We want to make our new home wheelchair accessible and were under the impression that 36″ doors were necessary. A friend has told us that he knows of homes designed with 30″ doors for wheelchairs. We’re about to start framing so it’s panic time! ADA site seems only to address commercial requirements. We went to local hospital and measured wheelchairs, they vary from norm of 28″ to larger 32″ not much help. Anyone have any experience or know of reference sources? Don’t want 36″ doors if they are unecessary. TIA
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Replies
I was under the impression 36" was the norm. We have min 36" wide (x84") doors here and love them without a wheelchair. As long as they fit the scale, what's the problem? Remember that a 36" door won't give you a 36" open space, particularly if the door doesn't open 180º. We have one that gives a 33" opening.
A bigger issue I understand, is room enough to turn one around once you get through the doorway, particularly a bath, which is my only ADA experience.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
I have remodeled for a couple accessible interested clients. We used 36" doors in most of the cases, a couple of french doors that provided 5' openings in some of the highly traveled zones. A big consideration should be given to room size/layout and line of travel. Like mentioned above, turning radius is important. So too would be side space at the doorways. 18min up to at least 24" is necessary to the handle side so you can roll up enough to operate it. Lever handles instead of knobs, perhaps light/outlet locations also. Are you planning "in case of" or for accessibility now?
32" doors in most cases will allow a chair to pass if fully opened. But the cost of a 36 is minimal overcharge. Having a bit more room helps keep the scrapes and dings to a minimum.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Edited 4/24/2005 12:24 pm ET by calvin
As you said, there are different size wheelchairs and different occupants. Some may be motor driven, others need some hand and elbow room. Making a turn in a hallway can be an issue. If possible , I would make the bath door 36" and maybe a bedroom door or any other commonly accessed doorways 36". Other issues can be roll in showers, elevated toilets, low door sills and plenty of rugged hand rails. It's a good idea to include some blocking at framing time for the rails. Transitions from various flooring surfaces should be as seamless as possible. Door handles may want to be the lever style.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I think most wheelchairs are made so they can go through a 30" door. But a 32" opening is much easier.
I'm not sure I'd go to 36" unless I was SURE someone would be in the house and in a wheelchair. The dors are more expensive, take more wall space, and have a larger swing.
I think it also makes a difference where the door is. Turning off a narrow hallway into a bedroom would be much better with a 36" doorway. But a closet door wouldn't be as big of a deal, if there was clearance on both sides.
A friend recently broke his leg and was in a wheelchair. He had 30" doors which were a problem. One day when I stopped by to visit I took some of the doors off the hinges to make more room for him. That worked well until he was back on his feet.
a wheelchair will fit through a 2'8" door, but as Calvin noted, it can depend on line of travel. Going stright on, it is easy. If entering from a narrow hall and turning into it, things get very inconvenient and you can expect a lot of scuffed up casings etc. so any place that ahs a poor approach sjhould be 36". That crosses over to the whole entire idea of accessable design. You want to plan the layout so that there are few tight corners and distances to travel
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lime...
DAV has some great references..
as far as door openings go..
they recommend 2' -8".... but with the stops you have to use a 2' 10" door to get this...so , that is what we spec for our minimum in any handicap-access design work
really, google on Disabled American Veterans, their design manuals are the most comprehensive ones i've found
What Mike said...
I believe that a 2-8 clear opening is what is recommended by the ADA. A 2-10 door is required to really fulfill this requirement. Only problem is that, generally, at least around here, 2-10 doors are special order.
As far as your statement about just getting ready to frame, this really needs to be addressed at the design stage. I'd be a bit surprised if you can take your plan and just "plug in" 3-0 doors everywhere...
Another thought: These large doors can look a bit odd unless it is a rather spacious home...
Personally, I really wonder if most wheelchairs would fit easily through a standard 2-8 door way though. Also, I believe there are special hinges that serve to swing the door slab further out of the opening adding about 1.5" of clearance (the thickness of the door slab).
A 30-inch door will just pass a standard wheelchair, scraping on both sides. A 32 will pass a standard chair without scraping, but may not handle larger chairs (needed for folks over about 240 lb). 36 is ideal since it gives clearance for hands, doesn't require getting the chair exactly square with the door, etc.
Just as important, though, is turning room on both sides of the door. A narrow hallway may not give enough room to turn into a door, even with 36" doors. And if you enter a room and immediately have to jog around a projecting closet, etc, that can be a deal-breaker.
And keep in mind that many people would rather have a scooter vs a wheelchair, and the scooters can't turn in as tight a circle.
In a pinch there are offset hinges available (unfortunately, not with a lot of variety) that will let a door open in such a way that the hinge edge of the door doesn't partly block the opening. But you still have to make sure that there's nothing preventing the door from opening fully, such as a towel rod behind the door.
You're right that there's not much written about this sort of design. The ADA specs are mostly for public buildings, and are overkill for most residential cases. There really needs to be some sort of spec for designing a home with HC access in mind, without going the whole way to "HC accessible". Someone did post a site awhile back that covers a little of this sort of "humane" design, but I don't recall the site, and don't recall that it was all that detailed.
ever thought about pocket doors.
These large doors can look a bit odd unless it is a rather spacious home
The oft-forgotten 18" side clearance on the strike side of the swing side of the door can also "ring" odd in residential construction, what with the half hammerhead shape of a hallway that can result.
Another easy-to-forget item after making the doors wider is forgetting to allow for casing on the doors when dimensioning the halls.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
One comment: The rooms that most need wide doors are the bathrooms. The rooms themselves tend to be a bit on the small side, so more maneuvering room from the start is goodness.However, keep in mind that it's really nice if the door can be closed once the WC has entered. An inward-opening, over-wide door makes this possibility less likely.A second comment: Bedrooms tend to be a problem because of wall jogs or furniture near the door. A larger door helps, but try to place the door so that free entry is not likely to be blocked by furniture. Eg, move the door opening about 14" away from the wall on the hinge side, and then build in a bookcase behind the door. The bookcase makes effective use of the space, assures no other furniture will be placed there, and makes the entrance farther away from the wall so that, eg, a chair beyond the end of the bookcase is less of a problem.
assures no other furniture will be placed there, and makes the entrance farther away from the wall so that, eg, a chair beyond the end of the bookcase is less of a problem
I like that. But then built-ins add value in my book, too. Add some adjustable shelves, and it's very usable casework. Oh, yeah, it can also just be a wall-mounted cabinet, too, which achieves a similar effect.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I have gotten literally dozens of different wheelchairs through srtandard 2'8" doors. Don't know the current official size, but I know 2'8" works
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That's what I thought.
Luckily, I don't know squat about wheelchairs, but re the previous post about the user skinning his/her ncukles when going through an opening, don't most wheelchairs now a day have quite a bit of camber (inward tilt) on them to where the skinning of the knuckles would be less of a problem? Matt
No, the wheels on the standard WC are vertical. "Road" chairs have the camber.But an aware person can shift their hands from the hand wheels to the treads (getting their hands a little dirty, perhaps) and avoid pinching the knuckles. Not so good if the person isn't that alert, but a less alert person is less likely to move around and more likely to be pushed. When pushing, oviously, no nuckle clearance is needed.
I have not been riding in the chairs so the knuckle clearance did not occour to me. It is when I am helping my wife visiting her patients that I move these chairs with patients in them. None are the kind of person capable of self propulsion without the battery op motor or someone like me or Carole
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Don't just think about the width of the wheelchair - think about turning and approach.
If each door has a naturally straighton approach, just the width would be OK, but how often will that be the case?
Many church's have wheelchairs hanging around "just in case."
See if you can borrow one and set up some "obstacle courses" using poles to define hallways and door openings and see what actually works.
View Image
Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
As mentioned before, plugging new door dimensions into a set of completed plans may be the beginning of a nightmare. Consider only the doors needed by the wheelchair. 1 bedroom, 1 bath, common areas, etc. opt for doors as large as possible in those areas (32" min), and make sure the approaches (hallways, ramps, etc.) are adequate.
Work with your builder, he will know what you can and can't do.
Although, if you would like to post your floor plan and intentions, you will get some excellent advice here.
Thank you all, and to gordzco - the house was designed with 36" doors so your well made thought is somewhat moot. I'm interested to see that some have referred to the scale of 36" doors to the house but this may not be a problem for our 1800 sq ft one level open plan. Thanks again.
I'm interested to see that some have referred to the scale of 36" doors to the house but this may not be a problem for our 1800 sq ft one level open plan.
Scale has nothing to do with total sq ft, everything to do with wall height, window size, room size. Our place would look silly with small doors. Our exterior doors are minimum 48" wide. Very few visitors notice that our openings are larger than normal. They'd more likely notice if the openings were small with our tall walls, high ceilings, large windows, open plan.
Your house? Only you and the designer know. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
I'd notice a 48" entry door... :-)
Matt
There're two of them here, usually unnoticed, but there are other interesting things to get one's attention. This pic's a door in a door. The smaller, obvious one, is 48"wide. Nobody misses it when I open the larger door. That's a really big hole in the wall (tractor-sized).PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Consider only the doors needed by the wheelchair
Ouch, that brings back memories of a plan review.
The City Attorney weighed in (uninvited) that the City in question could not approve plans that restricted any mobility, lest a future owner/user/resident begin procedings against the City under ADA.
In all fairness, said City was deep in overtime making every street intersection ADA compliant (including those w/o sidewalks).
In a renovation, one sometimes can use "planned mobility" to define the "barrier free" circulation; but in some jurisdictions, you are likely to need an ADA compliance wet-stamp to get approved. In others, you may not.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
From the 1998 ICC/ANSI A117.1-1998 Accessable and Usable Buildings and Facilities:
Section 404.2.3 Clear Width.
Doorways shall have a clear opening of 32 inches minimum.Clear opening of doorways with swinging doors shall be measured between the face of the door and stop, with the door open 90 degrees. Openings more than 24 inches deep shall provide a clear opening of 36 inches minimum.
Heck If I know....
http://www.makoa.org/accessable-design.htm
http://www.adaptenv.org/index.php?option=Content&Itemid=3
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/Articles/a2003-08-28-bold_house.html
http://www.aarp.org/life/homedesign/
http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/
Here are a few links to various resources for disability friendly design. Try googling "Universal design" and you'll come up with a load of links on making the home accessable.
Good luck.
Accessibility standards are the same for both residential and commercial in Texas. The distinction is that they are required for commercial and are only guidelines for most residential projects.
32" Minimum clear, (with the door open) is the code here in Texas, but just as important as door width is door swing. What good is a 36" door that can't be opened by a person in a wheel chair because they are backed up against a wall with the door about halfway open?
You also want a minimum of 18" of clear wall space on the latch side of a doorway, 24" is better. That gives you room to reach the door handle and swing the door open without having to back up in the process. Give yourself 60" clear floor space in front of the door on the pull side and 48" on the push side. If it's a side approach, where you will always be coming at the door from the latch side only, you can reduce the clear area on the pull side to 48" minimum and the push side to 42".
If we fail to catch a cosmic fish it may be a trillion years before the opportunity comes again
gives you room to reach the door handle and swing the door open
A strike plate is also not a bad idea in that side-access area. This need not be metal, but it might want to be easily replacible.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I am a General Contractor and a live in care giver for my brother who is in a motorized wheelchair. I consider a 36" doorway a minimum for any room opening or passageway in a home
dk
I think it depends on the age of the person and the size of the wheelchair. I have a young adult that is in a wheelchair and we did not need to change our door widths to 36" because his wheelchair is only 28". But ADA requirement is 36" because most older wheelchairs need that clearance.
Remember that when most people use a wheelchair they grip the wheels with their hands to roll the wheels(except for power chairs of course) This leaves the knuckles in skinning range of either side of a narrow door. Use 36"s. Mike
From experience with an almost-accessible home and a mom who suddenly
needed a wheelchair: 34" is doable, but can be a knuckle-buster or an elbow-scraper depending on who's driving. A 32" door with regular hinges is a tight squeeze. You can increase the clearance on a standard door with "swing clear hinges": e.g. http://www.adaptiveaccess.com/offset_hinges.php Also think about which way the door is going to swing, and what it's going to block
and bump into.
My first suggestion would be to borrow a chair, chalk some outlines
on the ground of the measured travel path to bathroom and kitchen, and see if you can do it. A few cardboard walls will keep you honest.
Oh yes, think about transferring to the toilet and turning around, too. Watch sink heights, toe kicks and doorknobs.
Sliding doors are a good option; a friend made an interesting adaptation for his mom with a pair of doors into the bathroom. One
was normal size, and I think it was the original. The other door
was hinged on the opposite side, and was about 8" wide. Looked
pretty standard from the hall, too. The doors to the master bathroom
in this house are french-style doors, nice wide entrance. Too bad
the bedroom door is only 32". Roll in showers are a big help.
Putting extra blocking in for grab bars is cheap in the framing stage,
expensive when you have to untile the bathroom to do it.
Good intro book, imho, is Margaret Wylde's Building for a Lifetime,
published by Taunton.
kay
Wingits make in-advance blocking largely unnecessary in conventional tiled walls. It helps to have a picture of the area in the framing stage, though.
Yup, they work. I was thinking of a friend's experience with a home-tiled wall that was, uh, interesting. Probably didn't help that
whoever framed the bathroom figured studs on regular centers was ####waste of time. <g> The joys of fixing old farmhouses.Kay
That's why the picture is helpful.
ADA says that for a doorway to be accessible the clear opening (i.e., INSIDE the stops) must be 32" minimum. That rules out a 32" door. Gotta say, I almost always specify 36" doorways and my clients are happy to have them. Makes it easy to move furniture.
Also, ADA requires an 18" clearance from the edge of the knob side of the door to any wall or obstruction. This applies to the pull side only, and helps wheelchair users open the door.
Of course, all this required only if you are required to meet accessibility codes.
Some other design issues to consider:
*Are you going to provide grab bars in the tub and at the toilet? If you have ever tried using the bathroom with a broken leg, you know you would appreciate them. Be sure to install hefty blocking in the walls.
*Remember 5' diameter turning circles.
*Kitchens need a lowered work surface for someone in a wheelchair. ADA requires at least 30" of countertop width lowered to 30" high. It makes a big difference for trying to work in the kitchen from a wheelchair.