Making homes wheelchair accessible is fun and you can get more out of life. Blocks, inaccessible things and stuff can cause more irritation and plays on ones confidence. So lets make our homes accessible, reachable for an independent lifestyle ( I mean 100%. I wont settle for anything less)

Let’s start from the main door

Wheelchair Accessible Doors

Doors should be 34 - 36 inches wide for easy passage. Make the direction of the door swing to the side where an open door wont be an obstacle for you. The door should be bigger if there is a wall on one side of the door which would require the person in the wheelchair to turn as they enter. Pocket doors or offset hinges can be used to create more space while opening a door

Wheelchair Accessible Door Handles

Lever handles on the door can make opening and closing easier and they provide more grip tan round door knobs.

Wheelchair Accessible Door Viewers

Install peep holes at your height. If it should be a problem for other at home, install a second one at your height!

Automatic Door Openers

Automatic makes accessible much simpler as they do not require closing and opening of doors manually. Automatic door openers opens doors at the push of button.

Wheelchair Accessible Door Ramps.

To make wheelchair accessible from outside, if you need ramps or lifts erect one please. Don’t always ask someone to push you up. If you can afford go for a platform lift, which is very simple to use. If finance is a problem go for a ramp- cheaper than lifts - but try to make them according to the standards (i.e. to clear 1inch height you need 1 feet inclination) . However, this requires huge space to clear high barriers. Therefore, go for a steeper (not too steep!) ramp. But make sure you have a protective wheel fitted in the rear of the wheelchair to prevent tipping and falling backward. Always make sure there is a flat platform near the door big enough for you to stop and open the door. Always make sure your brakes on the wheelchair are perfectly fit.

Ramps perpendicular to door have certain wheelchair accessible practical problems. When the door is reached, for some people in wheelchair accessing the doorknob will be a problem. If you can access the doorknob facing it no problem but for people who cannot, you can think about erecting the ramp parallel to the door. So that when you reach the door, you are not facing the door but sitting sideways to the door. You can erect the ramp on any side comfortable to you.

If you have a door threshold, you can fix another ramp there on both sides of the door to negotiate the threshold. To maintain the aesthetic look you can paint the ramps in the color of the floor.

You may ask that you can use ranchers to reach the doors and why go for parallel ramps. Here I would like to say something. The places you use regularly should be modified permanently rather than using accessories. Carrying too many accessories is a pain.

Now you are inside the house.

It took me 15 minutes to write this. However, by implementing these ideas it will not take more than 2 minutes to get into your house by yourself.

Getting out

With the wheelchair accessible ramps installed there should not be a problem getting out and locking the house. However, a few tips can help.

Use a lock that can lock itself when shut without using keys. Caution always have a easily accessible spare key around (May be in a friends, relative place who can help you at anytime) incase you shut yourself out without keys. Same way a spare key inside will also make things easier.

Have a long beautiful chain connected to the doorknob / handle to make your door wheelchair accessible. Shut the door while you come out of your home. Just hold the chain in the loose end and come out of your home the door locks automatically. Fun isn’t it.

Wheelchair accessible Windows

Making windows lower and taller would suit both a standing person and a person in a wheelchair. Make the window latches open in tandem i.e., when the lower latch is opened the top one too opens. This would make window opening and closing simpler for a person in wheelchair

TAG: disability and society