Barrier-free living is a must for people who are dependent on a wheelchair or walker. However, a walking disability is by no means an exclusion criterion for not being able to drive a car. On the contrary: being mobile by car is extremely important for people with disabilities in order to be independent. Many vehicles can also be converted accordingly. In addition to the vehicle, the parking space for the car should also be barrier-free. The garage or carport must therefore meet certain requirements.
A barrier-free parking space is characterized by the following features: It should be close to the entrance and preferably covered, it should be well lit in the dark, offer sufficient freedom of movement when getting out, have a threshold-free transition to other areas and the flooring should be easy to drive on in all weathers.
A garage or carport is therefore definitely advisable. The garage experts at ZAPF GmbH, who have specialized in prefabricated concrete garages for more than 50 years, confirm that making them barrier-free is no great effort.
Sufficient space in length and width
If the building space allows, the garage specialists at ZAPF recommend considering the installation of a wide or large-capacity garage from the outset. With a width of up to 3.78 meters, or 5 to 7 meters in the case of the large-capacity garage, these offer enough space to get in and out without any problems, even with crutches, walking aids or wheelchairs.
If the garage has a connecting door to the house or if access to shelves or storage areas in the garage needs to be guaranteed for people with walking impairments, the space requirement increases further. For example, building standards for barrier-free construction and living stipulate a minimum width of 1.2 meters for wheelchair access. At least 1.5 meters are required to allow wheelchair users to turn and change direction. These space requirements can also be met with the prefabricated garages from ZAPF – ex works, without special adaptations.
Barrier-free access
Another important factor is the access to the garage. “Our garages are designed from the outset so that the door threshold is level and therefore barrier-free,” says Markus Hölzl, Head of Marketing at ZAPF GmbH. The same is possible with side doors or connecting doors to the house: “Here, too, we can plan the doors with a level threshold in consultation with the customer, but also with the appropriate width and height so that they can be passed through with a wheelchair without any problems and no additional work is required on site.”
Floor covering
The floor in and in front of the garage should be non-slip even when wet. Rough types of asphalt or textured paving are particularly suitable for this. Here too, ZAPF garages are designed to meet these requirements ex works: The floor covering of every ZAPF garage is rough and uncoated. This allows moisture from rain or snow that enters the garage with the car to penetrate the pores of the concrete. If, on the other hand, the floor is coated, this is not possible and the surface quickly becomes slippery and slippery in combination with the dripping water or, in the worst case, can even freeze. Another important aspect is that the door is easy to open and close. At ZAPF, we always recommend a modern sectional door with an electric door operator and remote control. This allows the door to be opened and closed from a certain distance at the touch of a button.
A well thought-out lighting concept is also advisable in any case. Practical lamps with motion detectors are now standard. With ZAPF Doorlight, the light is also an eye-catcher. The special lighting system is mounted behind the reveal above the garage door and has the same width as the entrance area. This improves visibility and makes it much easier to drive into the garage in the dark. ZAPF goes one step further with the “ZAPF Connect” smart home system: an app is used to control the door as well as the lighting or the ventilation position of the door. All it takes is a tap on the smartphone and the garage door opens or closes, and you can also check whether the garage is open or closed, or whether the lighting is on or off, while on the move.
