Projects as simple as widening doorways, installing grab bars or improving lighting can help elderly residents stay in their home longer.
Among remodelers and senior assistance organizations and agencies, it’s called “aging in place.” Retrofitting homes to accommodate the needs of seniors has become one of the fastest-growing segments in the remodeling industry, according to the Remodelers Council of the National Association of Home Builders.
That demand is driven by the fact that more than 84 percent of people age 50 and older want to stay in their homes as they age, according to an AARP survey. The demand for such remodeling will only increase as the 76 million baby boomers continue to reach retirement age, according to the home builders association.
“There is a steady increase for this work,” said Duke York of York Enterprises, a home remodeling company in Tacoma. “We have 4,000 baby boomers retiring every day. So there is this big growing number of older people out there, and they want to stay home as long as they can.”
Like York, Steve Shattuck of Shattuck and Associates Inc., a home remodeling company in Tacoma, has become a certified aging in place specialist. From a personal viewpoint, he understands the importance of staying home as long as possible, having had his parents and his in-laws in long-term care facilities.
“Putting (seniors) in a home, in their mind, is putting them away,” Shattuck said. “(Remodeling) saves the family money because it is expensive to get them into full-time care.
“For not a whole lot of money, I can do a lot of work that will allow people to stay in their homes for another two to five years at least,” he said.
Shattuck said the changes do not need to be extensive.
“One of the simple things people don’t think about, where are the knobs on your stove? Often they’re in back where you have to reach over to turn them on and then burn your arm,” he said. “So you get a stove with the knobs in the front.”
As many people get older, they don’t have the strength to grip a faucet or door handle. The solution is to provide lever handles.
Shattuck said he has a friend who has poor eyesight and for whom colors run together. One thing he did in her house was paint the front of the steps yellow so she could see each step.
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