Nobody wants to move out of the house they grew up in. After all, decades lived there. What’s wrong with wanting to stay?
The garden. The neighbors. The kitchen where every holiday dinner got made.
Per AARP, 75% of adults over the age of 50 want to remain in their current homes as they age. That is a lot of humans. Wanting to stay and being able to stay safely are two very different matters.
The home must keep pace. And the two rooms that count the most? The bath and kitchen.
Here’s the Rundown
- Why the work starts below the floor
- The bathroom upgrades worth paying for
- Kitchen changes that make daily life easier
- Warning signs your main line needs attention
- Where to spend first when the budget is tight
Start Below the Floor Before You Start Upstairs
This is what most bathroom remodel books don’t tell you. Before you install the first grab bar, inspect all the plumbing behind the walls and beneath the floor.
Why? Here are some examples. Aging-in-place bathrooms relocate water.
A curbless shower requires changing the slope to the drain. Walk-in tubs pour an entire tub of water out rapidly. A taller toilet could require relocation of the flange.
Should your main line exiting your home be cracked, rooted through or sagging you have nowhere for that new water to go.
Older homes tend to be the usual culprit because clay and cast iron corrodes over time.
That’s why paying for a camera inspection beforehand is investing in peace of mind. If any issues are discovered, sewer line repair should occur prior to setting that shiny new tile.
Address any other plumbing repair needs that come up during the inspection too, whether it be a leaky shutoff valve or a rusty supply line, and your whole remodel will be on firm footing.
It’s not glamorous. Nobody poses with pictures of a new sewer line. But it safeguards every dollar invested above ground.
Bathroom Changes That Matter Most
Falls are a leading concern as people age. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 older adults fall each year.
The bathroom, littered with wet tile and sharp corners, is the natural first place to retaliate.
Swap the Tub for a Curbless Shower
Jumping over the side of a tub becomes more difficult each year. A curbless (aka “zero-threshold shower”) allows a person to walk or roll right in. Flat. No barriers.
Include an integrated bench and handheld shower head on a slide bar. Now someone can sit down, wash off, and never have to stand on one leg again.
Put in Grab Bars That Actually Hold
Towel bars are not grab bars. They pull right out of the drywall.
Solid grab bars require solid backing: either wood blocking within the wall cavity or a heavy-duty anchor designed for that purpose.
When renovating a shower with exposed walls, install blocking at every location where a bar might be installed in the future. It’s inexpensive now and will prevent a lot of wall patching later.
Good spots include:
- Inside the shower, both horizontal and vertical
- Next to the toilet
- Near the tub entry, if a tub stays
Raise the Toilet
Comfort-height toilets are raised a few inches higher than regular toilets. Sitting down and standing back up is easier on your knees with that few inches of adjustment.
Wall-mounted toilets are also available. These toilets allow for easier floor cleaning.
Change the Handles and Valves
Round knobs are tough for stiff or arthritic hands. Lever handles fix that.
In showers, a thermostatic valve or pressure-balancing valve prevents the water from getting suddenly scalding when someone flushes. Easy upgrade. Actual safety improvement.
Remember the floor. Matte, slip-resistant flooring or small tiles with more grout lines offer more traction when wet. And lots of bright, even lighting (including a night light on your path from the bedroom) is more important than you realize.
Kitchen Changes That Make Daily Life Easier
Kitchen safety is less falls and more reach. Bending down, reaching up and lifting those huge pots will become more difficult as you age.
A few changes go a long way:
- Install pull-out drawers instead of deep base cabinets. Avoid crawling on the floor looking for that stockpot.
- A lowered section of counter. Great for sitting while prepping food.
- A wall oven at waist height. No bending over a hot door.
- Lever or touchless faucets. Easier on the hands, and handy when they’re messy.
- Under-cabinet lighting. It lights the work area and cuts down on shadows.
Don’t Ignore the Sink
Getting a new kitchen sometimes means installing a new sink or disposal or dishwasher somewhere it didn’t exist before.
Each of those drains connects to the main drain that all the bathroom sinks/fixtures hook up to.
Listen up if your kitchen sink AND bathroom drains slow to drain. That’s typically not two unrelated clogs. Most times it means the main line itself is backing up and that’s serious.
Warning Signs Your Main Line Needs Attention
Not sure whether sewer line repair belongs on the list? Watch for these:
- Gurgling toilets or drains after running water somewhere else
- More than one slow drain at the same time
- Sewage smells inside or out in the yard
- Soggy or extra-green patches of lawn over the pipe
- Backups showing up in the lowest drain in the house
Either of these is worth having a camera inspection. Two or more? Call before your remodel crew arrives. The sooner a problem is found, the smaller the sewer line repair will be.
Usually that means less time digging and much less mess in your yard.
Where to Spend First When Money Is Tight
Some of you cannot wash both rooms simultaneously. No problem. Sequence is more important than pace.
- Patch things up. Leaks, valves, main line repairs take priority over aesthetics.
- Bathroom safety should be next. Grab bars, walk-in shower, and a higher toilet offer the biggest safety bang for your buck.
- Transition to kitchen accessibility. Pull-outs and improved lighting can typically be incorporated one section at a time.
- Put your frills on back burner. Faucets that remember your favorite faucet position and heating floors are great…but later.
One additional tip. Map out the entire project before beginning. Even if the work is done in phases, you’ll only have to install the blocking, drains, and wiring one time.
So, Where Does That Leave You?
Universal Design does not mean transforming your home into a nursing home.
Aging in Place is simply making small wise modifications that allow you to continue living life as you choose.
Begin with the unseen. Have the drains inspected and sewer line repair completed prior to installing upgrades.
Make the bathroom safer first, then the kitchen more accessible.
In that order and the house will be livable well before it needs to be.
