A recent study released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University found that 6.8 million households in the U.S. reported difficulties navigating their homes. These difficulties include entering the house, using the bathroom and kitchen, and simply getting around. Do these issues sound familiar? We’re here to help. Adding accessibility features could significantly decrease the instances of these difficulties. Liv Home Pros outlined some benefits of building an accessible home to accommodate your loved ones.
Are you interested in building or adding accessibility features to your home in the Rochester, NY, area? Contact Liv Home Pros today to learn more about what we can do for you!
What is an Accessible Home?
Like many others, when you hear “accessible home,” you probably picture a wheelchair ramp–but it goes so much further than that. Simply put, an accessible home is a house, apartment, condo, etc., with accommodations for persons of all abilities—including: wheelchair ramps, stairlifts, ceiling lifts, and other remodeling projects. These accommodations may be installed at the time of building or added later on. They are designed to increase mobility, freedom, quality of life, and more.
How Accessible Homes Benefit People with Mobility Issues
1. Improved Quality of Life
The main benefit of building an accessible home is how it will drastically improve the quality of life of your disabled loved one. With accessibility remodeling, the home will be built and improved to meet their specific needs. They will no longer have to make sacrifices to feel safe or comfortable; instead, their home is built to properly serve them.
2. Increased Mobility
For those with limited mobility, it can feel like they are constantly trapped in one space. Mobility accommodations allow for greater freedom of movement around the home. This can help them feel less confined and more independent.
For more information about Liv Home Pros mobility solutions, visit our website.
3. Greater Mental Health
Mobility issues can be seriously detrimental to one’s mental health, especially if they were brought on suddenly or by a traumatic event. According to the CDC, adults with disabilities are five times as likely to suffer from mental distress than those without disabilities. Furthermore, more than half of all adults with mobility disabilities reported mental distress. They also state that the severity of mental distress can be improved by more access to care and support services, including accessibility accommodations.
4. Safety & Comfort
Your home should be your number one safe space–but when you have limited mobility, the whole world can feel unsafe. At Liv Home Pros, it is our main priority to make you feel safe, comfortable, and happy in your home again. Adding accommodations to your home will not only make you and your loved one feel safe from the dangers of the outside world but comfortable knowing their home is made to assist them, not confine them.
5. Sense of Normalcy
It can be difficult to feel “normal” after a major life change. When someone goes through an event that completely alters their way of life and abilities, it immediately feels like their whole world is turned upside down. One of the goals of an accessible home is to create a sense of normalcy in the home. When the rest of the world feels foreign and difficult to navigate, accommodations can make your house feel like your safe place again.
Get an Accessible Home With Liv Home Pros
When you are living with a disability, it can feel like the world is against you. With an accessible home, you can finally feel comfortable again. With accommodations designed to meet your specific mobility needs, you no longer have to worry about navigating your home.
Liv Home Pros has assisted countless families in the Rochester, NY, area with adapting customized accessible homes. Interested in seeing what we can build for you? Contact us today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is an accessible home?
An accessible home is a house, apartment, condo, or other residence that includes accommodations for people of all abilities, not just wheelchair users. Common features include wheelchair ramps, stairlifts, ceiling lifts, grab bars, curbless showers, and widened doorways. These features can be included during original construction or added later through accessible remodeling, and they are designed to increase mobility, safety, and independence.
What are the benefits of making a home accessible?
The main benefits of an accessible home include: improved quality of life, since the home is built around a person’s specific needs; increased mobility and independence; better mental health, since accessibility can reduce the isolation and distress associated with mobility limitations; greater safety and comfort at home; and a renewed sense of normalcy after a major life change. Long term, accessibility features can also help protect a home’s resale value.
How does home accessibility affect mental health?
Mobility limitations are strongly linked to mental health. According to the CDC, adults with disabilities report frequent mental distress almost five times as often as adults without disabilities. Making a home more accessible can reduce daily frustration and isolation, restore a sense of independence, and improve overall wellbeing the CDC notes that access to supportive services and accommodations can help reduce mental distress among people with disabilities.
What accessibility features should I consider first?
Start with the areas of the home that create the most daily risk or difficulty: a step-free entry (ramp) if there are steps at the main entrance, a stairlift or ceiling lift if the home has multiple levels, and bathroom modifications like grab bars or a curbless shower, since the bathroom is the most common location for falls at home. A CAPS-certified provider like Liv Home Pros can assess a home and prioritize modifications based on the specific mobility needs involved.
Do accessibility modifications increase home value?
Accessibility modifications can help protect and, in some cases, increase a home’s resale value, particularly as demand for aging-in-place features continues to grow nationally. Universal-design-style features wider doorways, lever-style handles, curbless showers, step-free entries tend to appeal to a broad range of buyers rather than limiting the pool of interested buyers, unlike more visibly medical-looking modifications.
How much does it cost to make a home accessible?
Cost varies widely depending on scope a single grab bar installation costs far less than a full bathroom conversion or a whole-home accessibility remodel. Because every home and every mobility need is different, Liv Home Pros recommends a free home evaluation to assess which modifications are needed and provide an accurate estimate. Financing options are also available.
What's the difference between an accessible home and a home for aging in place?
“Accessible home” is the broader term, it refers to any home modified to accommodate people of any ability level, at any age. “Aging in place” describes a specific goal: helping someone stay safely and independently in their own home as they get older. Accessible design is one of the primary tools used to achieve aging in place, but accessibility modifications also benefit younger people with disabilities, temporary injuries, or mobility-limiting conditions.
Does Liv Home Pros build or modify accessible homes in Rochester, NY?
Yes. Liv Home Pros is a CAPS-certified accessibility provider serving Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and communities throughout Western and Central New York. We design and install wheelchair ramps, stairlifts, ceiling lifts, and bathroom modifications tailored to each home and each family’s mobility needs. Call 585-203-9200 or visit livhomepros.com/contact/ to schedule a free home evaluation.