Small updates that make an older home easier for aging parents

Quick answer

Start with what your parents touch every day: swap round knobs for levers, replace small toggle switches with larger rocker switches, brighten dark hallways and entries, add night lights on the way to the bathroom, and fit a handheld shower head. These are small, quick changes that do not involve any construction.

Plenty of older parents still live in the house they bought decades ago. In San Gabriel that is often a home built between the 1920s and the 1950s, with original doors, round knobs and fairly dim lighting. Those houses have a lot of charm. They were also built for people who never had to think about stiff fingers, weaker eyes or a slower walk to the bathroom at night.

None of the ideas below involve construction. They are small swaps that make the house easier to live in, and most can be done in a single visit.

Why small changes matter

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and older. Good lighting and fewer awkward reaches are some of the simplest ways to make a house safer. Easier hardware also helps people stay independent, which most parents care about a great deal.

Lever handles instead of round knobs

Round knobs need a firm grip and a twist, which gets hard with arthritis or when hands are full. A lever can be pushed down with an elbow or the side of a hand.

• Most standard interior doors can take a lever set that fits the existing holes.
• Older houses with mortise locks can often get lever trim that works with the original lock, so the door keeps its character.
• For cabinets, swapping small knobs for D-shaped pulls makes doors and drawers easier to open.

Our guide to old mortise locks and vintage door hardware explains what is inside those older doors.

Easier switches and brighter light

Small toggle switches can be hard to find in the dark and hard to flip. A wide rocker switch can be pressed with a palm, and a lighted rocker glows faintly so it is easy to find. We swap switches in the existing boxes.

Lighting is the other half. Older houses often have a single ceiling fixture in the hallway and a dim porch light.

• Replace dim fixtures with brighter LED fixtures, especially in hallways, stairs and entries.
• Put the porch and entry light on a dusk-to-dawn sensor or a timer so nobody comes home to a dark step.
• Add plug-in night lights along the route from the bedroom to the bathroom. Motion-sensing models turn on only when needed.

In the bathroom

A handheld shower head makes it possible to shower while seated and to rinse off without twisting under a fixed head. In most showers it attaches to the existing shower arm with a holder, so no wall work is needed. A lever-handle faucet at the sink is also easier than old cross handles. Older valves and faucets sometimes need a matching part, so a photo helps us plan.

Around the rest of the house

• Anchor tall furniture. Bookcases and dressers can tip if someone leans on them for balance. Anti-tip straps keep them on the wall, and they matter in earthquake country anyway.
• Smoke and CO alarms. Make sure they work, and replace old ones with new units. California requires carbon monoxide alarms in homes with gas appliances or an attached garage.
• Doors that stick. A door that needs a shoulder to close is hard on anyone. Adjusting it so it closes with a light push helps a lot.
• Screen and security doors. Make sure the latch and closer work smoothly and the handle is easy to reach.

Planning it with your parents

Walk through the house with them and ask what is hard. People rarely mention a stiff door or a dark hallway until someone asks. Make a short list in the order they care about, then text it to us with photos. We will price it as one visit where we can.

Ready to hand it off? Our doors, cabinets and hardware page lists what we take on and what to send for a quote. For background on local houses, see our repair guide for San Gabriel’s older homes.

A family-style lunch on Las Tunas Drive is a nice way to talk the list over with your parents.

Want us to handle it?

Call or text (626) 684-3505, Mon–Sat 8:30 AM–7 PM. Send a photo and we will give you an upfront quote.

Call or text (626) 684-3505