Grab Bar Length and Diameter: What Your Hand Can Actually Hold
A grab bar has to be 1.25 to 2 inches thick for a hand to close around it, and long enough to catch you where you actually slip. Here is how to pick both.
Guides
Walker, Rollator and Wheelchair Widths: Measure the Device First
Most adult mobility devices are 21 to 27 inches wide at the widest point. Measure the device, not the seat, and check the hallway before you blame the door.
Is ADA Required in a Private Home? No, and Here Is What Is
The ADA does not reach a private house. Here is what the Fair Housing Act covers instead, where the numbers come from, and the one rule that can actually bind you.
Holiday Visit Red Flags: The Twenty-Minute Walk Through Their House
You will be in their house longer than you have looked at it all year. Here is what to check, in what order, and what to leave for their doctor.
Outside: Paths, Steps, and Getting to the Car
The garden path and the driveway are where surfaces are uneven and lighting is worst. Both matter more in winter.
Hallways and Floors: Width, Rugs, and Light
Hallways are where equipment gets stuck and rugs cause falls. Both are cheap to fix.
The Living Room: The Chair Is the Whole Problem
Soft, low seating is the most common obstacle in the house, and the fix is usually height and arms rather than a lift chair.
The Kitchen: Reach, Grip, and the Stove
Most kitchen problems are reaching and gripping, not cooking. Move things before buying anything.
The Room-by-Room Home Safety Audit
A printable walk-through of the whole house. Takes about thirty minutes and gives you the five measurements every later purchase depends on.
Nothing Is Wrong Yet: What to Do Now Anyway
The cheapest time to make a house safe is before anyone needs it to be. Five things, none of which look like medical equipment.