Accessible bathrooms in Buffalo

The state Office for the Aging lists the Erie County Department of Senior Services, in downtown Buffalo, as the agency serving older residents of Erie County.¹¹ Start there if you aren't sure what an older owner qualifies for.

New York State's Access to Home program pays for accessibility modifications, such as ramps, lifts, handrails, doorway widening and roll-in showers, in the primary homes of low- and moderate-income people with disabilities, generally with household income at or below 80 percent of area median income.¹² Homeowners can't apply to the state directly for Access to Home; the money flows through municipalities and nonprofits selected as local program administrators.¹²

The state's RESTORE program helps homeowners sixty and older pay for emergency repairs and code violations that threaten their health and safety.¹³ HCR's 2025 housing grant awards include $108,000 in RESTORE money to Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc., in the Western New York region, for emergency repairs for elderly homeowners.¹⁴ A veteran may be able to add the VA's grant. The VA's Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) benefit pays for medically necessary changes to a veteran's or servicemember's primary residence, including use of essential bathroom facilities such as roll-in showers and lowering sinks and counters.¹⁵

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.¹⁶ Under the ADA standards a doorway needs a clear width of at least 32 inches, measured between the face of the door and the stop with the door open 90 degrees.⁷ Bath doors in Buffalo's older houses are often narrower, and widening one means new framing in a plaster wall, which is permit work.

The side door of a double, usually up a few steps from the driveway, is often the easier place for a ramp or a lift than the front porch. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.¹⁷

In residential units covered by the ADA standards, a transfer shower may go without a seat as long as the walls are reinforced so one can be installed later.⁷ If you have fallen, the NIA notes, your doctor might suggest that an occupational therapist, physical therapist or nurse visit your home to assess its safety and advise you about changes.¹⁸

A curbless floor usually means removing the mortar bed and sometimes cutting joists to get the drain low enough, which exposes old waste and supply lines. The EPA notes that lead can collect inside galvanized pipe and later reach drinking water, and that solder made before 1986 contained high levels of lead.¹⁹

In a Buffalo one- or two-family house, tearing out finishes, trim, carpet, tile, cabinets and countertops as part of permitted or exempt repair work needs no demolition permit, but removing or containing asbestos needs an asbestos abatement permit.⁸ The EPA advises having an accredited asbestos professional inspect before a remodel that could disturb suspect materials, and not sanding or power-stripping suspect flooring yourself.²⁰

Calling the number on this page puts you through, on a recorded line, to one independent company that handles accessible bathroom remodels in the Buffalo area. The layout, fixtures and price are settled between you and that company.

That company pays us for the call, so you pay nothing, and we don't follow up by phone or text. How we make money

New York State does not license home improvement contractors, but some local governments do, including New York City, the City of Buffalo, and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties; where a local license is required, the Department of State says to hire only a licensed contractor.²¹ Check a New York license

Every New York home improvement contract, and every amendment, must be in writing and signed by all parties, and must give the contractor's name, address, phone number and license number if one applies, the approximate start and substantial completion dates, and a description of the work and materials, including make and model, with the agreed price.²² If a program is paying part of the bill, keep one written scope that the program and the company both sign.