Accessible bathrooms in Westchester

The state Office for the Aging lists the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, in Mount Vernon, as the agency serving older residents of Westchester County.¹² It is the place to start if you aren't sure which program fits, and its staff know which local groups are doing home modifications this year.

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.¹³ Homeowners can't apply to the state directly for Access to Home; the money flows through municipalities and nonprofits selected as local program administrators.¹³

The state's RESTORE program helps homeowners sixty and older pay for emergency repairs and code violations that threaten their health and safety.¹⁴ That covers urgent repairs rather than a planned remodel. A veteran may also qualify for 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.⁶ Bath doors in older Westchester houses are often narrower, and widening one through plaster walls means new framing and a permit.

In a colonial, the powder room off the front hall often backs onto a coat closet or a pantry. Turning that into a small full bath with a shower can serve better than rebuilding the upstairs bath and adding a stair lift. 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.⁶ Ask for blocking behind every wall where a bar might go later, since adding it after tile means cutting tile. 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 taking out the mortar bed to get the drain low enough, and that exposes the old supply and waste piping. 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

The EPA lists vinyl floor tile, vinyl sheet backing and flooring adhesives among products that may contain asbestos, which is released mainly when the material is disturbed.²⁰ Have older floor layers tested before they're broken up. 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.²¹

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

We're paid by that company for the call, so it costs you nothing, and nobody from our side calls or texts you later. How we make money

Check the company's county license before you sign. Westchester County's Department of Consumer Protection licenses home improvement contractors and requires plumbers and electricians to hold a county trade license to work in the county.²² Westchester County tells consumers to ask plumbers and electricians to show their county license card, which shows when the license expires, or to search the county's online list of licensed tradespeople.²³ 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.²⁴ If a program is paying part of the bill, make sure its work list and the contract match line for line.