Accessible Home Design

Important Considerations for Wheelchair Accessible Home Design

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 mandates that most buildings used by the public be designed for ease of use by persons with many kinds of disabilities. Yet, homes should also incorporate design features and products that are easier to use by people of all ages and abilities. This concept is referred to as universal design.

But accessible home design needn’t be like that at all. In fact, many features and fixtures that work well for accessibility are also well-suited for just about anyone.

Accessible design is often just plain good design -- a well-integrated home design can and should extend a home’s usability through more than just one phase of family life.

Start In The Kitchen

Making a house more accessible isn’t particularly difficult or expensive. You might even have some universal design principals at work in your kitchen now. For example, side-by-side refrigerators are more usable by a person in a wheelchair, unlike a unit with the freezer mounted on top. Inside the refrigerator, sliding shelves eliminate the need to reach all the way to the back to retrieve what you want.

Install a "goose-neck" spout instead of a standard kitchen sink that allows a pot to be filled without lifting it into the sink. And place the cooktop nearby so that a pot can be easily slid across the countertop to the burner with no lifting required.

The latest in dishwasher design is the “drawer” type that don’t require as much bending over to load and unload. Since there’s no door in the way, they’re more easily used from a sitting position.

Staying Home

As the American population ages and as housing prices escalate, many homeowners are trying to stay in their homes longer. Too often however, family homes are primarily designed for young families and become rapidly obsolete when they can no longer provide the convenience and safety that older citizens need.

A few simple accessible home design changes can make almost any residence better able to support changing lifestyles, as ease of use and safety become important issues.

One of the easiest is the installation of blocking for grab bars at appropriate places in the bath when the house is built. These simple and inexpensive structural supports are used for the future installation of grab bars, which provide increased safety in showers, tubs, and at toilets.

Another easy change is using "lever-type" door hardware, which is popular because of its looks and, ease of use,for persons with reduced strength or restricted mobility.

Widening the doors a few inches can also extend the useable life of the house. Standard thirty-inch doors aren’t wide enough for wheelchairs and can be difficult for anyone with trouble walking. A thirty-six inch wide door in solves both problems and makes moving furniture a lot easier, too.

Ups and Downs

Stairs are the biggest obstacle to making any home accessible. Typically, a fully accessible home must be all on one level – no stairs, step-downs, or even door thresholds. Yet a one-level home is more costly to build than a two-story and may require a larger property.

Easier Than You Might Think

In most cases, accessible home or universal design isn’t much more than good design sense and a desire to make houses usable by everyone.

Today’s houses are sometimes a little too "disposable" and we can easily make them less so by making them more functional for a wide range of homeowners with and without disabilities. We’ll all benefit from design that helps people stay in their homes longer.

This article was written by Richard L. Taylor, AIA, a recognized expert in residential architecture and president of Richard Taylor Architects.

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