Aging-in-Place Home Modifications: What Should You Do First?

Families often ask where to begin when a home is becoming harder for an older adult to navigate. The answer is usually not to remodel everything. Start with the problems that create the greatest safety risk or make the most important daily activities difficult.

Start With Immediate Fall Hazards

Clear walking paths, secure loose flooring, improve lighting and address unstable surfaces first. These changes are often less disruptive than a major renovation and can make the home easier to navigate immediately.

Make the Bathroom Safer

Bathrooms deserve special attention because water, hard surfaces and transfers can combine to create significant risk. Depending on the person and the bathroom, improvements may include grab bars, safer flooring, seating, better lighting or larger accessibility changes.

Improve Entry Access

If steps are becoming difficult, look at the entire route into the home. A secure handrail may solve one problem. A ramp or other accessibility improvement may be appropriate when a walker or wheelchair is involved.

Look at the Stairs

Secure handrails and good lighting may be enough for some homes. When stairs are becoming unsafe or impossible, a stair lift can be one option to keep another level accessible.

Make the Home Easier to Maintain

Aging in place is also about whether the home remains manageable. Property maintenance, handyman work, decluttering and technology assistance can reduce the everyday burden on an older adult and the family members helping them.

The Best First Step

If you are unsure what should come first, begin with a home safety assessment. It creates a prioritized list rather than a long list of possible projects. ADAPT Home Solutions can help Omaha seniors and families identify practical improvements and then implement them through its home modification and assistive-device services.

Schedule a Free Home Safety Assessment

About the Author

Brian Pfeifer of ADAPT Home Solutions helps Omaha seniors and families make practical decisions about home safety, accessibility and aging in place.