Aging in Place: Renovating Homes for Senior Living

Most seniors still prefer aging in place until their final days, however, the layout of their houses will make it difficult to accommodate this transition as they age. This is why renovating homes for senior living will not only enhance a home’s market value, but these improvements will make day-to-day living easier and safer.

A recent AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) survey shows that most seniors (90%) want to stay in their homes for the next 5-10 years, with the majority (85%) believing they do not need to do or make big changes to their homes. This is despite their admission of experiencing growing difficulty in independent living, and even having differences in their own personal circumstances. They still prefer aging in place, retirement living in their own homes, that is, to an assisted living facility.

Common Reasons Why Seniors Prefer Aging in Place

These are generally the most common reasons given by seniors why they prefer aging in place, in their own home or with a family member or two and hesitate to move into senior living 9or facilities.

1. Moving is Stressful, Physically and also Emotionally

Even non-seniors consider moving physical stress. Sorting through years, decades for the seniors, of possessions and memorabilia, and organizing then packing these, takes a toll on the body. Hiring a moving service won’t help, the service will not do the sorting and organizing and packing. Then there would be the decision-making on which to take to the transfer, which to keep in storage, which to give away, and which to dispose of.

2. Fearing Loss of Autonomy or Independence

Previous generations used to deal with mobility and health issues of their aging parents or grandparents by sending them to a nursing home, some even citing the American Disabilities Act to have their elders certified as aging by a medical practitioner.

Mobile, ambulant elders with still active and lucid minds do not only fear losing their independence (having their movements restricted by the nursing home’s rules) but also feel slighted, in the least, and offended, at worst. Hence, their preference for aging in place, regardless of the stark differences between the nursing homes of 50 years ago and the retirement facilities at present. It is hard to change these perceptions.

3. Separation Anxiety over Leaving a Community

Leaving a community they had lived in for a long time would mean a possible break from the emotional ties built over decades. And would also call for facing, adjusting to, and living with new routines, which is quite a naturally common or expected emotional stress on the elderly.

4. Emotional Connection to the Family Home

This one elderly fear cuts across all races and genders. Whether the elderly are unmarried, a couple, or widowed. Most especially to a widowed senior, the family home isn’t just a building, it signifies the biggest and most important part of their life – the venue for their past 40-70 years of joys and laughter, tears and heartache, struggles, and achievements.

5. Fear of the Unknown

We all have this, the seniors are no exception. Their worry and anxiety over the eventual loss of cherished relationships and having to face something that is totally new – environment, people, routines – overrides any consideration for their physical or health safety in their own home.

Home Modifications that Support Aging in Place

The above is just a condensed version of elderly reasons for wanting to live out their aging in place, instead of moving to a retirement living facility or community.

Some seniors are even willing to make their own investment in their homes to counter safety considerations for moving to a facility or community where aging in place can occur with professional or experienced supervision. Read more about the best neighborhood in Virginia Beach for retirees.

The following are the major areas that would need to be upgraded or renovated so your home will not pose any threats to growing physical issues as you age. Here are some tips on how to best address these concerns.

1. Entrance and Entryways

Among the most visible and first signs when people age is posture and mobility, thus canes become a common accessory for the elderly. Some have more serious issues that require them to use a wheelchair if not all the time, for most of the time.

From the curb to the front door, adjustments have to be made to allow their safety in moving, whether they are using a cane or a wheelchair.

Ramp for easier access to the front door

Ramps are not just for wheelchairs. A ramp eliminates having to climb steps. Installing banisters does not help sometimes in maintaining balance in climbing steps. There are different variations of ramps nowadays, like from the street to the curb, or entrance to the home, even threshold ramp systems that make it easy or comfortable to go into different rooms.

Replace doorknobs

Traditional round doorknobs are still around. Because they’re made of metal, holding them securely to turn them becomes difficult as we age, and arthritic hands become a problem. You can either replace the door knobs with door lever handles, or you can get door knob grips. These are made of plastic and when placed over the doorknobs, make opening the door easier and more convenient.

If your doors need keys to open, you can get those large plastic key turners. They give better leverage for turning keys. There are also models that hold two or more keys.

Going Up and Down Multi-level homes safely

If your house has 2 or more stories, assistive renovations are not that expensive anymore. You can go from your first floor anywhere up in your two-story home with ease. The pneumatic vacuum elevator costs lower than the traditional home elevator takes up less space as well, and less time to install.

An even more affordable alternative is a stairlift which newer models have folding seats and curved rails. The stairlift is easier to install too, taking up an hour or less.

Update Flooring

Age-related accidents occur because of flooring flaws, too. The ADA has guidelines including flooring and these are valuable guides to deciding if your floors need to be replaced or just repaired. For example, carpeted floors – the carpets have to be fastened securely to the floor by at least one-half inch thick.

2. Bathroom Safety

Among the dangerous places in a house, the bathroom is one of the most dangerous for seniors. The NIA (National Institute on Aging) statistics report that more than 1.6 million older Americans over 65 yo, or one out of every four, wind up in emergency rooms with injuries from falling. It is easy to imagine that these falls occur more in the bathroom than in any other room in the house.

Grab bars in the Bathroom & Toilet

For aging in place with peace of mind for you and your family members, grab bars should be installed in the bathroom.

There are key safety features for an ADA-compliant bathroom.

1. Sink – The wall-mounted or pedestal type must follow a measurement from the floor to the bottom of the sink and be located such that the wheelchair-bound user has space to move into position. If the sink is the countertop type, the space along the front edge must be only a few inches.
2. Grab bars – The ADA requires a home to install grab bars in the shower stall or bathtub, 33-36 inches above the floor.
3. Toilet – There must be ample space to allow the user immediate access to the toilet seat and the grab bar. The unit must be at least 60 inches with 17-19 inches for the seat from the base to its top.

Other safety recommendations are:

Walk-in tubs – A walk-in tub is easy to use and has various safety features like an ultra-low step for convenient and secure entry and exit from the tub, and grab bars that are easy to reach inside and outside the tub. You could find T&B systems that have a walk-in tub model with wide doors and a fast-drain system.

Slip-proof tiles – there are products of porcelain, glass and ceramic flooring material that can assure you of safety as well as functionality in your bathroom. Even with limited mobility, you can then move around your space with confidence.

Curbless Shower – Although the regular walk-in shower can be ADA-compliant following the requirements of widening doors, low thresholds, and built-in seating, the curbless shower is the safest way for an elderly person to bathe. Since it is curbless, there is no ledge to step over, reducing a possible trip and fall. With no threshold, it is also wheelchair-accessible.

Replace Faucets

You have faucets in more than one room in your house and even outside. These are among the home modifications you would need to take care of. If your current home has the traditional faucets that need turning, you can use plastic grips to make it easier to manipulate.

There are, however, newer developments, which are not too expensive so you can replace your traditional faucets with lever handle faucets that don’t need to be gripped for turning. Newer upgrades are touchless faucets and even anti-scald faucets, especially in the bathrooms. This kind of faucet prevents hot water bursts that happen when the hot water system is interrupted.

3. Improve Lighting

Vision is also one of the first to be affected as you age. Therefore, your home modifications must also prioritize upgrading and improving the lighting all over the house, inside and out.

It isn’t only in the bedrooms where you have to ensure bright lighting, but also in the living room, dining room, and bathroom, even the kitchen.

Add nightlights all around the house

We see a lot of this in the movies and on TV – the elderly getting out of bed in the middle of the night, or pre-dawn, out of the bedroom and going to other parts of the house. You can add nightlights all around, or recessed lamps in places you often go to, like the living room and dining room.

You can put rim lights on your toilet seat to make it easier for you to locate your restroom even without turning on the light overhead or lamp inside. And, if you’re the type to sneak into the kitchen for late-night snacks, there are toe-kick nightlights that can be installed under the base of your kitchen cabinets.

Brighten Rooms with LED Canister lights

Ceiling lights are not enough to help your diminishing eyesight. Installing LED bulbs in each room doesn’t just transform a drab-looking room into a bright cheery one. It is brightening your room to, more importantly, make you see better. LED lights have higher energy efficiency and cost much less money than traditional bulbs.

4. Kitchen Safety

It’s not only the lights and floors that need to be upgraded to ensure you won’t meet any accidents in the kitchen. The other fixtures need upgrading too!

Update drawers and cabinets

Since grasping or gripping is already understood to be an age issue, you must replace cabinet door handles that are easier to grasp and pull. Better still, install pull-out shelving. Replace the top and bottom shelves with pull out shelves.

Don’t forget your pantry, replace it with pull-out shelving too. The pullout shelves in the upper cabinets have a knob mechanism that makes the shelf drop towards you, making it possible for you to reach it without fear of slipping on a small ladder or stool.

Conclusion

The most common home improvements for aging-in-place are still the installation of grab bars in the bathrooms and replacement of higher toilets, among the low-cost, low maintenance, and simple renovations. Otherwise, you can take out a home equity loan to help you realize larger-scale projects.

Talk to a top real estate agent, like Barry Jenkins – Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate | Real Estate Agents in Virginia Beach, VA before purchasing a home for sale in Virginia Beach so you can find the ideal home to live in and renovate as your age.

Aging in place, safely, in the comfort and stability of your current home is no longer a big deal nowadays. One can even browse online for these complete kitchen systems, bathroom systems, bedroom systems, etc., in different models and styles, order your choice and have it delivered straight to your home!