Little Things

Sometimes its the little things that make a great difference.  In this case it was a couple of piece of hardware that have made a big difference in my negotiating our back door.

The door leading from our house to our garage has spring-loaded hinges which usually ensures that the door is closed and we don't get the hot air, cold air, or bugs from the outside into our house.  However, when someone has one or both hands full, such as carrying in groceries or pushing a walker, the spring hinge really gets in the way.  Ever since we've lived here we've had a door prop.  (It worked better before we got ceramic tile.)  It kept the door 90% open.  That's good enough for carrying in pages but got in the way of my walker.

Ta Daa!  If the floor was causing the  problem, avoid the floor.  A magnetic door catch with a spring damper has replaced the prop.  The door opens wide and stays open without sliding on the tile.

Another small improvement was the aluminum ramp.  Not only do I no longer need to lift my walker into the house, but I can also easily bring my power chair into the house.