Adaptations
Being able to live independently in your home is vital for feeling both safe in your home.
We want to empower you to do just that. We can install both minor and major adaptations according to your unique needs.
ForHousing is proud to work in partnership with Occupational Therapy, who’ll carry out an assessment and help us find the right equipment or you.
If this sounds like something you think would be great for you, or for your community, please contact us at wellbeing.team@forhousing.co.uk.
Specialist advice can be found through your local authority, Community Occupational Therapy or a specialist housing service.
What is a minor adaption?
Minor adaptions are fixed alterations that are usually low cost. This includes:
- Grab rails
- Handrails
- Bannister rails
- Key safes
- Alterations to stairs or steps
- Fold down rails
- And hearing loop systems
We can provide you a more detailed list, including more complex items, so please reach out to us if you’d like to know more.
What is a major adaption?
A major adaption would be alterations that are on the larger scale. It can cover internal, and external changes, to your home.
This includes:
- Ramps
- Widening of doors
- The level of essential kitchen work surfaces
- Ceiling track hoist
- Changing the layout of a room
- A level access shower
Sometimes, it might be better to explore an alternative home that’s more suited to your needs. We can support you in finding the perfect place for you to live, so don’t hesitate to contact us for more help.
What about equipment?
An alternative to adaptions can be equipment that helps you live your life more independently.
Usually, this is loaned by your local authority. Some examples include:
- Toileting equipment like bedpans
- Mobile hoists or transfer boards
- Bath seats, cushions, and shower chairs
- Television amplifiers
- Trolleys and tables
- Vibrating alarm clocks
If you have any questions about adaptions please reach out to us and we can chat about the right solution for you.
Improvements
Sometimes, we may identify that your home needs improvement works. We’ll always write to you to discuss what this means. It could be work inside or outside of your home. We’ll carry out a survey before we begin any work, helping us to figure out what improvements are needed to make your home as secure and comfortable as possible.
As part of the work in bringing council homes up to the Decent Homes Standard, we carry out annual planned maintenance improvement work. Homes requiring roof replacement are inspected by our team to establish the work required. You will be notified by letter when your home is included in the roofing programme. If you want to find out more about reroofing, we have a dedicated leaflet with everything you need to know. Click here to view it.
Your safety is our top priority, and we will always check for asbestos before approving any work. We’ll make sure to keep disruption to a minimum and will always test any water, heating, or electrics when we’re finished.
You’ll be provided with a named person to answer any questions or concerned, and before we close the job, we’ll carry out an in-depth quality check.
Can I make my own improvements to a ForHousing home?
Often the answer is yes – but we need to chat to your first to make sure they’re safe and will not cause any lasting damage. Contact us on 0300 123 55 22 or hello@forhousing.co.uk and we’ll come up with a plan together.
Please do not carry out work on your home without permission as you could be putting yourself, and your community, at risk.
What kind of improvements might you make to the inside of my home?
This could range from works on your bathroom like installing a new bathroom suite with an over-bath shower, laying vinyl flooring, and tiling the walls, to replacing your kitchen to install new kitchen units.
We’ll discuss with you a suitable layout and offer you a choice of colours. Any demolition work, like removing walls, will be completed by us, as will any electrical re-wiring.
We might also want to improve your heating and electrics. This can cover things like removing existing radiators, pipework, gas fires, gas warm air systems and electrical heating systems, or installing a new boiler. We may want to disconnect and make electrical items safer, replace old fuse boxes with modern circuit breakers, or channel and cover new wiring into walls.
What kind of improvements might you make to the outside of my home?
This could range from removing and replacing existing timber doors, single glazed or defective windows, roof tiles or slates, gutters and downpipes, or repointing chimney stacks.
We’ll also ensure that your roof insulation meets our standards and put-up scaffolding to provide operatives with a safe working platform.
What else do I need to know?
To ensure you’re living in the best home possible, we carry out cyclical maintenance works. This covers jobs like cleaning out gutters, painting exterior woodwork, and cleaning exterior uPvc.
We’ll also support you in making your home environmentally friendly and more ‘green’. We may create flower beds (without planting), seed damaged lawns, and excavate to create foundations so you have an outdoor space to enjoy.
If you’re interested in sustainability and how you can play your part, visit our green champion’s area to get involved.
Is there anything I need to do?
There may be times where we need a helping hand from you to make sure the works are completed as smoothly, and efficiently, as possible.
This might cover:
- Provide access to all rooms in your home, as needed
- Taking up floor coverings like carpet, and refit them afterwards or, alternatively, lifting laminate flooring
- Moving furniture or garden plants away from areas where work is being completed
- Packing away valuables, ornaments, pictures, mirrors, clocks, and other loose items
Also, there may be times where we need to turn off the water supply, so keep a kettle filled with water for your tea or coffee and pop your microwave into another room so you can keep using it.
