Home Improvement
For those with disabilities, it starts with getting in and out of the house.
After his neck was broken on April 30, 2021, when the Uber he was riding in crashed into a parked car in Somerville, Will Good had to learn to navigate life in a power wheelchair.
Now paralyzed from the neck down, Good, 34, spent several months at Massachusetts General and Spaulding Rehabilitation hospitals to care for the spinal cord injury he suffered in the accident. When the time came for his release that September, the Somerville apartment where he previously lived wouldn’t accommodate his needs. Good would have to learn to function in a world where the design scheme is generally inhospitable to those with disabilities.
While more than one in four American adults has a disability, it’s not just younger people like Good who face challenges in their homes’ design. As baby boomers enter their retirement years, many will face issues that require accommodation. But with 78 percent of baby boomers nationally planning to age in place, according to Redfin, their homes likely aren’t equipped to sustain them.
Only about 10 percent of homes nationwide are fully prepared for senior living, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. No matter the resident’s age, accessible homes are in great demand.
Each year, Rick Castino, president of Operation Independence, a home accessibility construction company based in Watertown, gets an increasing number of inquiries from people concerned about their home’s accessibility.
“By 2040 or 50, there’s going to be a huge population of people over 65 who are going to be faced with staying in their house or not,” said Castino. Some of the inquiries he receives are urgent, “because we get a lot of folks who suddenly have a stroke, or they’re in a car accident, or we do a fair amount with kids who were born with physical challenges.”
One of the first concerns tackled should be getting in and out of the home, since most houses have front steps. Linda Merrill, a Duxbury-based interior designer, notes that ramps need 1 foot for 1 inch of elevation.
“If your best access door is 30 inches off the ground, you need 30 feet of ramp,” said Merrill, who educated herself on accessible design after her father had a stroke. “You need it to not be so steep that someone couldn’t roll their wheelchair in.”
Merrill also notes that door jams need to be completely flat and threshold-free. Doorways, which can be particularly narrow in historic New England homes, often need to be widened beyond 32 inches, according to the state’s Architectural Access Board.
The bathroom is one of the most challenging spaces to navigate. Grab bars are helpful for fall prevention, and higher toilets make it easier to get up again. The installation of threshold-free or roll-in showers provides the ability to bathe.
“You can roll right in. You don’t trip. It’s the most accessible way to bathe in a bathroom,” said Castino, who notes that removing traditional bathtubs is one of his most frequent jobs.
For those returning from rehab or inpatient care, it’s important to have a trained professional evaluate your home before your return. If you’re tackling renovations now but aren’t yet having mobility issues, Merrill said it is wise to get things done you’ll likely need later. In a bathroom, installing extra blocking in the walls will allow grab bars to be put in easily later.
“If you needed to install grab bars, you have something you can install them on. You don’t see it. It’s not an expensive thing to add, because it’s just more wood,” said Merrill. “Nobody thinks they’re going to be in a wheelchair. But they might think, ‘Well, I might be weak.’ If you never need it, great. And if you do need it, it’s less work to put in.”
One of the most common issues is stairs. While some people can afford $40,000 home elevators, Castino noted that a stair lift is the most economical way to move between floors. However, they start around $4,000, and can be much more expensive for a curved staircase.
Brian Harvey, owner of Harvey Home Modifications in Natick, noted that transitioning to single-floor living is a common alternative for homeowners looking to avoid stairs.
“We have a lot of houses in Newton and the Greater Boston area where there’s not even a half bathroom on the first floor,” said Harvey. “Folks don’t want to necessarily move out of their communities, because if they’ve paid down their mortgage, there are no more affordable housing options.”
Instead, Harvey will take the existing first-floor space and make it completely self-sufficient with the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom all on the first floor. That also can free up space for someone to move in upstairs, if need be.
To minimize the risk of falling, hazards like floor rugs should be avoided. In some cases, slip-resistant flooring should be installed. Lighting modifications — such as installing enough bright white or daylight bulbs — help reduce glare for people with vision issues.
Good moved into a two-bedroom unit across the hall from his aunt in South Boston. It was modified through the state Home Modification Loan Program, which provides Massachusetts residents with disabilities or those who are over 60 with zero-interest loans for home modifications. The building was previously made more accessible due to Massachusetts’ 30 percent rule, which states that if renovations exceed 30 percent of the property’s value, full accessibility requirements must be fulfilled.
Doorways were widened to accommodate Good’s wheelchair, and shelves were mounted onto the walls to clear up floor space. The tub was removed to create a wet room, and an overhead lift was installed in the bedroom to transfer Good from his wheelchair to the bed. He and his partner, Vita Brown, have filled the South Boston condo with their art and musical instruments. They painted the walls and put several pieces of their record collection on display.
“I like to say we’ve made it move-in proof if you were just a regular person trying to buy a condo because it’s not everyone’s style,” said Good. “But it’s very much ours.”
Megan Johnson can be reached at [email protected].
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