I'll chime in on the *wide* doorways... make 'em even wider than ADA minimum (we went with 50 inches), as I hate grazing my *knuckles* lol!

that meant we had to have the doors custom-made, but it's worth it.

grab bars, at least four in the bathroom, (two in the shower, and two by the toilet.)

a pedestal sink, oh yeah! that works perfectly... you can roll right up to it.

a roll-in shower is nice, and I designed mine with a corner bench seat.

I posted some pix of my bathroom a while back:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...athroom&page=3

from the bench, I can reach the shower handles, the detachable shower-head, AND the soap-dish, and shampoo rack.

and I put non-slip decal-stuff on the floor tiles for extra protection.

the front of my house has a wide entrance ramp... we used a ratio of 1:20, because we had lots of room, but the minimum is 1:12.

ours is concrete, and tiled (for beauty and easy-cleaning) and has sandpaper strips every eight inches.

The ADA mandates that the slope of any ramp must not be more than one inch of rise for every 12 inches of run. In other words, if you need to reach a platform that is 30 inches in height, you must build the ramp to be at least 30 feet long. Measure up from the ground to find how many inches the ramp must rise.

Wood can be very hazardous when wet or icy. Install sand grit strips to enhance traction. (Aluminum or concrete can be used instead wood to build a ramp.)

http://www.mobility-advisor.com/buil...hair-ramp.html

when I designed my wheelchair-friendly dream house, I opted for SMALL, and went with two large rooms.

I put the bed diagonally in the corner, which takes up a lot more room, BUT is a lot easier to make, and to get in and out of.

I put the window latches LOW, so I can close up the house myself when a storm comes... and the door handles are all the LEVER-type, so I can open them easily.

my next project is to put castors on the legs of my heavy furniture, so it can be moved for sweeping and floor-mopping.

LOL - most my furniture is on wheels. It makes it so much easier when cleaning.

I agree Kay, small house with large rooms/large spaces.

Definitely go wide. Angling doors helps as well. It will eliminate sharp turns.

In my old place I had a U shaped kitchen, which had plenty of room for a wheelchair/scooter to move around in. However, I hated it as my balance was so horrible that the space was not functional at all. I now have a galley kitchen and love it. For me it works well as I can turn holding one countertop and then grab on to the countertop on the other side.

Twinks, I will take pics tomorrow and post them. The hallways should be 48 inches and doors 36 inches. But Kay is right about the knuckle scratches. The pocket doors are a great investment to add space that otherwise would be empty. A wheelchair can get through those really good. Doors come in the standard 36" but larger would be better. We decided on the standard for cost.

In th bathroom Jim has a counter that is tiled, no cabinets under it at all. He rolls right up to the sink. We installed a cabinet on the wall for keeping things in. Oh and when you tile the bathroom? Go ahead and install tile baseboard instead of wood. You wouldn't believe how much nicer that looks and avoids mold and knicks.

And if you must install a ramp, go with sanded gravel cement or Trex to build. The wood ones do get slippery here at my house.

Thanks, Sandy. I cut and pasted my house plans half the day.

You change one thing, and it leads to a dozen other adjustments.

I thought I was getting close to getting it figured out, but still working on the bathrooms, so thanks for you timely input.

I read somewhere that you should porcelain tile instead of ceramic? Something to do with the density, but I don't remember exactly why. Tile mouldings sound good -- wouldn't have thought of that.

Considering putting a cement ramp in the garage. My Dad is in pretty good shape now, but even he admits he's slowing down. He turns 95 in August and will move in the new house with us. The HC access. bathroom will be next to the master bedroom, but I'll share if necessary. Hope we never need these accommodations, but you never know.



Looking forward to seeing your pics. Thanks so much!

I have porcelain in the bathroom. From what I hear they are tougher and withstand more wear. I think I also heard something about moisture being less able to penetrate in porcelain? Not to mention they are more slip resistant than ceramic tile.

Here is what I found: ceramic versus porcelain tile

Kay, after looking at your pics, I'll bet you have the nicest house in all of Belize! Thanks so much for the tips. I am saving all the links to refer back to. Am even considering doing a bidet like yours.

Let me know if you think of anything else.