Handicap

 

Archive for August, 2009

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Wheelchair Stair Lift

Published August 26th, 2009 in mobility | Comments Off

In this post, I want to take a look at the wheelchair stair lift, which is a similar device to the regular stair chair lift but designed for use by wheelchair users in particular. While this type of stair lift is more specifically sized to accommodate a wheelchair, it can be used by anyone needing the services of a stairlift.

The wheelchair stair lift then works on the same principal as the stairway chair lift in that there is a base unit where the user sits in their wheelchair, a rail that rides along the stair risers and a mechanical device for moving the base unit up and down the stairs.

The wider base unit has a flat base that a wheelchair can easily be wheeled onto when in its resting position at the bottom (or top) of the staircase. Some have a swivel base that allows the wheelchair to be backed onto it and then it swivels 90 degrees so the user rides up or down the stairs with their back to the wall, which is a more comfortable way of going rather than backwards. When you get to the top of the stairs, the unit then swivels so that you simply wheel off in a forward direction, which is the most natural and comfortable way.

The swivel base unit always locks in position when ready to accept the wheelchair at the top or bottom of the stairs, then again when it is in its riding position, so there is no chance the user can move about once the unit is in motion, or when the user is getting on or off.

Installation of the wheelchair stair lift should always be carried out by professional installers otherwise the manufacturer’s warranty may be invalidated by an unqualified person carrying out installation. Professional installers know what they are doing and their work will be guaranteed by the manufacturer as well as be in compliance with your home insurance.

The use that a wheelchair user will get out of this device is truly freedom making where before they would have been restricted to the ground floor of their home, with a wheelchair stair lift installed they now have access to all of their home. This is liberating and the very least a person with disabilities should come to expect from a life with the tools and devices that are available today.

Handicap

Handicap Bathroom Layout

Published August 25th, 2009 in handicap | Comments Off

Handicap bathroom layout is an extremely important consideration when designing a new bathroom or renovating an existing one. Here we’ll look at some of the aspects involved and some of the initial planning factors to be remembered before you can even lay the first tile!

The first thing you need to know about planning any room, no matter what it will be used for is getting the layout right before you start buying furniture and accessories. This is even more especially the case when it comes to designing a room that will be used by a person with disabilities and crucial when designing a handicap bathroom layout that must be functional, easily accessible and comfortable and enjoyable to use at the same time.

The best way to do this is to start with a piece of graph paper and measure out, in scale, the size of the room you will be working with. If you can mark the exact positions of all drainage pipes, water pipes, faucets and shut-off valves as well as any electricity points that will be a great help.

Then you need to have a catalog of bathroom furniture suitable for a person with disabilities and have their exact measurements so that you can select the ones that fit best and then draw then to scale inside the handicap bathroom’s plan. It’s really not all that hard to do this as long as you can draw straight, or use a ruler and for heaven’s sake draw it in pencil so you can rub out any mistakes and start again! You have to make sure that each item of bathroom furniture fits in with the necessary pipes and drainage, such as the toilet, bathroom vanity unit and shower. These are the three main components of furniture you’ll have in a well designed handicap bathroom, so the most attention must be pad to these three items.

Of course, the largest item will be the handicap shower. These are, by nature, much larger than regular shower enclosures as they need to be large enough to accommodate a wheelchair, a shower chair as well as the necessary grab rails, accessory racks and of course the shower head, pressure mixing valve if you are planning one of these and the taps. The handicap shower unit has to fit in the room against one of the walls and also match up with water drainage pipes and hot and cold water inlet pipes.

The disabled shower enclosure also has to leave room for the toilet unit which must be sited where the appropriate waste pipe is, as often this is a difficult thing to move.

After you’ve sited the first two items, then you have to site the vanity unit and before you even do that you have to ensure that there is plenty of space in between all units for a wheelchair to easily get through without obstruction.

Once these have been sited, then its simply a case of adding handicap bathroom accessories such as towel racks, accessory and toiletries units and cabinets, ensuring that you get them all at the correct height so that a wheelchair user can easily reach everything.

There you have your handicap bathroom layout ready to get the workmen in to do it for real!

Handicap

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