Getting in and out of the house safely

A ramp that ends at a door the walker can't get through hasn't fixed anything. So we price the steps, the landing, the door width, the threshold and the handle together, as one entry.

We rank the entry near the top because someone who can't get in and out of the house gets little from a safe bathroom inside it. Give the steps to one company and the door to another, and nobody answers for the raised strip where the ramp meets the hall. That strip is where the walker stops.

A lot of front entries around DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia have a stoop with a rail on one side or none at all. The first fix is usually a solid rail on both sides of every step, so a person can hold on with the stronger hand going up and again coming down. Light on the steps and a clear landing at the top go with it.

When the steps themselves are the barrier, a ramp replaces them. Built ramps are wood or concrete. Modular aluminum sections bolt together and can come back out, which suits a rental or a need that won't last.

The height of the steps sets the ramp's length, and we measure it before anything is priced. Where the ground allows, a zero-step entry brings the path up level with the door, and nobody has to think about the steps again.

In a lot of older houses the doors are too narrow for a walker or wheelchair. We widen doorways on the daily paths, or rehang doors on offset hinges to gain width without moving the frame. Raised thresholds come out, knobs become levers that open with an elbow, and heavy storm doors get closers that don't slam on the person holding them.

A keypad lock ends the fumbling with keys at the door. It also lets family, a caregiver or emergency help get in without a key under the mat.

In a rental, every change either comes back out or gets the landlord's sign-off. We use modular ramps and fixes that leave the structure alone, and we write the letter that asks the landlord for permission the right way.

A hospital or rehab discharge often stalls at the front steps. Give us the discharge date on the first call, and the entry work gets scheduled to finish before it. A modular ramp goes up faster than a built one, and a permanent ramp can replace it later if the family wants.

A parent moving into your home on a set date works the same way. The entry has to work on the day they arrive with their bags.

Before anything is priced, we measure the height of every step, the depth of the landing, the swing and width of the door, and the room a ramp would need to reach the ground at a safe slope. That tells you early whether a ramp fits the yard or whether rails and a lift at the steps make more sense, so nobody pays for a plan that can't be built.