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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Keeping your knuckles.

Are you tired of having to deal with narrow doors? I mean really if you're in a wheelchair 32 inches is basically useless 34 is the accepted width while 36 inches is ideal. Even if you're not using a wheelchair  relying on the use of some other device like a walker for instance a wider door would certainly be appreciated. If you are getting tired of leaving your knuckles behind every time you wheel through one of your doors you're options are limited. You can hire a contractor to install a wider door at a cost of course or you can look at the following option it may be all you really need.


I've seen various types of hinges on the market they go by different names depending on the manufacturer and the prices also vary substantially from one company to another. The one in the picture is called a swing clear hinge made by Stanley. When the doors open it completely swings out of the way giving you an additional 1 3/4 of additional width, a regular standard 32 in-store now provides an opening almost 34 inches wide and that my friends allows you to keep your knuckles and can even make rooms which are inaccessible usable.







The paragraph below comes from the Stanley site. The product is great yet I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the description There is absolutely nothing wrong with it except you can tell it was not written by someone in a wheelchair. We speak of barrier free codes and allowing wide equipment to pass without damaging doors and frames or the equipment.
"Hello, it's our fingers we are tired of leaving behind and in most cases we are the equipment!"

Wherever doors are required to meet barrier-free codes or are required to swing completely clear of the openings so that wide equipment can pass through without damaging doors and frames or the equipment The LifeSpan® hinge line (Stanley CB) is covered by a limited lifetime warranty for the life of the building "FBB" line: The Stanley FBB hinge line emphasizes rugged dependability "F" line: For residentail or light commercial use

4 comments:

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

I do wish 3 ft doors were standard. They do not cost much more....

Muffie said...

Sounds ideal! I find many areas where my walker has to be turned a certain way or my scooter barely makes it. Hinges such as these may be the answer. Thanks!

Peace,
Muff

Karen said...

A great tip Michael! Very cost efficent and knuckle saving.
Cheers

MikeH said...

This is a very cost-effective way of dealing with narrow doors however you are right Kim there is virtually no difference in cost when you're building that is. When we designed our condo I requested all doors to be 36 inches the builder didn't charge us any extra. Problem is we usually don't have the opportunity of designing our living space before we move in.

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