The home assessment
One visit, and you will know exactly where you stand
We look at the whole house with your mum or dad, then put a written plan of everything that would make it safer on your portal. You pick what you would like quoted, and we run the work from start to finish.
What we look at
Every room, at your parent's pace. We ask how they actually manage, not how the room is supposed to work. About 30 minutes.
Stairs and landing
Rails on both sides, the height of the treads, the carpet, the light at the top and the bottom.
Bathroom
Getting in and out of the bath or shower, the height of the toilet, where a rail would actually help.
Kitchen
What is stored too high or too low, how the cooker is managed, whether the taps are still easy to turn.
Bedroom and getting up
Bed height, the route to the bathroom at night, and whether there is a light that can be reached.
Doors, floors and trip hazards
Thresholds, loose rugs, trailing flexes, worn carpet edges and doors that have got heavy.
Lighting
Older eyes need a good deal more light. Often this is the cheapest change that makes the biggest difference.
Outside
The path to the front door, steps, the state of the handrail, mossy slabs, the bin store and the washing line.
Security and the front door
Locks, a spy hole at the right height, whether a key safe would save family and carers a journey.
Jobs that have got harder
Reaching the kitchen cupboards, the garden, the windows. Sometimes an adaptation fixes it, sometimes it is a job we can take off their hands.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
The Staying Home Plan
On your portal within 5 working days. Every room we looked at, and everything we think would make the house safer or easier to live in.
You then tell us which of it you would like quoted. We price those items, and once you approve them we run the whole job from start to finish.
EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE FLAG
- Second stair rail and landing lightWorks
- Level access shower, replacing the bathWorks
- Brighter lighting in the kitchen and hallWorks
- A falls alarm, set up and explainedSupport
- Fortnightly check-in visitSupport
An example only. Your plan will set out what your parent's home actually needs. You choose what you want priced, and there is no obligation to do any of it.
What you get
The visit, the written Staying Home Plan, and a call afterwards to go through it with you. Every item is specified clearly enough for any competent trade to price, and the plan is yours to keep.
The assessment is free. You are under no obligation to have any of the work done by us. See pricing and grants.
Family can join by video call
If you live in Bristol or Birmingham and your mum lives in Braunton, you can still be there. We ring you on a video call during the visit and walk you round.
You hear the same conversation, and you can ask your own questions.
Nothing happens until you say yes
The plan is not a contract. Take it away, sit on it, get other quotes, do one item this year and the rest next year.
We will not chase you. If you want to go ahead, you tell us.
Questions we get asked
Will mum feel she is being judged?
No. We talk to her, not about her. She decides what happens in her house, and she can tell us to leave a room alone.
Do I have to use you for the work?
Not at all. The plan is written so any competent tradesperson could price it. Most people do use us, because it saves them managing six different firms.
Could the council pay for some of this?
Possibly. The Disabled Facilities Grant is a council grant for adaptations. It is means tested and subject to an assessment, so we cannot promise anything, but we can help you understand it and apply. See pricing and grants.
What if nothing needs doing?
Then we will say so, in writing, and you will have that in your hand next time you worry. That is a perfectly good outcome.
Book the assessment
Send us a message and we will find a time that suits your parent, and you.