E-HOMES - Lifetime Homes

Circulation within the home

Lifts and stairs

Part M standard

Where a lift is provided, it should be suitable for an unaccompanied wheelchair user.

There should be a clear landing entrance to the lift of 1500x1500mm, and the minimum internal dimensions of the lift should be 900x1250mm.

The lift controls should be between 900 and 1200mm from the floor and 400mm from the lift’s internal front wall. There should be tactile control buttons and visual and audible storey indicators in blocks of more than three storeys.

Diagram 5a
Diagram 5a

Lifetime Homes standard 5

Communal stairs should provide easy access, and where homes are reached by a lift it should be fully wheelchair accessible.

The minimum dimensions and control positioning/specification should be as described in the Part M standard, above, except that the internal dimensions of the lift should be 1100x1400mm.

Communal stairs

Diagram 5b
Diagram 5b

Communal stairs which are well-designed from the outset will facilitate the addition of a future stair-lift.

Doors and Corridors

The width of corridors and doors can make or break the accessibility of a home. Careful thought from the outset can mean that a property is very accessible for all.

Part M standard

Doors and corridors should be wide enough to allow wheelchair users to manoeuvre into and out of rooms (including one that contains a WC).

The entrance door must always be at least 775mm in width. The internal doorways and corridor widths should conform to the following:

Doorway clear opening width (mm) Corridor/passageway width (mm)
750 or wider 900 (when approach is head on)
750 1200 (when approach is not head on)
775 1050 (when approach is not head on)
800 900 (when approach is not head on)
Diagram 6
Diagram 6

Lifetime Homes standard 6

The width of the internal doorways and hallways should conform to the Part M standard, except that when the approach is not head-on and the corridor / passageway width is only 900mm, the doorway clear opening width should be 900mm rather than 800mm. The front door should have a minimum 800mm clear opening width.

There should be 300mm to the side of the leading edge of the doors on the entrance level (this would usually only apply to the front door, as other doors open into the room).

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