By Melissa Fritchey
If you’re considering your options for moving to a smaller, more manageable home or staying in your current home as you approach retirement or as adult children leave the nest, its smart to keep future limitations and physical challenges in mind.
For many, staying in the home they know and love is essential. An AARP study found that nearly 80% of seniors have a desire to stay in their current home. If you find yourself leaning in this direction, now is an excellent time to consider what modifications to your home might be necessary to suit your needs and better ensure your safety as you get older.
Our current homes can often create difficulties as we encounter age-related limitations like reduced mobility and dexterity, declining vision and hearing and decreased strength. Aging-in-Place is the practice of planning for those challenges. There are many alterations you can make as your time and budget allow to make sure your home is easier to manage down the road.
If your ideal scenario is to age-in-place, here are a few suggestions:
Put Together a Solid Wish List
Go through your home and assess which rooms might have limitations for you if you become challenged with balance or coordination problems, limited vision, trouble walking or climbing stairs or the need to use a wheelchair. Youll find that some areas wont require much in the way of modifications and other areas will need more. Build a plan and timeline for tackling your list as you complete your assessment.
Focus on Improving Livability
While single-floor living might be ideal, moving to a one-story home isnt always practical. Ultimately, moving a master bedroom and laundry room to the ground floor can be part of the solution and can give homeowners many additional years in a home they love. Building and remodeling professionals who have earned the National Association of Home Builders Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation have received training on how to build or renovate a home so that the occupants can live in it safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of age.
Other basic renovations that can make your space safer and more livable:
- Wider doorways
- Levered door handles instead of knobs
- Easy to open and lock doors and windows
- Electrical outlets at 18 inches instead of 12 inches
- Light switches at 42 inches instead of 48 inches
- Non-skid floors
- Easy to grasp cabinet knobs and pulls
- Lever faucets
- Front controlled stovetops
- Curbless Showers
- Grab bars at the back and sides of shower and toilet
Leverage Technology
Smart appliances and technology are making it easier to make a home safe and more responsive to our needs. Lighting is one thing that can make a difference in many ways. Motion sensor lights can illuminate a room as soon as you enter and can connect to a home security system. A smart refrigerator can notify you if a door is left open or if you run out of milk. A wi-fi enabled fridge even has reorder and delivery functionality. There are also appliances with larger print for improved readability. Other devices like voice assistants, video doorbells and smart thermostats are particularly helpful for seniors.
Additional tech solutions that make excellent aging-in-place alterations:
- Strobe light or vibrator assisted smoke or burglar alarms
- Installation of medical response device
- Task lighting under counters
- Voice activated remote control
- Smart home phone
Expand Your Space
Depending on the age of your home, you might find that your master bath or bedroom is simply too small for comfort and livability with aging. Consider opportunities to expand into adjacent rooms and open up underutilized spaces. A professional remodeler is the best choice when trying to determine what your options are for safely creating more livable space.
Not only can aging-in-place modifications make a home easier to navigate and cater to a changing lifestyle, but they can also increase the value of a home when the time comes time to sell.
If youre interested in finding a reliable contractor to help you remodel your home, contact the York Builders Association (YBA) at 717.767.2444 or find us online at yorkbuilders.com. YBA members are insured, registered professionals committed to the building and remodeling industry in York County.
All images provided by Red Oak Remodeling.
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