Clear Pathways – Creating an Accessible Home

We all like getting from one place to another without any trouble, without any barriers. We even have special names to describe this freedom. Some call it “smooth sailing.” Others refer to it as “a walk in the park.” Those who love sweets say it is “a cakewalk.” And those who build accessible homes call it “clear pathways.”

A clear pathway lets your relatives and friends get out of a car and into your home without running into any barriers. Visitors will also be able to get into all your important rooms: the living room, the kitchen, a full bathroom, and a bedroom. This will be true even for those guests who use a wheelchair or a walker.

Barrier-free Entrance
Does your home pass the “clear pathways” test? To find out, imagine that a person in a wheelchair has just arrived in your neighborhood. How will he or she get from the car to your door?

A smooth, wide sidewalk can take you or a guest from the curb to your house. Make sure the walkway follows the contour of your property. Is your house on a slope? Don’t take guests over the steepest part of that slope. Instead, let the path make a gradual approach to the front door, even if this means taking a longer route.

The path should be 36 inches wide. Cut back shrubs on the side of the pathway. Trim branches that hang over it. Get rid of trees that drop leaves or berries that could become slippery when wet. Fix any holes in the paving. Make sure the path is even, but not slippery. A gravel pathway isn’t a good idea. A slightly textured surface is safer.

It goes without saying that steps don’t allow a clear pathway. Even one small step will stop the person in a wheelchair. So if you have stairs, you’ll need to find a way around them. A ramp to the front door can help. Or, you can bring the person into your house through a garage door. You may need to install a small ramp if you have a step between the garage and your house.

Don’t ignore your steps, even if you have a ramp. Make sure every step has a non-slip surface. Put a railing next to every set of stairs – even if it has only one step.

Keep in mind that darkness can also be a barrier. Make sure that the path to your front door has plenty of light. Put up lights that turn on when someone moves in front of them.

Getting Inside the House
Don’t strand your visitors once they get to your porch. Is the front door is wide enough for a wheelchair or walker to pass through? There should be at least 32 inches of space when the door is open. The door needs lever handles that are easy to open. And the threshold should not be any higher than ½ inch.

First Floor Living
Congratulations! Now you and your guest are inside the house. But can you get where you want to go? Can you reach the living room or dining room without going up steps? Can someone in a wheelchair roll into the kitchen, or is the doorway too narrow? It should be at least 32 inches wide.

Is there a full bathroom and bedroom on the first floor? This is critical. A guest in a wheelchair will not be able to get upstairs.

Start planning now for the day when you or an older relative won’t be able to use the stairs safely. That’s when your house will need a bedroom and a full bathroom on the ground floor. You’ll also need a washer and dryer on the same floor as your bedroom. Without these simple features, you may not be able to stay in your home for as long as you had planned.

Tips for Keeping Pathways Clear
Try these additional tips to keep your pathways clear:

• Clear clutter from the floor. Get rid of magazine racks, plants and other things that people can trip over or that can stop a wheelchair.
• Move furniture out of the way. Create a path so you can move easily between and through rooms.
• Get rid of area rugs. If you can’t do that, secure them to the floor with non-skid tape.
• Make sure your flooring is smooth and slip-resistant. If you have a carpet, choose a low pile and a firm pad. The pile should be less than half an inch. Anything higher will stop wheelchairs in their tracks. It could also cause you to trip.
• Keep electric cords out of your path. They present a tripping hazard too.

Doorways and Hallways

Some homeowners go to a lot of trouble to buy new sofa. They measure the space at home where the new couch will go. They measure the sofa they want to buy. They spend hours picking out the right upholstery. And they wait weeks for the delivery people to show up.

Then the big day arrives. And anticipation turns to horror. The couch doesn’t fit easily through the front door. It gets stuck in the front hallway. It barely squeezes into the living room.

This doesn’t have to happen to you. Just make sure your doorways and hallways are wide enough. Doorways should be at least 32 inches wide. Hallways should be at least 36 inches wide. Wider would be even better.

And keep this in mind. It’s not just furniture that has trouble with narrow doorways. Wheelchairs can’t fit through them either. Narrow doorways can lock a wheelchair user out of your home.

Building a New House
The best time to think about your doorways is when you are building a house. At that point, wider doorways add only 1 or 2 percent to the cost of building. You may not need that space right now. But making changes later will be harder and will cost more money.

Be careful that you measure the doorway correctly. Don’t just measure the distance from one side of the door to the other. It’s better to measure the door’s “clear width.” This is the actual space you can use when the door is open. This space won’t be as wide as the door. You may need a 36-inch door to give you 32 inches of clear width.

Make sure that you leave space on both sides of the door, too. Someone in a wheelchair will need between 18 and 24 inches of space on the side of the door near the door handle. They will need 60 inches of clear space in front of the door. The same is true for someone who uses a walker.

Don’t make anyone step over a threshold when they go through a doorway. This “lip” can stop a wheelchair in its tracks. It can also cause someone to trip. Try and make all your thresholds flush with the floor. Can’t do this? Then make the threshold no higher than ½ inch.

Living with Narrow Doorways
Are you already living in a house with narrow doorways? There are still things you can do to make the most of the space you have. You can hire a carpenter to widen your doorways. But this could be hard if the doorways are on weight-bearing walls.

You can also take one of these steps:

1. Replace your door hinges. Install swing-clear hinges instead. These hinges can make your doorway 1½ to 1¾ inches wider. This might give you just enough space to get a wheelchair through the door.

2. Take the door off. This could give you two more inches of clear space. Take out the door hinges and you will get even more space. Only take the hinges off if you don’t plan on putting the door back in place. Reinstalling a door hinge is a hard job.

3. Install pocket doors that slide into the wall when they are not in use.

Garage Door Opener

No one feels like tugging on a heavy garage door to get it open or closed. It’s a pain in the neck when you set out from home in the morning. And it’s too much work when you come home after a hard day.

Opening the garage door can be hard on your back. Plus, jumping in and out of your car in bad weather isn’t any fun. That’s why many people buy a garage door opener. These devices use a motor to open and close your garage door. You don’t even have to get out of the car.

A garage door opener has three parts. You keep a remote control in your car. You push a button on that remote when you pull into the driveway. This sends a special code to a receiver in the garage. The receiver then turns on a motor. The motor is on the ceiling of the garage. It lifts the garage door.

How does it Work?
Not all garage door openers work the same way.

Some use a steel chain to raise and lower the door. These “chain-drive systems” work well and cost less than other openers. They are also very noisy. If your garage is part of your house, they may be too noisy.

Other openers use a steel rod to lift the door. These are called “screw-drive” systems. That’s because the rod looks like a giant screw. These units work best with one-piece doors that tilt up when they open.

Some garage door openers use a strong, rubber belt to lift the door. These “belt-drive” units are quiet. They cost more than other openers.

Safety Features
Garage door openers run on electric current. So they won’t work if you lose power. To avoid getting locked in or out of your garage, make sure you can open your garage door by hand.

All garage door openers must have two safety features to keep people or pets from being crushed by the garage door when it closes. Make sure you have both of these features.

• A “Contact Safety Reverse” opens the door if it hits something.
• A “Non-Contact Safety Reverse” opens the door if someone moves under it. These openers shine a beam of light across the garage doorway. The beam breaks if someone walks through the doorway. Then the door opens again.

Preventing a Break-in
Don’t make it easy for someone to break into your home through your garage. Always lock the door between your garage and your house.
Get a garage door opener that thieves can’t trick. Each time you open your garage door, a special code goes to the receiver in your garage. A thief can break into your house by stealing this code.
Some openers send the same code every time you want to open the door. This makes it easier for someone to steal your code. Look for an opener that sends a different code to your receiver every time you use it. This is called “Rolling-Code Technology.” It makes your code harder to steal.

Lever Door Handles

Doors can let you into a room or a home. They can also keep you out. Think about this the next time you finish a messy outdoor project. You want to get inside and clean up as fast as possible. But the round door knob on your back door stands between you and your kitchen sink. You can’t turn that knob with hands that are covered with garden dirt or engine grease.

Many people are throwing away their round door knobs. That’s because they are so hard to use. Young people with small hands can’t grab them. Older people with weak hands can’t turn them. People who love to work on cars or weed the garden think they are a slippery nuisance.

These people are using lever handles instead. You don’t have to twist or turn lever handles. You don’t even have to grab them. All you do is press down on the handle’s flat surface and push. The door opens. It takes only the touch of a closed fist or a finger. You can even open doors with an elbow if your hands are messy or full of packages.

Installing Lever Handles
Put lever handles on all your doors, inside and outside. Buy two lever handles for each door. You’ll need one lever for the outside of the door and one lever for the inside.

Do you want the door to lock? Then choose “freewheeling” or “clutch” lever handles. These will be more secure. An intruder won’t be able to jar the lock open and get into your house. This might happen with other lever handles.

Choose a handle that curves back toward the door. You’ll be less likely to catch a sleeve or purse strap on this kind of handle. Be sure to look for a handle that is at least five inches long. Longer handles are even better. You won’t need as much force to open a door with a long handle.

Put your handles at the right height. They will be easier to use. They should be no higher than 44 inches from the finished floor.

Don’t feel like replacing your door knobs? Think about buying a lever handle adapter. This handle fits over your existing knob. Some of these handles are portable. This means you can move them from room to room. You can also take them when you travel.

Handrails

One out of three older adults falls each year. Many of them fall at home. Some of them die. There are many ways to prevent people from falling in your home. Installing handrails on stairs is one of them. The more handrails you have, the lower your risk of falling with be.

You don’t have to be old to use a handrail. Children who are new to walking would be lost without them. So would teens who bound up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Handrails are a good friend to those who have back or knee trouble. They have literally saved the lives of many older people who have poor balance.

Put handrails on every stairway you have. Be sure to put handrails on both sides of those stairways. Even one step needs a handrail. If you have a very wide stairway, put a single handrail in the center.

What kind?
Choose a handrail that is rounded. These rails will fit your hand better than other designs. Make sure the rail isn’t too big. The part you grab should be no more than 1½ inches around. A rail that is 1¼ inch around will be even easier to grab. Make sure your handrail is strong enough to hold you. It should be able to support 250 pounds at any point.

Installing Handrails
Don’t skimp when installing a handrail. Extend the handrail about 12 inches beyond the top and the bottom step. This way, the handrail will support you as you get on and off the last step. Make sure the handrail is rounded off at the end. Or end the handrail at a post.

Does your staircase have a landing where it changes direction? Continue the handrail around the landing. That way, you’ll have something to grab as long as you’re on the stairs.

A handrail isn’t going to work well unless you attach it securely to the wall. Screw the handrail right into the wall studs. Make sure the fittings are tight. Check them every so often to make sure they haven’t become loose.

Mount your handrails about 34 inches from the floor. This is a good height for adults. Children may need a lower rail.

Handrails should be 1½ inches from the wall. This will give you the room you need to grab the rail. Plus, you won’t bang your fingers into the wall. Protect your fingers from splinters by painting your handrails with a wood finish.

Ramps

Ramps aren’t just for wheelchairs anymore. Sure, wheelchair users need ramps to get in and out of buildings. But ramps also help lots of other people. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter how strong you are.

Maybe your knees are bad and you can’t climb stairs. You might use a walker. Perhaps you broke a leg and are using crutches for a few weeks. You could be taking care of a grandchild who is still in a baby carriage. Whatever the reasons, there are days when all of us are glad to use a ramp instead of taking the stairs.

It seems that no two ramps are alike. Some are made of wood. Others are concrete, asphalt or metal. “Straight-shot” ramps make no turns. “L-shaped” ramps make a 90-degree turn. “Switchback” ramps make a 180-degree turn.

Ramps aren’t easy to build. That’s why you should hire a professional to do the job right. If your builder doesn’t know very much about ramps, give him or her these guidelines.

General Design
A steep ramp is more dangerous than having no ramp at all. So build yours with a gentle slope. The higher your ramp is, the longer it needs to be. You should have at least 12 inches of ramp for every 1 inch that the ramp has to climb. It would be better to have 20 inches for every 1 inch of vertical rise.

Let’s say your front porch is 18 inches above the ground – that means your ramp should be 216 inches – or 18 feet – long (18 inches times 12 inches = 216 inches divided by 12 = 18 feet). Want to have 20 inches of ramp for each inch of vertical rise? Then your ramp should be about 30 feet long (18 x 20 = 360 inches divided by 12 = 30 feet).

Don’t build a ramp this long as a “straight shot” into your front yard. It won’t look very attractive. And it will be hard to use. Ramps look better if they are close to the house. A ramp that is 30 feet long will be easier to use if it has a flat landing in the middle where the user can take a rest.

Landings are an important part of every ramp. You need to build a landing every time the ramp changes direction. Make this landing 60 inches long and 60 inches wide. You will also need one landing at the top of the ramp and one at the bottom. The top landing will keep you from rolling or falling backwards when you open the door to your house. The bottom landing will let you move safely from the ramp to level ground. Landings should be at least as wide as the ramp. They should also be at least 60 inches long.

Your ramp and all its landings must be level from side to side. A ramp that slopes even a little is hard to use. It upsets the balance of a person with a walker. It makes a wheelchair hard to steer.

Ramps in Bad Weather
Keep in mind that you’ll use a ramp in all kinds of weather – sun, rain and snow. Make sure it is safe no matter what the season.

Design your ramp so water doesn’t pool on its surface. Put gutters on your house so rainwater doesn’t fall from the roof onto the ramp.

Make sure the surface of the ramp won’t be slippery when wet. Attach “grit” tapes to the ramp. They will give more traction. Add sand to a can of polyurethane and use that to paint the ramp. Create a rough texture on a concrete ramp by brushing the surface with a broom before it hardens.

Don’t put the ramp near trees that drop leaves or pods. These droppings could become very slippery if it rains. Build the ramp so it faces south, if possible. The way, the sun can help dry the ramp surface after it rains or snows.

Ramp Accessories
Once your ramp is built, spice it up with these important accessories:

1. Mount guardrails along the side of the ramp. Put them about 18 inches from the ramp floor. This rail will help keep people and wheelchairs safely on the ramp.
2. Install edging along the floor of the ramp so no one will slide off. The edging should be 2 inches high.
3. Put handrails on both sides of the ramp. Use wood. Metal could be hard to hold in winter. Handrails should extend at least 12 inches beyond the ramp at both ends.
4. Build a set of stairs off the top landing of the ramp. This way, friends and relatives can use the stairs if they don’t want to use the ramp.

Stairs

There are two words to keep in mind when putting in stairs: one is “long” and the other is “low.”

Stair treads should be long. The tread is the level part of the step where you stand. Treads should be between 11 and 12 inches deep. You should be able to rest your entire foot on the stair treads – from toe to heel. Treads should also be at least 36 inches wide – 42 or 48 inches is better. With treads this long, two people can walk side by side. And you will have the room to install a stair lift in the future if someone needs it.

Stair risers should be low. The riser is the height of the space between treads. The higher your riser, the higher you’ll have to lift your leg to climb the stairs. Most risers range in height from 3½ to 7 inches. Which height should you choose? It depends on the person who is using the stairs. Not sure? Check with a health care provider, like a physical therapist. He or she can advise you.

The safest stairs have treads that are exactly alike and risers that are exactly alike. All the treads will be the same depth and width. All the risers will be the same height.

Breaking Up is Easy to Do
Break up a long flight of stairs by building landings. Make one landing for every 10 steps in a staircase. You can build more landings than this, but don’t overdo it. Having landings appear too often could cause someone to fall. The person may become confused and think they are stepping on a landing when they are really stepping on a tread. You should have at least three risers (steps) between landings.

A straight staircase is the safest option. If your staircase changes direction, make sure you build a landing at the turn. This is the only way to keep all the treads in your staircase the same length.

Stair Safety Guidelines
People often fall on stairways that have only one or two steps. This is usually because they don’t know the steps are there. These steps may be the same color and texture as the area around them. Lighting in the area may be poor. The stairs may not be marked in any way. All this makes them hard to see.

Make sure people can easily tell where your steps are. Paint the edge of each step in a color that stands out. Make the steps a different color than the surrounding area. Put up a handrail. A handrail helps the person climb the steps. It also provides a visual clue that the steps are there.

Make sure that no one will slip on your steps. If your staircase has carpeting, attach that carpet securely. Put slip-resistant pads on wooden steps. Paint a white strip at the end of each tread so it is easier to see at night. If you paint the steps, add some sand to the paint to give traction. Install handrails on both sides of the staircase. Train children from a young age to always use the handrail.

People walking on the stairs should be able to hit the tip of their shoe against the riser as they climb. Don’t leave this space between the treads open. This is a hazard.

Make sure all stairways are well lit. Put a light switch at the top and the bottom of each staircase. This way, you can turn on the lights before you going up or down.

The Front Door

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a butler and a maid waiting for you when you came home each day? They would stand at the front door ready to fulfill your every need. He would open the door for you. She could take your packages. He might hold an umbrella to keep you dry. If you used a wheelchair, they would be there to wheel you inside.

Very few of us can afford this luxury. But you can design your front door so it works for you. Here’s how.

• Make sure the doorway is wide enough. You’ll breeze right through a doorway that gives you 32 inches of clear space. A friend in a wheelchair also can roll in easily. Want extra space to move big items in and out? Make the front doorway 36 inches wide.
• Buy lever handles for your doors. Press down on the flat surface of these handles and your door opens. No need to twist or grab.
• Leave an open space just inside and outside of your front door. The area should measure at least 5 feet by 5 feet. This space is useful to people who use a cane, walker or wheelchair. It gives them plenty of room to move up to and through the front door. Leave two feet of open floor space on the side of the door where the lock and lever handle are. That way, someone in a wheelchair can reach the door handle.
• Build an overhang above the door. Once you are out of the rain or snow, you can take your time opening the door. A roof also keeps ice and snow from building up outside the front door.
• Build an outside shelf near the door. Put your packages on the shelf before you start fishing for your keys.

Look Ma, No Key!
It would be a lot easier to get into your front door if you didn’t have to unlock the door. Imagine. No stopping to find your keys. No struggling to fit the key into the keyhole. No straining your hands to turn a stiff lock. Of course, nowadays you can’t leave your doors unlocked. But you can lock your door without a key. All you need is a keyless locking system.

Not all keyless systems are the same. Some run on batteries. Others are wired into your home’s electric current. How you actually unlock the door will depend on the keyless model you choose. You might punch a code into a keypad. On some, you press a remote control button on your key ring. Others open the door when you stick a plastic card into a slot.

Mount your system where everyone can reach it. And, make sure you can use a regular key if the system isn’t working.

Who’s at the Door?
Don’t open your front door until you know who rang the bell. There are a few ways to find this out.

• You could take a peek at your visitor through small windows that you install on the side of the door.
• You could get a glimpse of your guest by looking through small peep holes in the door. Put these peep holes at two levels so both children and adults – and someone who is sitting down – can reach them.
• You could also install a doorbell that works like an intercom. Intercom doorbells let you talk to your visitor without opening the door. You use a speaker/receiver inside the house. Your visitor uses one that is outside the front door. You answer the doorbell by pushing a button on your unit. This lets you talk to the visitor. The visitor pushes a button that lets him or her talk back to you. Some units even have a camera so you can also see who is at the door.

Buy two or three intercom units for inside your home. Put one on each floor. That way, you’ll always be near a unit when someone comes to the front door. You only need one intercom unit outside. You can also buy an intercom doorbell that work through your phones. These intercoms send a special ring to every phone in your house. Pick up the phone nearest you, and start talking to your guest. Some intercom units even let you unlock the door and let your guest into the house. This is helpful if you can’t get to the door.

Other Safety Features
Make sure your front door is as safe as it can be. Shine plenty of lights on the doorway, lock, porch, and walkway. Prune shrubs and trees so your neighbors can see your front door. This will help them see – and report – any suspicious activity.