Planning an Aging-in-Place Remodel in the Triangle

Many Triangle homeowners plan to stay in the house they have, even as the stairs, the tub and the narrow hall bath get harder to use. Aging-in-place remodeling makes a house safer and easier to live in without making it look like a hospital. The best time to do it is before you need it, and often as part of a remodel you were planning anyway.

Start with how you live

Before thinking about products, walk through a typical day and note every step, threshold, reach and dark corner that's already a nuisance. Then imagine doing the same things with a bad knee, a walker or after surgery. Key questions:

• Can you live entirely on the main floor: sleep, bathe, cook, do laundry?
• Is there a step-free way into the house?
• Are doorways and halls wide enough for a walker or wheelchair?
• Can you get in and out of the shower safely?
• Is lighting good enough at night?

The first-floor suite

In two-story houses common across the Triangle suburbs, the bedroom and full bath upstairs are often the biggest problem. Options include:

• Converting a main-floor room, like a study, dining room or bonus room, into a bedroom, and enlarging a half bath into a full bath.
• Building a first-floor addition with a bedroom and accessible bath. This is a larger project with design, permit and setback questions; see our home additions guide.
• Planning for a future stair lift or elevator by keeping a straight stair run or stacking closets that could become an elevator shaft.

The bathroom

The bathroom is where most falls happen and where design changes help most.

• Curbless or low-threshold shower with a bench, a handheld shower on a slide bar, and controls reachable from the seat.
• Grab bars at the toilet and in the shower. HomeGuide says installing a grab bar costs $100 to $350 on average. During a remodel, add solid blocking in the walls everywhere a bar might go later.
• Comfort-height toilet.
• Slip-resistant flooring with small tiles or a textured finish.
• Lever handles on faucets.
• A wider door, ideally opening outward or a pocket door.

See our bathroom remodeling guide and bathroom cost guide.

Entries, doors and halls

• A step-free entry, often from the garage, using a short ramp or regrading the walk.
• Wider doorways. Replacing narrow interior doors and using offset hinges can gain width.
• Lever door handles instead of knobs.
• Smooth transitions between flooring types.

Kitchen and laundry

• Pull-out shelves and drawers instead of deep base cabinets.
• A wall oven or microwave drawer at a comfortable height.
• Varied counter heights or a seated work area.
• A main-floor laundry.

Lighting and controls

• Brighter, even lighting with fewer shadows.
• Night lights or motion-sensor lights between the bedroom and bathroom.
• Rocker light switches and outlets at reachable heights.
• Lighted switches at stair tops and bottoms.

Outside the house

Falls happen outside too. Uneven walks, a single step at the porch and dark paths to the driveway all deserve attention. Add handrails on both sides of exterior steps, light the path from the car to the door, and replace loose pavers or cracked concrete. If a deck or porch is the main way into the backyard, check its stairs for consistent riser heights and a graspable rail.

Phasing and budgeting

You don't have to do it all at once. A practical approach:

1. Now: grab bars, lighting, handrails, lever handles and removing trip hazards.
2. With your next remodel: blocking, a curbless shower, wider doors and main-floor laundry.
3. Long term: a first-floor suite or addition.

Get a clear scope and written price for each phase. If a contract is $40,000 or more, North Carolina requires a licensed general contractor.

Choosing help

Look for contractors with experience in accessible design, and consider an occupational therapist's home assessment when someone has specific needs. For a design that fits your neighborhood's houses, from 1990s two-stories in Cary to older ranches, ask for photos of similar completed work.

Questions to ask contractors

• Have you built curbless showers, and how do you handle the floor slope and waterproofing?
• Will you install blocking for future grab bars, and document where it is?
• Can you widen this doorway, and is the wall load-bearing?
• What permits will this need?