a result of being limited to a wheel chair doesn’t mean you have to be limited in your home. Door widening and walk way widening to facilitate wheel chair access is a big but beneficial project to undertake as it provides you with the ability to move (or wheel) freely around your home without the fear of bumping into objects and knocking things over.

• 4.Internal & External Ramps / Flooring Levelling

What’s the point in adapting your home if you can’t get in and out of it? Internal and external access ramps, along with internal floor raising and levelling, can make moving around your home easier and allows you to go in and out at leisure without the requirement of assisted aid and support. There’s no worse feeling that the fear of falling over, especially if you have limited mobility, therefore we would recommend putting things in place that eradicate this issue.

• 5.Through Floor Lifts

It’s not often a permanent wheel chair user is resided in a two storey home however with the latest developments in the form of a through floor lift its no longer unheard of. There has recently been a surge in independent living solutions, installed within your own home to facilitate ease of use and safety with the newest addition to the growing list being the ability to get from one floor to another without exchanging device.

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