A Place for Mom's Family

I thought I would kick of this discussion thread with an article that I wrote. It is appearing in the Boomer Advisor magazine and is available online at http://www.advisor.com/boomer/story/remodeling-safety-bathroom?page=0%2C0. The article focuses on that room in the home where aging in place can be most challenging, the bathroom.  While the target for the article is the mainstream boomer is typical hasn't begun to think about these issues for themselves, they are facing these issues for parents or grandparents.

For this forum, I'd love to hear people's thought/issues/challenges around home modifications big and small.  Sometimes I can offer suggestions, but hopefully we can get comments from a wide variety of people--I often find that individual homeowners and caregivers come up with creative solutions.

Hope to hear from you.

I recently learned about the American Disability Act regarding bathrooms. That is where the shower floor is flushed with the regular floor and a senior and or handicapped person can walk right into the shower. NO step up and no step down. I have a family I am working with that needs that kind of shower floor and so many of my properties do not have it.... IT MAKES great sense, and less falling for everyone!

Belinda Battistelli

Eldercare Advisor

I agree Belinda, the current housing stock in the US has far too few properties that are well set up for aging in place or living with a disability. We beleive given the current agining of the population that homes with these sorts of modifications, if well done, will actually increase in value.  ADA guidelines are a great place to start, but they often don't apply to residential settings--and often the best solution for an individual does not conform to ADA specs.  For example, a walk-in bathtub won't meet ADA guidelines but can be a great alternative to a traditional baths.  And barrier free shower options are offered by companies like Best Bath http://www.best-bath.com/ or can be custom built and you'll have a bathroom that looks beautiful and upscale, not like a public facility.

 About a year ago I posted a short primer on bath retrofit options on my blog--it's a good overview of options and has a picture of a nice wet-floor shower we did--rather unique in that it provided access from two seperate bathrooms, increasing the flexibility for the homeowner. If you work with someone who is experienced in this area you can creatively solve design issues.  Options are increasing all the time--one company now makes an insert for tub cuts that makes it a walk-in tub, preserving use of the tub for able bodied folk. Something I wasn't aware of a year ago.

http://iyhusa.blogspot.com/2007/02/options-for-more-accessible-showering.html