Stair Safety Essay, Research Paper

be sure that they are tight, that they are driven into studs, not just into plaster lath, and that you have wall brackets spaced at 4-foot intervals. The wood rail should be a standard handrail – 11/2 inches in diameter. This diameter is large enough to provide good handrail strength, but small enough so that you can clasp fingers and thumb completely around the rail, and therefore have a good grip. Pull hard upon the handrail to check that it is securely fastened to the wall, not loose or wiggly. If the handrail is set on top of stair balusters, check the balusters to be sure they are not loose. Finally, the end of the handrail should curve inward at the bottom and top steps, to signal that you are at the end of the stair run. Handrails that end too abruptly leave you wondering where the stairs end and can present a real hazard to the occupant. LiftsFor those who cannot negotiate stairs at all, stairway lifts that travel on a rail are available. A fold-up seat permits occupants to fold the seat out of the way when the stairs are used by foot travelers, and to fold the seat down when a passenger wishes to ride the lift. To find a dealer for these stairway lifts, check the Appendix in the back of this book or look in the Yellow Pages under “Elevators – Sales and Service.”

HallsAll passageways in a home should be a minimum of 4 feet wide. Codes will accept 3-foot wide halls, a minimum that was adapted for postwar housing, when one conserved floor space by building at minimum room sizes. But anyone who has ever tried to negotiate a stairway or hall while moving a queen- or king-sized mattress knows that 3 feet is hardly the desirable width for passage. A wheelchair occupant can pass through a hall that is 3 feet wide. But this narrow width will not permit a wheelchair to turn from the hall into a room, through a 32-inch wide door. You can re-move the narrow 32-inch door and replace it with a 3-foot wide door to let a wheelchair make the turn from the hall through the door. Much better, however, is to build the hallway at least 4 feet wide, and to keep hall lengths at the very mini-mum length, to reduce barriers as much as possible. Floor covering in a hall can be vinyl, hardwood, or tightly woven carpet. Remember that carpet and padding thickness can become a real problem to those who are infirm or use a wheelchair. Choose floor covering carefully for high-traffic areas such as halls.