Handrails for the Elderly

I was tasked with assisting two elderly people who had great difficulty walking and had an apartment that had long hallways. I installed wooden handrails, just like they have on stairs along the side of every wall, so they could hold on as they walked. Fortunately the wall was wooden halfway up (the home was old and classical), rather than plaster. The look was quite pleasing. The bare wood shape is purchased from a lumberyard by the foot, stained and polyurethaned, and attached with brass fittings. You tend to think of handrails only for stairs, but you can put them on any wall. You could also use the stainless steel bars sold for use in the bathroom, however there is an aesthetic issue. If the wall is plasterboard or plaster the fittings have to be screwed firmly to the wooden vertical supports. It's a simple project requiring no greater skill that knowing how to use a paintbrush, electric drill, screwdriver and hacksaw that will undoubtedly help prevent a fall.

[garrettandelsasmom]

That's a great idea!  Are handrails fairly inexpensive?  

[caregiver222]

They are relatively inexpensive. You go to a lumberyard and select the profile of the wood. Figure $1.00 to $3.00 per foot. Mine cost a buck. Then I stained and urethaned the wood. They you purchase the supports which go in a groove under the rail. I got solid brass so they were expensive, but plated supports are cheap. They must go into a beam in the wall. Another possibility is aluminum "speedrail", which can be asssembled like a toy and which comes with a set of supports.