This Old House host Kevin O’Connor and Rick Castino from Operation Independence remodel a home for a wheelchair-enabled homeowner. (See below for steps.)
SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse
Steps for How to Retrofit a Home for Accessibility:
1. Meet with the homeowner and his or her physical therapist to determine which rooms need to be altered to make the home accessible.
2. Identify the best entryway into the house. A two-car garage offers ample room to enter and exit a vehicle, and maneuver a wheelchair, especially during inclement weather.
3. Walk through the house and look for steps and other obstructions that lead from one room to another.
4. Check for obstructions and steps on both sides of the thresholds at patio doors.
5. To provide safe access to the second floor, without paying the exorbitant cost of an elevator, consider an automated stair chair.
6. Measure all doorways and make note of any that need to be widened to accommodate a wheelchair.
7. When evaluating the bathroom, take into account all wheelchair obstacles, including tubs, showers, vanities, and partition walls.
8. Install a battery-powered stair chair along the staircase leading from the main living area up to the second floor.
9. Build wood ramps or install steel ramps to provide access at all steps. Wheelchair ramps must be 1 foot long for each inch in height, so a 9-inch-high step would require a 9-foot-long ramp.
10. Replace a standard tub with a curbless, barrier-free shower stall.
11. Nail solid-wood blocking between the wall studs in the bathroom to provide support for grab bars.
12. Replace the existing bathroom floor with slip-resistant porcelain tile.
13. Install a slide-bar showerhead with handheld sprayer, and an adjustable fixed showerhead, to accommodate people of all physical abilities.
14. Mount two or three standard grab bars in the shower stall.
15. Double-duty grab bars are also available, including ones that serve as a towel rack, soap dish, and toilet-paper holder.
16. Modify the existing vanity to allow the wheelchair to roll beneath the bath sink.
17. Mount offset hinges onto the bath door to provide additional clearance into the bathroom.
About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we’re ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O’Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB
Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter
http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest
Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG
http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG
Tumblr: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTumblr
For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite
How to Retrofit a Home for Accessibility | Ask This Old House
https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/
David helps a NY couple find their second home on Oneida Lake. source
Brian and Mika help an engaged couple with their first big joint decision. source
This home is located in the neighborhood of Rocky Creek in Southwest Austin. The builder…
A family building a dovetail log cabin races to beat the elements. source
In this video, you will learn how to set up a photography studio at home…
View Comments
Chair lifts can be found used on Craigslist and FB marketplace for those on a budget !
That lip at the bottom of the ramp at 7:45 is NO GOOD. There is no way his wheelchair can get up that without assistance from someone. It must be a smooth transition. They need to sit in that wheelchair themselves and try that ramp.
"There it goes. Up the stairs."
0:32 HIPAA violation
Wow that’s what I need in my house to get around
Dad dies like a month later by falling down the stairs, WASTE OF MONEY
So mean
My dad modified his home in 2014 just in case he had to go into a wheel chair. Last year in April 2019 he went into a wheelchair. But died in July. Great job guys.
My great grandparents had an elevator in their house, and my uncle now lives there and the elevator was very useful. My grandmother’s worst enemy was stairs as she got older. The elevator was installed by my great grandfather with his own two hands. Us Italians are like that. The elevator takes up all three floors of the house. The motor and all the controls are in the basement, and the car is for the first and second floor. 100% fail safe. Gets an inspection every year. God bless you and your family!
This is my favorite episode.
You are the best!