Are you planning on selling your home?
While you definitely need to make your home accessible to you while you are living in it right now, you may need to consider the impact that your changes will make if you plan on selling your home in the future. Many changes will be good changes that can increase the value of your home – accessible bathrooms, for example, are sought after by many people who are buying a home – but if there are any adaptations that are too specific to you then you may find that you are going to have to spend twice to get them in your new home. Major home adaptations are generally best left for your forever home, though of course you need to make sure that you are comfortable and safe within your home however long you intend to stay there.How can I make my home more secure?
It’s very unfortunate but opportunistic burglars will try to prey on the most vulnerable, or people and neighbourhoods that they think are more vulnerable. With this in mind it is critical to ensure your home is fully secure for you and your family; speak to a local locksmith such as SF Locksmiths Rotherham and they will be able to offer you advice on ways to secure your home. Ultion 3 star high security locks are a great place to start, these award winning anti snap locks combat all major attacks including lock snapping offering you full peace of mind.
Other security precautions include motion security lights, CCTV & electric driveway gates. Lots of people nowadays are also installing ring doorbells or alternatives, these provide a great way for you to monitor your home when you’re not there. The smart technology of these video and audio detectors alerts of any movement on your property allowing you to take necessary action if required.
What are the total costs?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re looking at how much a big project is going to cost, but ultimately it is important to make sure that you can cover all bases comfortably so that you are not left with half-completed work that could be more dangerous than having no adaptations made at all. Start with a simple list of questions you need to be asking in the planning stage – from how much does a curved stair lift cost, to what kind of sockets are the most practical in my home – and start to price things up one by one so you know you have taken everything into consideration. Another great tip is to approach your doctor and local council, to find out if there are any grants for disabled people that you would qualify for to help with the costs.Will Adapting Your Home always be functional for me?
When you are planning how to make your home more accessible, it is important to think beyond what you need right now, and look at what you may need in the future. This is particularly important if you have any kind of degenerative condition, so you may need to draw on the experience and advice of people who have lived with your condition for longer than you so that they can tell you how their physical symptoms have progressed for themselves. Undertaking these kinds of works can be stressful and disruptive to daily life, so you want to try and make sure that you get everything completed at once wherever possible.Have I spoken to a professional?
While nobody knows better than you do what you actually need inside your home, a professional whose job it is to provide equipment for disabled people may be able to suggest things that you haven’t thought of, or didn’t know was possible. Ask your local Occupational Health team if they are able to carry out an assessment of your home, to give you an accurate reflection of exactly what changes you need to be making. If you have ever made adaptations to your home to make it more accessible, leave your tips and tricks in the comments.
This is The Chequers Bath blog, a lifestyle blog mostly focussing on food, travel and general lifestyle posts.
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