Wheelchair Width and Doorway Modifications for Accessibility

How wide do doors need to be to accommodate wheelchairs? These days, people who use wheelchairs are more and more active in society, so it's important that homes and businesses and public settings be designed and retrofitted with reasonable accommodations for wheelchairs to fit through doors and have full access. In this article, we discuss the width of typical wheelchairs and how wide doorways should be made to accommodate them. Read on to learn more.

Can’t Wheelchairs Fit Through Standard Doorways?

Traditionally, home doorways are between 23 and 27 inches wide. Sadly, this is not wide enough to accommodate most wheelchairs. When designing or modifying a home in the modern world, it's wise to pay attention to the guidelines put forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which state that doors should have a clear width measurement of 32 inches. This measurement is wide enough to accommodate most wheelchairs, but it should be noted that there are some heavy duty wheelchairs that measure a full 40 inches wide, so minimal plans or modifications are probably inadequate.

If you're going to go to the expense and effort of designing or modifying doorways in a home or business to accommodate wheelchairs, it's wise to err on the side of excess rather than doing the bare minimum. For example, if you decide to do your modifications only to accommodate a fairly narrow transport chair, you will still find yourself in trouble if accessibility for wider chair becomes an issue in the future. Wider doorways are more accommodating for everyone, both ambulatory and wheelchair users.

How Do Wider Doorways Help?

Wider doorways make it easier for everyone to navigate in any home or building. When taking deliveries of large items, moving furnishings within the home or simply moving from room to room, capacious doorways make life simpler and help avoid bumps and scrapes for both ambulatory occupants and wheelchair users.

For people who use wheelchairs, accessible doorways provide independence and help prevent embarrassing and dangerous accidents such as getting stuck, scraping knuckles and even bruising or breaking hands or fingers trying to squeeze through narrow doorways.

How Do You Plan for Accessibility Modifications?

Consider these questions when planning accessibility modifications to doorways:

1
Think about the approach to the door. Will there be enough room around the door for the person to be able to line up smoothly and wheel straight in?
2
What happens after passing through the door? Is there a narrow turn on the other side that will make it difficult for people using larger wheelchairs to have full access?
3
Is width the only issue you must deal with, or are there other problems? For example, does the flooring or the threshold of the door pose an accessibility problem? If so, you may need to make changes to provide smooth sailing.
4
Are you in compliance with the ADA recommendations? They are:

Thresholds should not be more than a quarter inch high. If they are higher, a shallow ramp must be installed. It's best to have a completely smooth surface with no obstacles when going through doorways.
Door hardware (locks & handles) must not be installed at a height greater than 48 inches.
Door width must be between 32 inches and 48 inches.
Hallway width must be at least 36 inches.
Door height must be at least 80 inches.

This PDF Resource provides good diagrams illustrating the amount of space needed for good clearance:

Home Adaptations for the Disabled
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/family-home-consumer/home-adaptations-for-the-disabled-9-529/

How Can You Make Doorways Wider for Wheelchairs?

Follow these simple tips:

1
Special hinges called Z hinges or offset hinges can be installed so that the door will swing completely clear of its frame. This simple, inexpensive modification can add an extra inch of clearance to the doorway.
2
Remove the door completely. Simply taking out the door will naturally make it easier to go through and will add an inch to the clearance just as installing Z hinges would do. This is a simple solution if privacy is not an issue. If it is an issue, a curtain can always be added.
3
Remove trim from the framing. Taking off trim all the way around can add another inch of clearance to the frame.
4
Change the swing of the door. A door may be wide enough, but if it swings in the wrong direction may make it difficult for a person using a wheelchair to navigate it.
5
Replace the swinging door with a pocket door or sliding door to provide little more width.
6
Widen the frame. If you're not able to get enough clearance using the first six tips, you will need to widen the doorway. Even if the actual doorway is wide enough for the wheelchair to pass through, you may need to widen it if there are sharp turns on either or both sides. Widening the doorway will increase maneuverability.
7
Pay attention to details. Remember that when you widen a doorway, you may also need to make adjustments to components such as light switches and electrical sockets and wiring in the walls surrounding the door. Make doorways easier to navigate by installing levered handles or an automatic opening device.
8
Plan for the future. Even if you or a member of your household or employee at your business does not currently use a wheelchair, it is always a good idea to make your building and remodeling plans in compliance with the ADA guidelines. Doing this is a wise way to make your home or building accommodating and accessible right from the start and save yourself costly modification expenses in the future.
9
Provide generous accessibility. Even though the ADA guidelines say that doors should be 32 inches wide and hallways should be 36 inches wide, it's wise to go wider if you can. You'll never go wrong with a 36 inch wide doorway and a 48 inch wide hallway.

How Wide is a Wheelchair?

Wheelchair width is quite variable depending upon the type of wheelchair, the size of its occupant and whether it is a standard or customized chair. There are many different types of wheelchairs. Here is general information regarding width expectations for 13 of the most commonly encountered types.

Manual Wheelchair: A manual wheelchair typically has an overall width that is 9 inches greater than the width of the seat. This means that a manual wheelchair that is advertised as having a seat that is 18 inches wide would have an overall width of 27 inches.

Manual wheelchairs may be used by people who are able to maneuver them easily on their own, or by those who need an assistant to help propel them. They come in a wide variety of specifications depending upon the needs of the user. People using manual wheelchairs vary just as much is the rest of the population incapability and needs in terms of accessibility.
Active Chairs: Lightweight and ultra lightweight wheelchairs are often used by very active individuals. These chairs present a very slim profile and are made of very light materials such as titanium. Typically this type of chair will weigh under 15 pounds.
Transport wheelchairs: Transport chairs are the narrowest wheelchairs designed for adults. Some may be as slim as 20 inches overall: however, a transport wheelchair typically has an overall width that is 5 inches greater than the width of the seat. This means that a transport chair that is advertised as having a seat that is 18 inches wide would have an overall width of 23 inches.
Narrow Wheelchairs: Especially designed narrow wheelchairs are made specifically for use in inaccessible environments where doorways are narrow and hallways are tight. These manual wheelchairs are usually no wider than 22 inches. These are not typically used full time. Instead, they are intended for short trips to doctors’ offices and the like. They are lightweight and easy to fold up for transport, but not especially comfortable for long-term use.
Power Wheelchairs: Generally speaking, standard motorized wheelchairs measure about 25 inches in width. Heavy duty power wheelchairs typically measure between 32 inches and 40 inches in width.

Motorized wheelchairs are typically heavier than manual wheelchairs. Their nimbleness and maneuverability depends a great deal upon the abilities of the user. Just as with manual wheelchairs, accessibility needs can vary greatly from user to user.
Kid Friendly Wheelchairs: Pediatric wheelchairs may be either manual or motorized. Because they are designed for children, there naturally quite small. Pediatric transport chairs may be as narrow as 14 inches in overall width. While accommodations may not be necessary in terms of door width, accessibility accommodations such as door handle height and safe flooring must be considered and attended to.
Height Adjustable Wheelchairs: Hemi height wheelchairs are height adjustable. They are especially useful for people who are shorter than 5 feet. A hemi height wheelchair is often a good choice for child or teenager.
Position Changing Wheelchairs: Positioning wheelchairs are a type of power wheelchair that allows the user to shift positions throughout the day. Choices in positioning may include reclining, raising and lowering the legs or feet, tilting and more. Being able to reposition throughout the day helps prevent problems such as pressure sores and circulatory issues. Like other power wheelchairs, these can be quite wide and bulky.
Standing Mobility Devices: Some positioning wheelchairs even enable the user to move from a sitting to standing position. These motorized wheelchairs enable users to perform standing tasks, reach high-placed items and interact with others eye-to-eye. The ability to move from sitting to standing has many health and emotional well-being benefits.
Plus-Sized Wheelchairs: Bariatric wheelchairs are sometimes also called heavy-duty wheelchairs. These are super sturdy chairs that are designed to accommodate larger, heavier individuals. The largest of them can safely carry a weight as great as 700 pounds. These chairs are naturally extra-large, so generous doorway modifications and plans are necessary to accommodate them.
Scooters: Many non-ambulatory people use mobility scooters to get around. These are very much like a three or four wheeled motor scooter, and may be quite large. Accommodating these devices would require very generous doorway modifications or plans.
Specialty Wheelchairs: Sports wheelchairs are available for every imaginable sport. These chairs are typically not used when getting around in public, and in terms of accessibility they may or may not require doorway modifications. For example, a sport wheelchair designed for basketball would have very wide wheelbase. In the event that it would need to be used indoors, a wider doorway would be necessary.
Outdoor Sport Wheelchairs: All-terrain wheelchairs are also intended for sport and outdoor activities such as wheelchair hiking. These are typically very heavy duty, large chairs equipped with high traction tires and some protection for the user. They navigate the outdoors with great ease, but should not be used indoors.

Plan for the Unexpected

These are just a few examples of the many types of mobility devices one might encounter in the course of daily life. Clearly, when planning or modifying for accessibility in your home or office, it just makes sense to build in the widest hall and doorway modifications possible to prevent problems.