Be safe at home with upgrades like installing grab rails in your bathroom.

Hey, everybody, this is Sandy with Sandy and Company. Today, we are talking about the top three renovations to help you stay in your home for as long as possible.

According to various sources, up to 80% of all home accidents happen in the bathroom. So, if you’d like to stay in your house for as long as possible, let’s discuss the three top things that most people do to make that happen easily.

Okay, here we go.

Renovation number one is grab rails. This was not something I thought about when I first moved in. Apparently, the person before me thought, “This is the first thing I’m going to get rid of,” but it’s actually pretty handy. I realized that when I needed a washcloth or a towel from the closet. What I do is hang on to the grab rail and reach around the corner, or I even just hang on to it when I’m stepping out because it’s a little slippery.

Why not be a little bit more careful?

This is probably the cheapest way to stay safe in your home. A grab rail can cost anywhere from $50. You can probably find suction ones for about that price or even a little cheaper on Amazon.

Alternatively, you can have a contractor come in to install it securely, ensuring that it never goes anywhere. According to the senior real estate specialists, of which I am one, the price for a grab bar runs between $100 and $750. So it’s a little cheaper if you’re getting one from Amazon, but it’s definitely within most people’s budget. That is the number one thing that many people do when they’re looking to age safely in place in their homes.

“Be as safe as possible in your home and age safely and gracefully in place.”

Renovation number two, showers, or how about those tubs? If you can avoid stepping up 16 inches into the bathtub, then maybe you’re looking for an easy transition shower. A curbless shower, as they call it, ranges between $1,500 and $9,000.

Obviously, that has a big range depending on the quality, the materials you want to use, and who you have doing it. But I would not go cheap on this because when you’ve got, like I said, a 16-inch step, you want to ensure that the shower is installed correctly.

Please make sure you’re using a professional who understands what happens with water, wood, and building materials; you don’t want to have a problem later on. So get that professional in there and make sure that the job is done right for somewhere between $1,500 and $9,000.

Renovation number three is increasing the height of the toilet. This is probably one of the least favorite topics, but everybody uses it, so you really need to make sure that you can get up safely after you’ve sat down. Mine is original and very short, making it a little hard to get up from.

That update can cost anywhere from $50 if you want to get one of those simple plastic risers that sit right inside the toilet, or you can install a higher toilet from the get-go. There are some pretty nice options available. It might be time for an upgrade; perhaps you’ve held on to the old one just because you needed to, but this could be a nice freshen-up for your bathroom.

So those three things—grab bars, curbless showers, higher toilets—are the things you can do to ensure you are as safe as possible in your home and to age safely and gracefully in place in the home you’ve already spent so much effort and time in. Let’s do the best we can.

If you have any questions about how to best address this or how you can stay in your home as long as possible, or if you’ve decided it’s time to find a new place that really works for you, I am just a phone call, message, or text away. Reach out to me at (425) 422-7372 or email me at Sandy@SandyAndCompany.com. We’re here to help.

Our motto is “Making lives better. How can we help you with yours?” Have a super blessed day!