Floor plan single-family house for four people with home office

If you really want to use the bathroom later in old age, please pay attention to accessibility on the ground floor. No thresholds, wide doors, turning space for walker/wheelchair must be considered. As long as possible, you will still use your familiar bedroom later on.

If you really want to use the bathroom later in old age, please pay attention to accessibility on the ground floor. No thresholds, wide doors, turning space for rollators/wheelchairs. As long as possible, you will still use your usual bedroom later on.

Someone has to explain this to me. Why would I be using a wheelchair in old age? None of the people over 80 in my family or acquaintances are in wheelchairs or use a rollator to go to the toilet because of their age. And when it comes to dying, the width of the toilet door doesn’t matter. Then you have toilet chairs or just a pusher. :(

Someone has to explain this to me. Why am I using a wheelchair in old age? None of the over-80s in my family or acquaintances are in a wheelchair because of age or use a walker to go to the toilet. And when it comes to dying, the width of the toilet door doesn’t matter. Then you have toilet chairs or even a stretcher. :(

Anyone who is still walking well does not move out of their familiar bedroom.
When do you move out and relocate the bedroom and bathroom to the ground floor?
Only in case of walking problems.
Not everyone who needs walking aids due to mobility issues is close to dying.
If you have the choice between struggling onto a toilet chair in the living or bedroom or using the toilet in the bathroom, you would always prefer the toilet.

I do feel sorry for the thread now, but I see it completely differently. My grandma is 96. She has moved downstairs now because she doesn’t want to climb the stairs anymore. However, she takes a walk around the block every day without a rollator. And as far as I know, the rollator still fits through almost every door. Honestly, who actually has a wheelchair in old age? I bet very few. If that becomes necessary, I’ll go to a nursing home or something like that anyway.

Aside from that, whoever actually sits in a wheelchair and needs to go to the toilet also needs plenty of space next to the toilet and various grab bars. The door is probably the smallest problem there.

My father needs a wheelchair in the morning and evening after he puts on pajamas. With a brace, he can walk. My girlfriend has MS; without thresholds, life is easier, some days nothing works without a walker, in bad phases the wheelchair is necessary, A buddy had a stroke, is doing quite well, manages well on his own, he uses a walker in the bathroom so he can stand more firmly. Should they go to a nursing home? Would you put your husband in a nursing home if you are completely fit but he is no longer? It is the decision of the OP, but anyone who is considering moving to the ground floor in old age should, in my opinion, think about accessibility. Even if you don’t need it, it makes life easier not to have thresholds. Does it hurt anyone if the doors are 10 cm wider? Does it bother anyone if the layout allows limited wheelchair or walker use? I am not talking about disability-compliant construction, as some have to do here.

Oh, I thought you meant wheelchair accessible. So you just mean removing the thresholds? Isn't that generally done nowadays anyway? Doors 10 cm wider are kind of a thing. That can also make the house wider and bigger and therefore more expensive. But only on the ground floor is certainly a good option.

My God, you only have disabled people there! No, they are not all supposed to go to a nursing home. But I wouldn't have thought that they all need a wheelchair. Probably everyone has different experiences with that. My aunt with MS and 70 years old still happily walks around.