Aging in Place Remodeling and Home Safety in Brookland, DC

Brookland has the yard room most of DC lacks

Brookland is one of the few corners of the District built largely with detached houses. Frame houses, foursquares and bungalows sit on their own lots, many with a side yard and a porch.

A rowhouse has nowhere to put a ramp, and a Brookland house often does. That makes the bigger fixes easier to build here than in most of the city.

How it works in Brookland

We walk the Brookland house. We look at older detached houses with porch steps and upstairs baths first, then go through every room.
The price comes in writing. It is fixed before work starts and says whether the DC Department of Buildings (DOB) needs to issue a permit.
Then we work down the list, which here usually starts with a ramp along the side yard.

What we fix in Brookland homes

A ramp along the side yard

A built ramp runs along the house to a door closer to the ground. Ramps typically run $1,000 to $10,000, and the length your lot needs sets the price.

Wheelchair ramp installation in Brookland

A bedroom on the main floor

Many Brookland bungalows and foursquares have a den or dining room that can become a bedroom, with a small bath enlarged beside it. That takes the stairs out of the day.

First-Floor Living in Brookland

The bathroom under the eaves

Bungalow bathrooms are often tucked under a sloped ceiling upstairs, where standing room is short. Grab bars, a handheld shower and a seat fit that space first.

Grab bar installation and bath safety in Brookland

Old floors that have settled

Wood floors in older frame houses dip at doorways. We level the worst transitions and pull up loose stair runners.

Flooring in Brookland

Neighborhoods we serve around Brookland

Michigan Park
Woodridge
University Heights
Edgewood
North Michigan Park

Permits and programs in Brookland

Ramps, new bathrooms and room conversions in Brookland go through the DC Department of Buildings (DOB), and the scope lists every permit the job needs.

DC Safe at Home, from the DC Department of Aging and Community Living, helps some older Brookland residents with safety changes when their income fits its limits. Ask the program for its current terms.

For Brookland, see DC Department of Aging and Community Living, Safe at Home and Permitting in the District.

Where Brookland sits

Brookland spreads out from the Brookland-CUA Metro station on the Red Line, with Catholic University and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on its west side. The Franciscan Monastery sits among the houses, 12th Street Northeast is the main street, and Michigan Avenue Northeast and Rhode Island Avenue Northeast frame the area.

Brookland questions

Is Brookland in your service area?

It is. Brookland lies about 3.3 miles from the US Capitol, and we work all across Ward 5.

Can a ramp fit beside our house?

Often, if there is a side yard and a door near ground level. A ramp needs a long run at a gentle slope, so the assessment measures the yard before a design is drawn.

Is converting the dining room cheaper than a stair lift?

Usually not. A lift costs less up front and goes in sooner. A conversion removes the stairs from daily life for good. The report prices both for your house.

Services for Brookland homes

Near Brookland

Brookland lies northeast of the US Capitol.

Petworth, DC 2.4 mi west
Hyattsville, MD 2.7 mi northeast
Deanwood, DC 3.1 mi southeast
Capitol Hill, DC 3.1 mi south
Takoma Park, MD 3.4 mi north
Takoma, DC 3.8 mi northwest
Shepherd Park, DC 4.3 mi northwest
Anacostia, DC 4.9 mi south
Chevy Chase, DC 4.9 mi northwest
Capitol Heights, MD 5.0 mi southeast

Aging in place home modifications in Brookland, DC