Retrofitting Your Home to Meet Changing Needs

By Betty Gibb

You’re doing just fine in your home—plan to live there another 20 years at least. Then it happens: a stroke, a hip replacement, partial blindness, the loss of a limb through diabetes, or (substitute any one of dozens of other problems).

What’s it going to take to make your home still livable—and safe? Perhaps, just perhaps, you ought to think of making some of these changes BEFORE you need them.

The Best Times talked with Carl Wilkes, who is the Field Supervisor in charge of repair and rehabilitation for the Johnson County Housing Services Program. Wilkes deals with accessibility and safety issues every day, and he listed for us the most common modifications that need to be made and a ballpark cost here in Johnson County:

Bathroom
Grab bars around stool and tub (shower)--$200
Raised stool for easier access--$375
Converting a tub to a roll-in shower--$2,500

Widening doors
Changing ordinary 2-foot doors to 32- 36-inch doors for wheelchair access--$300- $350 per door

Kitchen cabinets
Replacing tall (to-the-ceiling) cabinets with lower (closer-to-the-counter) type—$3,500 to $4,000.

Ramps
A wood ramp with a landing costs between $1,700 and $2,500 depending on the length and steepness. Safety requires a landing every 8 – 10 feet.

Electrical Service
Older homes are often a hodge podge system that’s been added on to over the years. The cost to install a new junction box is around $1,800. Rewiring will add another $1,700 - $2,200.

Plumbing
Older plumbing is prone to corrosion and leaks. Wilkes says if you look at your plumbing system and see white fizzy stuff growing around pipes and joints, it’s a sign the system needs to be replaced. The average cost if $1,400 - $1,800.

Upgrade of furnace
Again heating and cooling systems are often old and in bad condition. Safety demands that these systems be adequate and the cost will run $3,400 and up.

Stair glides
Wilks says there’s been great improvement in the versatility of stair glides. They can usually be mounted on the floor rather than the wall as once was the case. A stair glad will cost about $2,500 to purchase and another $3,000 to install.

If you are looking for a contractor to do the work, Johnson County Housing Services can provide you with a list. They do not, however, make specific recommendations. Also check with the County and your city to be sure the contractor you are considering is licensed.

Limited federal funding is available to help low-income seniors make their homes accessible. For more information, you can contact Katherine McBeth, 913-715-6616.

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Human Services & Aging
11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite #1300
Olathe, KS 66061-7056

(913) 715-8800 : voice
(913) 715-8825 : fax
(913) 894-8822 : TTY

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