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The most important tips for barrier-free planning, building and living - and for barrier-free doors.

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Barrier-free doors open the door to a self-determined everyday life, especially for people with disabilities or health restrictions. The trend towards barrier-free living is set to increase: Because by 2030, every third person in Germany will be over 60 years old.

The "Door to the world"shows how accessibility makes life easier for people;provides tips for barrier-free planning, building and living;provides information on the most important DIN standards and (legal) requirements.

We interviewed an expert on accessibility: Markus Bauer, seminar leader for specialised topics at PRÜM.

What makes a door barrier-free? What are the specifications?

Markus Bauer (MB): "At PRÜM, we can basically make any interior and flat entrance door barrier-free! The decisive factor is that the client's exact specifications are available at an early stage. This specifies the width and height of the wall opening, as well as all room and ceiling dimensions. The door must then fit in there.

The legal situation is actually quite open. This is because the relevant standard for public buildings and flats, DIN 18040, Part 1, only states that public property developers should orientate themselves as far as possible towards barrier-free design. That is not very binding.

Nevertheless, I consider this standard to be a good source of information, even for laypeople. It provides practical tips for people who want to make their private homes barrier-free: How do I make car parks, garages, lifts, windows or security technology barrier-free? The standard provides answers. Incidentally, DIN 18040 is the only standard that can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet."

 

What does accessibility mean?

MB: "In practice, it can mean different things to different people. Take door handles, for example: the extra-low height for wheelchair users is set at 85 centimetres. But for a person walking upright, this low height becomes a handicap. After all, they have to bend down to operate the door handle on this flat entrance door or to look through a low peephole.

The legal requirements for wheelchair users are clearly defined: The door width must of course be wheelchair accessible, as must the radius in which the door opens and closes. In addition, the wheelchair-accessible door must also be threshold-free, which is a matter of course for us.

 

Barrier-free through contrasts

But for people who are blind or visually impaired, this is not so clearly defined: Contrasts are important for visually impaired people so that they can orientate themselves spatially: Even simple light-dark contrasts, for example, make a door barrier-free for them.

The German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired provides guidelines for this. It specifies values for the so-called "luminance contrast". Individual door elements should be contrasted accordingly for visually impaired people: Handle, frame, door leaf."

Dimensions and key data for barrier-free flat entrance doors

 

  • Effective passage width: 900 millimetres
  • Effective passage height: 2,050 millimetres
  • Threshold: "Thresholdless" is the state of the art.
  • Door openers/locks/hinges/closers must be "easy to open and close". Fixed sizes and force specifications are set for this. For example, operating a barrier-free door may only require a limited amount of force: it is set at no more than 25 Newtons/2.5 kilograms. But this is often difficult for children and people with disabilities!
  • Door environment: "Sufficient manoeuvring space" behind and around the door is a must. For this, 150 by 150 centimetres should be planned "at the front". You also need 150 by 120 centimetres where the door frame meets the door. There is also 50 centimetres to the side of the door.
  • Special barrier-free solution: the door opens automatically.

 

What funding is available for barrier-free (re)building and living?

People with a care degree (formerly: care level) or their relatives receive up to 4,000 euros from their care insurance fund for a barrier-free private conversion. Provided that the person concerned can continue to live there independently and their health situation does not deteriorate as a result of the modification. This is stated in Section 40 (4) of the German Social Security Code XI ("Measures to improve the individual living environment").

There are also corresponding programmes at KfW that promote conversion measures.

 

Advice on accessibility in old age, in the event of an accident, illness or need for care

Who lives or works in a building? How can it be made barrier-free for these residents and visitors in future? What dimensions and specifications need to be taken into account? It is crucial for accessibility that these questions are answered in advance of a building project.

 

Today, there is help, advice and "guides" for every personal situation at

  • Accident, health and care insurance companies
  • Dementia advice centres
  • Advice centres for senior citizens in cities and municipalities
  • Consumer advice centres
  • Self-help organisations and for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses
  • Social welfare organisations
  • Chambers of architects
  • Experienced craft businesses with expertise in accessibility

 

We have been selling PRÜM doors for five years. But the St Peter retirement home in Habscheid was our first joint project. The accessibility requirements were high: that's why we got together with the PRÜM quotation department for major projects. The project was a success. A door opener for further construction projects, together with PRÜM!"

Michael Lafleur, Head of Interior Design Department, Raiffeisen GmbH Weinsheim

Barrier-free project with 65 PRÜM doors: retirement home in Bitburg

In the St Peter retirement home in Habscheid/Bitburg, the barrier-free door to the dementia ward is always open. That's how it should be: Because there are no barriers here for people who are ill or in need of care.

But the door closes automatically in the event of a fire. This is because the double-leaf, barrier-free fire door is connected to the fire alarm centre. For this purpose, a holding magnet is concealed on the door, which holds it in place during everyday operation. In the event of a fire alarm, the magnet is released by the signal from the fire alarm centre. When the door then closes, the seal also closes securely.

Link list Tips and advice on barrier-free building, living and barrier-free doors