House Survey Tour and Checklist
Home Exterior
- Are both the curb and outside steps marked with a contrasting color to make them more visible?
Marking stairs with contrasting tape can help you see the edge of the steps. - Are glass doors marked with tape or some other marker to make them more visible?
- If there is a wheelchair ramp, does it have a nonskid surface?
Home Interior
General items
Learn more about these tips in Lighting and Glare and Contrast.- Are entrance thresholds flush to the floor?
- Is there contrast in the color of the doors and baseboards compared to the wall color?
- Is there color and texture contrast in your floor coverings (such as carpet or tiles)?
- Have window treatments been designed to control glare and maximize natural light?
Hallways
- Is lighting uniform throughout? Is there glare in any area?
- Does the lighting create any shadows?
Living Room
Learn more about these tips in the Living Room section.- Is there adequate lighting for reading, writing, sewing, or other tasks?
- Is glare a problem? What about from mirrors? Flooring? Bright sunlight on glass tabletops?
- Are throw rugs nonskid?
- Is there furniture in the middle of the floor that could cause safety issues?
Throw pillows in colors that contrast with the couch make furniture easier to see. - Are there designated locations to keep keys, TV remotes, and other small, easily misplaced items?
- Is the TV located in a place where viewing isn’t affected by glare?
- Have raised or brightly colored markings been applied to thermostats to make commonly used settings easy to find?
Bedroom
Learn more about these tips in the Bedroom section.- Is there adequate lighting for reading, writing, sewing, or other tasks?
- Is glare a problem? What about from mirrors? Flooring? Bright sunlight on glass table tops?
- Are throw rugs nonskid?
- Is there furniture in the middle of the floor that could cause safety issues?
- Are there designated locations to keep keys, TV remotes, and other small, easily misplaced items?
- Is the TV located in a place where viewing isn’t affected by glare?
- Have closets and drawers been organized to make it easy to match clothing?
Kitchen
Learn more about these tips in the Kitchen section.- Is there contrast in colors or textures on walls, wood work, floor coverings, and cabinet surfaces?
- Have brightly colored or raised markings been applied to the stove and other appliances to facilitate cooking?
Use a lining in your cabinets that contrasts in color to your plates. - Is there a system in place for organizing the cupboards and refrigerator items—such as the use of tactile markings, large-print lettering, or other means to identify cans, items in the refrigerator, or frozen food containers?
- Has the kitchen been equipped with adaptive equipment, such as large-print or raised-line measuring cups and spoons, long oven mitts, liquid level indicators for pouring hot and cold liquids, color-contrast cutting boards, kitchen timers with large numbers, talking or tactile thermometers?
Large timer. - Are there tools or methods, such as large-print lists or magnification devices, for reading recipes and shopping lists?
- Have all flammable or combustible items been removed from the cooking area?
- Have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers been installed? Do you know how to use them?
- Are cleaning products, insect sprays, etc., clearly labeled and safely stored?
Home Office
- Is there a filing system for bills and important papers that is easy to follow? For example, are folders color coded, or do they have large-print or braille labels?
- Is there a system for keeping track of appointments, important phone numbers, and addresses?
The envelope writing guide helps you address your mail. - Do you have a writing guide set with signature, letter-writing, and envelope writing guides, bold or raised line paper, and bold pens such as 20/20 pens?
- Is there a good light available for close work?
- Do you have a telephone with large-print numbers or tactile markings?
- If you are using a computer, has it been adapted with screen magnification or speech?
- Do you have devices such as magnifiers or scanners to enable you to read mail or other documents?
- Do you have a calculator with large-print displays or speech?
Bathroom
Learn more about these tips in the Bathroom section.- Has color contrast been used effectively with walls, wood work, floor coverings, and cabinet surfaces? (An example of effective contrast would be placing dark towels against a light wall.)
In your bathroom, hang towels that contrast with the wall color. - Are bathroom fixture handles, door handles, and soap dishes or dispensers in colors that contrast with surfaces and walls?
- Has the hot water setting in the tub been marked so it can be identified by touch or through use of contrasting colors?
- Is there sufficient and appropriate lighting in the bathroom?
- Is there too much glare? White-tile bathrooms are particularly prone to glare.
- Are there nonskid mats in the bathtub and on the floor?
- Is the bathroom equipped with adaptive devices such as a talking scale, pill organizer, and magnifying mirror?
- Is the mirror easily accessible without having to lean over a sink?
- Have pill bottles been organized and identified properly with large-print, tactile, or color-coded labels?
- Is the floor covering non-glare and non-slip?
Laundry Room
Learn more about these tips in the Laundry Room section.- Have brightly colored or raised markings been applied to the washer and dryer to facilitate their use?
- Do you have a system for sorting your lights and darks, and for keeping matching socks together?
- Is there a place to hang and sort clothing?
- Are large-print or tactile measuring devices available to measure laundry detergent?
- Are detergents and bleaching agents clearly marked?
Dining Area
Learn more about these tips in the Dining Room section.- Has the table setting been designed to maximize contrast between the tablecloth or placemats, plates, cups and silverware?
- Have contrasting colors been used to differentiate the floor covering and tablecloth?
- Can glare from windows be controlled?