Pocket doors for an aging population - making homes accessible for the elderly

A home should always be designed for comfort and practicality, but this becomes particularly important as we grow older. ‘Aging in place’ is becoming increasingly common given that people are generally living longer and don’t always need the services of care homes or other healthcare facilities. This is partly due to how we are now able to redesign the home with features and equipment to help the elderly, and those with mobility and accessibility needs.

Such features include ramps to the front door, stairlifts, stability bars for traversing steps or using the bathroom and also include the provision of pocket doors. The pocket door has become a key feature in terms of enabling aging in place, and we will look at why in detail, but first let’s understand what ‘aging in place’ means.

What is ‘aging in place’?

There are various definitions of aging in place, but in general it describes how elderly people with limited mobility are able to live in their own homes and their own communities, both independently and safely, as they age. So this mainly relates to how they live in their own homes, but also how they are able to use facilities in the community, which could mean shops, post offices, doctors, pharmacies and other essential services. In most cases, public buildings are compelled to make accessibility arrangements, and increasingly these are seen to be provided, so this article is mainly based on arrangements in the home.

How pocket doors can assist with aging in place

At a certain stage of life, it is necessary to carry out an assessment of someone’s home to identify where mobility and accessibility issues could exist. This does not have to consider that people are in a wheelchair necessarily, but they could have limited mobility for accessing stairs, moving between the house, getting into and out of bed and using facilities such as the toilet, bath or shower. The pocket door assists in this assessment in the following ways:

• Space – It is well established that the pocket door creates additional space in a room compared to the traditional hinged door, up to ten square feet. This is normally helpful for making a room multi-purpose, and if someone with limited mobility is confined to one room for long periods, this could still be the case. So a room could be re-purposed as a bedroom and TV/living room if necessary. For people with more mobility but who have aids such as a wheelchair or walking frame, having additional space to manoeuvre in a room could be essential in terms of making life easy and practical, and the pocket door enables this.
• Opening doors – The simple act of opening a pocket door is much easier for someone with limited mobility, compared to a traditional hinged door. The door can be pushed open sideways and doesn’t require the user to move backwards out of the way of the opening door, to then move forwards through it. The person can move directly up to the door and easily pass through in one motion.
• Floor hazards – Because pocket doors are hung from above, with the roller wheels attached to an overhead rail, there is no need for a floor strip and hence there is no trip hazard, making it easy to walk over without tripping, and making it easier to manoeuvre a wheelchair over it.
• Wider – A traditional hinged door is attached at one side and that limits the door space when the door is open. The pocket door opens fully into the ‘pocket’ wall cavity, and hence there is more room to pass through the door. This is particularly helpful for those with a wheelchair, and while this additional gap is only a few millimetres, it can make a big difference in terms of comfort, safety and practicality.
• Accessories – There are various accessories which can be added to a pocket door to make life easier for an elderly person or someone with limited mobility. These include the self-close feature, which means the elderly person doesn’t have to turn around to close a door once they have passed through it, while the soft-close/anti-slam feature means they won’t be injured should they be struck by the door in the act of it closing. You can also add seals to the perimeter of the door to improve heat retention in the colder months.
• Glass pocket doors – It is possible to install glass pocket doors, which are a great help in making small rooms more practical, and generally making rooms brighter and more comfortable because they maximise the natural light available. In the home of an elderly person this can help with day-to-day wellbeing and mental health.
• Fire doors – Although it is not a legal requirement to have all doors in a home as fire doors, this could be advisable if it is felt that there is a heightened risk of fire in the home of an elderly person. So pocket doors can be installed as fire doors if necessary, and which will help to prevent the spread of fire for a specified period.

Order online with the Pocket Door Shop today

So the pocket door is an essential aid to a person aging in place and helps with accessibility and mobility issues which, ultimately, can heavily impact on the health and wellbeing of an elderly person, and help them remain a central part of the wider community. If you need advice on pocket doors as an accessibility tool, then contact our team today, otherwise you can order online by browsing our range of pocket door systems.