Nothing Is Wrong Yet: What to Do Now Anyway
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Almost everything on this site is easier, cheaper and less upsetting to do before it is needed. Done early, none of it looks like equipment — it just looks like a well-built house.
The five worth doing now
- Blocking in the bathroom walls. If a bathroom is ever renovated, have plywood backing put behind the tile around the tub and toilet. It costs almost nothing during the work and means a grab bar can go anywhere later, no stud hunting.
- Lever handles. Replace knobs as they wear out. Usable with a fist, an elbow or arthritic hands, and nobody reads them as medical.
- Lighting on the night route. Bedroom to bathroom, low level, motion sensing.
- Second handrail on the stairs. Cheap, quick, and serves everyone in the house.
- One step-free way in. Even if it is the back door. Knowing there is a route that can take a ramp changes what is possible later.
Measure once and keep the numbers
Doorway clear widths, toilet bowl shape and seat height, tub wall width, entrance rise, stud locations. Five minutes with a tape and a phone note. Every future decision gets easier.
What not to buy yet
Not yet
Rollators, shower chairs, risers — buy these when there is a need, not in advance. Needs change, products improve, and equipment bought early usually turns out to be the wrong size or type by the time it is wanted.