Door Widening

Widening a Doorway

Many older homes within the UK have been built without any consideration for wheelchair accessibility. In fact, the average width of an internal doorway within the UK is around 75mm narrower than the width of an adult’s wheelchair. This then causes problems for those with disabilities or mobility issues, as they cannot get access to some of the rooms within their home.

For a wheelchair user to comfortably navigate within their home, it’s essential that the doorways must be at least 32 inches wide. In order to meet this standard, increase mobility and improve quality of life for wheelchair users, installing a wheelchair accessible door and widening a door frame may be necessary. By doing so, you can maintain the independence of a wheelchair user by providing them access to different rooms within their home easily and without the support of another person.

In terms of commercial locations, it is essential that you are inclusive and create an accessible space for all. If your establishment forgets to take this into consideration, you are likely to deter customers, and this can be bad for business.

Adjusting doors or door frames may require minor alterations, however, wheelchair access can be awkward, especially if the angle approached is not straight, requiring more complex alterations. 800mm is usually suitable but the wider the access possible the easier it becomes for the user, 900-1000mm would be an ideal width.

The process of widening an interior door within your home is quite simple and is likely to only take a few hours. Once complete, it will subsequently permit wheelchairs and other mobility assistance vehicles to easily manoeuvre throughout the house and through passageways.

Once we have a full understanding of where you want the door extended to, we will prepare and begin with door removal. Once the door has been removed, we will also remove the frame through drilling and cutting. Then, we install the new frames and doors and add the finishing touches. Then, just like that, you have a new, wider door.

With the installation of a wheelchair accessible door and widening a door frame, we think considerably about customer safety, accessibility and compliance. Our many years of experience in widening doorways for wheelchair access and thorough knowledge learnt through healthcare professionals means that we have developed a thorough installation process. We aim to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure ease of accessibility for our customers and avoid as much inconvenience as possible.

How much widening your doors costs will depend on whether you want to widen an exterior or interior doorframe. Exterior doors tend to cost more than interior doors, as there is usually the need to remodel brick and the design of wheelchair accessible exterior doors tend to be more expensive.

As well as creating a more accessible home for wheelchair users, widening a doorway comes with many aesthetic benefits. Wider doorways allow more light to flow within the home, creating brighter atmospheres and the illusion that a space is larger than it is.

Alongside widening a door frame, we also offer a range of different alterations and products to increase mobility within the home. For example, to provide easy access to upstairs, you may be interested in through floor lifts, stair lifts, step lifts or step lifting platforms. We will work with you to understand your own individual challenges and manage the restrictions presented. If you would like a member of our team to discuss the options available, please call 0121 382 1814 for a free appointment.