Grab Bar Distance From Wall: Why 1½ Inches, Exactly
The gap between a grab bar and the wall should be 1.5 inches. Too little and your hand will not fit. Too much and your forearm can slip through in a fall.
Category: Measurements
The exact numbers: mounting heights, ramp slopes, clear widths. Private homes are not bound by the ADA, but these are the tested-safe figures builders and OTs work to.
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.
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.
Shower Seat and Transfer Bench Height
Seventeen to nineteen inches, the same as a comfort-height toilet, so transfers happen level.
Threshold Height: When a Door Sill Becomes a Trip Hazard
Half an inch, and bevelled. Anything taller needs a ramp, and the number decides which kind.
Water Heater Temperature Setting
Set it to 120°F. Older skin burns at temperatures that feel merely hot to you, and it burns faster.
How Much Weight Must a Grab Bar Hold?
250 pounds of force, in the worst direction. That number is about the anchor, not about the person.
Stair Handrail Height
Thirty-four to thirty-eight inches above the stair nosing, on both sides, with grip you can actually close a hand around.
Turning Space for a Wheelchair
Sixty inches for a full circle, or a 60-by-60 T-turn. Most existing bathrooms have neither, and here is what to do about that.