What Does an Aging in Place Home Assessment Include?
Ready to walk through an aging in place assessment checklist for your Avon home? Request an estimate and we'll go room by room with you.
An aging in place assessment checklist is a room-by-room walkthrough of a home that flags fall risks, tight clearances, and spots where grab bars, better lighting, or a no-step entry would make daily life easier and safer. It covers entryways, bathrooms, kitchens, stairs, and hallways, and it's the starting point before any remodeling work is scoped or priced.
Families usually ask for this kind of checklist after a close call, a diagnosis, or simply because a parent wants to stay in their current home longer. The checklist itself doesn't cost anything to understand — what matters is knowing which items on it actually apply to your house before you start remodeling.
Entryways and Doorways
The assessment starts at the front door: is there a step up, and how wide is the doorway?
Standard doorways and single steps are common trip points and can also block a walker or wheelchair.
The checklist notes threshold height, doorway width, and whether exterior lighting is bright enough to see the lock and steps after dark.
- Exterior step height and total step count
- Whether handrails are present, and on which side(s)
- Threshold height at every exterior entry door
- Porch and landing lighting, especially for evening arrivals
- Whether a ramp or zero-step entry is feasible given the home's existing grading and layout
Bathrooms: The Highest-Risk Room
Bathrooms account for more falls than any other room in the house, so this section of the checklist gets the most attention.
It looks at tub or shower entry height, grab bar locations, toilet height, flooring slip resistance, and whether there's room to maneuver a walker or wheelchair near the sink and shower.
If a bathroom scores poorly here, the next question is usually whether a walk-in shower conversion or a fuller remodel makes more sense for the layout and budget.
If you're weighing your bathroom accessibility options, read our guide to
walk in shower vs bathroom remodel in Indianapolis to help determine which approach best fits your needs.
- Tub or shower step height
- Whether grab bar blocking exists behind the walls (or would need to be added)
- Toilet height relative to standard accessible guidelines
- Flooring slip resistance when wet
- Turning radius for a walker or wheelchair
Because this area carries the most risk, it's usually the first fix we recommend — see our comparison of
walk-in shower conversions versus full bathroom remodels to understand which fits your situation.
Doorway Widths
A hallway that looks fine on foot can be unusable with a walker or wheelchair. We check:
- Clear opening width at bedroom, bathroom, and closet doors — 32 inches clear is the general minimum for most walkers and wheelchairs
- Door swing direction and whether it blocks maneuvering space
- Whether offset hinges could solve a tight doorway without full-wall demolition
Kitchens and Daily-Use Spaces
Kitchens get checked for counter and cabinet heights, whether frequently used items are within easy reach, and how much clear floor space there is to move around the work triangle.
Lighting over the stove and sink is also part of the review, since dim task lighting leads to small accidents that add up.
Flooring Transitions
Small changes in floor height cause a disproportionate number of falls. We check:
- Threshold height at transitions between rooms
- Rug edges and whether rugs have non-skid backing
- Transition strips between different flooring types
- Any uneven, damaged, or lifted flooring that creates a trip hazard
Stairs, Hallways, and Lighting
Stairs are checked for handrail condition on both sides, tread depth, and lighting at the top and bottom. Hallways are measured for width, since a narrow hallway can make a future wheelchair or walker transition harder down the road. Overall home lighting — including switches at both ends of a hallway — rounds out this part of the checklist.
- Light levels in hallways and stairways
- Switch placement — specifically, whether a room can be lit without crossing it in the dark first
- Night-light coverage along the bedroom-to-bathroom path
- Opportunities for motion-sensor lighting in high-traffic areas
Turning the Aging-in-Place Assessment Checklist Into a Remodeling Plan
Once the aging in place assessment checklist is complete, the items on it get sorted into quick fixes, moderate updates, and bigger remodeling projects. A loose grab bar is a different job than widening a doorway or reworking a bathroom layout. Main Street Contractors uses the completed checklist to put together a scoped estimate for Avon homeowners, so you know what each recommended change actually involves before committing to it.
For a closer look at potential project expenses, explore our guide to aging in place remodeling cost in Indianapolis.
Before deciding which improvements to prioritize, review our guide to aging in place remodeling insurance in Indianapolis to better understand potential coverage considerations.
If your home also needs repairs related to property damage, learn more about our
insurance claims repairs in Indianapolis services.
What You Get After the Assessment
You'll receive a written report ranking every issue we found, prioritized by safety impact first and budget second — so if you can only address one thing right now, you'll know which one matters most. Alongside the report, we provide itemized pricing for anything you'd like to move forward on. There's no pressure and no obligation to book work on the spot; many homeowners use the report to plan a phased project over months or years.
Serving Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville & Surrounding Areas
Main Street Contractors is a service-area business, which means we come to you. We serve homeowners throughout Marion County and the greater Indianapolis metro, including:
- Indianapolis — all neighborhoods and zip codes
- Carmel, IN — including newer developments and established neighborhoods
- Fishers, IN — accessible bathroom and mobility projects
- Zionsville, IN — full aging-in-place assessments and modifications
- Westfield, Noblesville, Greenwood, and surrounding communities
If you're not sure whether we serve your area, give us a call — we'll let you know right away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an aging-in-place assessment?
It's a walkthrough of a home's entryways, bathrooms, kitchen, stairs, and hallways to identify fall risks and accessibility barriers before any remodeling is planned.
Who should get an aging-in-place assessment?
Anyone planning to stay in their current home long-term, or a family member helping an aging parent evaluate whether their home still fits their needs.
Does every item on the checklist require a remodel?
No — some items, like adding a grab bar or improving lighting, are small fixes, while others, like widening a doorway or converting a tub to a walk-in shower, are bigger projects.
Does insurance or Medicare cover aging-in-place modifications?
Coverage depends on the specific policy and the type of modification, so it's worth checking your plan before budgeting; see our page on aging-in-place remodeling and insurance for more on how that typically works.
Is a walk-in shower always the right call for aging in place?
Not always — it depends on the current bathroom layout and how the space is used; our walk-in shower vs. full remodel page walks through when each option makes sense.
How much does aging-in-place remodeling cost?
Costs vary widely depending on which checklist items need addressing; our aging-in-place remodeling cost page breaks down what typically drives the price up or down.
Find out exactly what your home needs — and what it doesn't. Book your free assessment today.
