Aging in Place Remodeling and Home Safety in Alexandria, VA

Many Alexandria houses are older than any thought of a walker.

Old Town was built long before anyone planned for grab bars. Narrow doors, steep stairs and a stoop rising straight off the brick sidewalk are part of the charm and part of the risk.

Del Ray tells a gentler version of the story. Its bungalows and foursquares put porch steps at nearly every door.

None of that means a parent has to move. It means the fixes have to respect the house.

How it works in Alexandria

We walk the Alexandria house. We look at narrow rowhouse stairs and front stoops first, then go through every room.
The price comes in writing. It is fixed before work starts and says whether the City of Alexandria's permit center needs to issue a permit.
Then we work down the list, which here usually starts with a stoop on a brick sidewalk.

What we fix in Alexandria homes

A stoop on a brick sidewalk

Many Old Town rowhouses open onto a stoop with no space out front for a ramp. Sturdy rails on both sides and a lever handle on the door do the most good there. A ramp often fits better at a back door off the garden.

Wheelchair ramp installation in Alexandria

Lifts for steep, narrow stairs

Rowhouse stairs often run steep between two walls. A lift may still fit after an exact measure. If it will not, you hear that plainly.

Stair Lifts in Alexandria

Del Ray bathrooms, made safe

Bungalows on and off Mount Vernon Avenue often have one small bath with a tub. Grab bars set into the studs, a shower with no curb and a seat with a handheld head make it usable alone.

Grab bar installation and bath safety in Alexandria

A bedroom on the parlor floor

When the stair wins, the front parlor or the back room becomes the bedroom. In a rowhouse that can mean building a full bath where a powder room used to be, which needs a city permit.

First-Floor Living in Alexandria

Neighborhoods we serve around Alexandria

Old Town
Del Ray
Rosemont
Parkfairfax
Seminary Hill
Beverley Hills
Potomac Yard
West End

Permits and programs in Alexandria

Permits in Alexandria come from the City of Alexandria's permit center.

For Alexandria, see Aging and Adult Services and Code Administration.

Alexandria, from the waterfront to the West End

US 1 runs near the river, I 395 cuts through the West End, and I 495 crosses the south side toward the Wilson Bridge.

King Street climbs from the waterfront past the King Street-Old Town Metro station to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Braddock Road and Potomac Yard stations serve the north side, closer to Del Ray.

Alexandria questions

Do you work in Alexandria?

Yes. The City of Alexandria is about 6.2 miles from the US Capitol, and we work all over it, from Old Town and Del Ray to the condos off Duke Street.

Can you add rails or a ramp to a house in the Old Town historic district?

Often. Outside changes people see from the street can need historic review on top of a permit, and we check that before pricing.

Dad leaves Inova Alexandria Hospital next week. What comes first?

Start with the route he takes on day one, from the front door to his bed and from his bed to the toilet. The assessment ranks those fixes first.

Services for Alexandria homes

Near Alexandria

Alexandria lies south of the US Capitol.

Congress Heights, DC 3.6 mi northeast
Fort Hunt, VA 4.6 mi south
Fort Washington, MD 5.2 mi southeast
Anacostia, DC 5.2 mi northeast
Temple Hills, MD 5.2 mi east
Arlington, VA 5.5 mi northwest
Capitol Hill, DC 6.3 mi northeast
Suitland, MD 7.2 mi northeast
Falls Church, VA 8.5 mi northwest
Capitol Heights, MD 9.1 mi northeast

Home safety modifications for aging in place in Alexandria, VA