Mobility issues - suggestions for a small house extension

[Deleted User]

Hello,

I have a rubbish left leg which is only getting worse. There is a chance in the future that I may lose the leg / foot.

Luckily we live in a bungalow so we have been able to make some changes. We have now swapped our bedroom and living room around so that there is more space in the bedroom for me to move about.

We are now in the process of making the small bedroom into a bigger living room with a small extension. We will be putting in doors to the outside with a low threshold and a large step area outside. The idea being that this can be easily changed into a wheelchair ramp in the future.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for when building our new room? We want to make sure we future proof the room for the years to come especially as we are on a tight budget.

Thanks in advance,
Spider

pmlindyloo

When we had our garage converted to a room the building inspector visited. He told us that his speciality was helping people adapt their homes for disabilities.

So it might be worth telephoning your local council and asking if there is anyone who could advise you.

tinkledom

pmlindyloo wrote: »

When we had our garage converted to a room the building inspector visited. He told us that his speciality was helping people adapt their homes for disabilities.

So it might be worth telephoning your local council and asking if there is anyone who could advise you.

I would second that. The Building Control Officers are brilliant. They just love to be asked. More often than not builders hate them as they ask far too many questions about the work they are carrying out.


I always approach mine and they are more than willing to come onto site to discuss options even before you have put an application into the council.

[Deleted User]

Many thanks for the help. I will give the Building Control Department a ring and ask them to visit.

I was also speaking to a friend and she suggested more grab rails outside the new exit. I have some on the front of the house and so it is a good idea to have some at the back too.

Morglin

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

Hello,

I have a rubbish left leg which is only getting worse. There is a chance in the future that I may lose the leg / foot.

Luckily we live in a bungalow so we have been able to make some changes. We have now swapped our bedroom and living room around so that there is more space in the bedroom for me to move about.

We are now in the process of making the small bedroom into a bigger living room with a small extension. We will be putting in doors to the outside with a low threshold and a large step area outside. The idea being that this can be easily changed into a wheelchair ramp in the future.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for when building our new room? We want to make sure we future proof the room for the years to come especially as we are on a tight budget.

Thanks in advance,
Spider

As well as other advice,you could ask your local council to send in an OT - they are usually helpful, and you may be able to get some funding via a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Lin

tinkledom

Morglin wrote: »

As well as other advice,you could ask your local council to send in an OT - they are usually helpful, and you may be able to get some funding via a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Lin

I like the way you highlight the 'may'!


At the moment in our council area, there is going to be little or nothing available until at least April 2015!!!!


Apparently the money that the government gave for such reasons (care in the community) was never 'ring fenced' by the councils. As such it is up to each council on how and where they spend it - some argue that housing benefit discretionary grants are far more important than funding adaptions for the disabled.

cattermole

Another !!!! up by this government by taking off the ring fencing.

Most HB discretionary grants are paid to disabled claimants as the LA's are having to bridge the gap until the mess gets sorted out legally. I guess the LA's are taking the view best to keep as many as they can out of arrears.

How the public fall for all the rubbish of trebling the DHP budget it is beyond me, it doesn't take much of a mathematician to work out it falls well short.

Anyway sorry OP best advice already given re Building Control & OT.

Morglin

tinkledom wrote: »

I like the way you highlight the 'may'!


At the moment in our council area, there is going to be little or nothing available until at least April 2015!!!!


Apparently the money that the government gave for such reasons (care in the community) was never 'ring fenced' by the councils. As such it is up to each council on how and where they spend it - some argue that housing benefit discretionary grants are far more important than funding adaptions for the disabled.

Much of the old DFG money used to come from Europe, and was administered by the local councils.

Our council are most certainly still doing them, so perhaps some of it depends on the level of disability and the efficiency of that particular council!

Lin

tinkledom

Morglin wrote: »

Much of the old DFG money used to come from Europe, and was administered by the local councils.

Our council are most certainly still doing them, so perhaps some of it depends on the level of disability and the efficiency of that particular council!

Lin

And in addition it depends on what the council see as a priority. My council see CT & housing benefit as a priority over anything else.


Care. and the conditions that would apply before the council had to dig into their pockets are now down to the 'Critical' level only.

Morglin

Home Care is something separate, and they have been tightening the criteria for that, for many years.

As they have with things like Meals on Wheels.

Applying for a DFG, via an OT, is separate.

Lin

tinkledom

Morglin wrote: »

Home Care is something separate, and they have been tightening the criteria for that, for many years.

As they have with things like Meals on Wheels.

Applying for a DFG, via an OT, is separate.

Lin

I know it is, I tried to get one via her OT from SS for a relative who urgently needed ground floor washing facilities. She was told that there was nothing left in the pot (and this was in May 2013 - just a couple of months into the new financial year). Later I heard that they were taking applications for the year starting in April 2015!!!


As it was we all contributed and paid for the conversion and build ourselves.