Making your Home Adaptable

As we age, we want our home to be accessible and easy to navigate through. Whether that means
designing a new retirement home or remodeling your existing home, Jake Hulet Construction has
some suggestions that will make your home more functional and safe:

The Exterior of your home:

1. Outside stairs are often our client’s biggest concerns.
When designing your home, consider elevation gains and how you will access your outside
doors and garage area. We recommend building a single level home or a home that has all
the necessary rooms (master bedroom and bathroom, living area, kitchen, and laundry) on
the main level.

If you are remodeling your existing home with outside stairs, we can design a tasteful and
complimentary ramp to your home in place of the stairs.

2. Maintenance on the outside of your home can also be a challenge. We recommend vinyl siding
or brick that requires little to no maintenance.

The Interior of your home:

3. Inside stairs can limit your ability to access some areas of your home.
If you have a basement, or a multi level home, we recommend either installing
1) an elevator or 2) a stair lift seat. We have recently installed a stair lift seat in a home on stairs
leading to the basement that works well and was reasonably priced.

4. Your Kitchen should be built on the main level of your home.
Access to cabinets is also important. We recommend adding roll out shelves for kitchen
cabinets. By making your cabinets more accessible, you will be able to operate and enjoy your
kitchen more fully.

5. A Bathroom also needs to be found on the main level of your home.
Typically showers are easier to maneuver in than bathtubs; showers can have curbs built with
small ramps that allow wheelchairs and walker to roll in and out easily. Also, grab bars can be
easily installed. Bathroom cabinets can also be designed to allow wheelchairs to fit under the
sink.

6. Doorways and hallways should be at least 36” wide allowing for wheelchairs and walker to
easily maneuver from room to room. Additional, we recommend using lever door knobs that
make opening and shutting door easier.

If you are considering designing a new retirement home or remodeling your existing home, give
Jake Hulet Construction a call 435-590-9565 or email to discuss how your needs can be met.