Safety
DESIGNING A HOUSE
Most accidents occur in the home, but good building design can help to achieve a much safe and healthier living environment. The location of a house, construction methods, materials, finishes, appliances and maintenance all influence home safety.
Incremental improvements to occupant health and safety can be achieved at every stage of the building design and construction process.
KITCHEN DESIGN
- Design for unobstructed access to the work triangle (the area containing the stove, sink and refrigerator).
- Eliminate or reduce cross traffic through the work triangle.
- Protect hot plates with a guardrail or deep setback and use fire resistant finishes adjacent to and above the cook top.
- Round-off bench edges and corners.
- Design heatproof benchtops or inserts either side of oven and grill for rapid set down of hot dishes and trays.
- Locate microwave ovens above the eye level of children or at back of a bench to prevent them gazing into it. Have the microwave checked regularly for microwave leakage.
BATHROOM DESIGN
- Use slip resistant flooring and avoid steps.
- Provide handles and bars near baths, in showers and adjacent to toilets for elderly and disabled users.
- Design and install child resistant cabinets for medicines and hazardous substances.
- Ensure that privacy locks on bathroom doors can be opened from the outside in the case of an emergency.
- Provide a night light or movement sensitive light switch in the passage for safe access to the toilet at night.
HOT WATER
- Instantaneous hot water systems should have their thermostats set at 50°C or less to help prevent scalding.
- Hot-water storage systems should be set to at 60°C to inhibit growth of harmful bacteria such as legionella. Incorporate a fail-safe mixing valve on both the bath and shower to avoid scalding.
- Install a tempering valve or an outlet shut-off valve in your existing system to reduce the flow of water to a trickle if it's too hot. When cold water is added and the temperature becomes safe, the valve opens and the flow returns to normal. This can prevent accidents if you have small children or elderly people in your home.
DOORS
- Install self-closing (but not self-locking) screen doors at external entrances.
- Internal door handles should be 1metre from the floor so young children cannot open them.
- Consider latch rather than knob type handles for ease of use by weak or disabled people.
WINDOWS
- Design windows with easy access for opening, closing and cleaning. Windows should not be able to be opened any more than 100mm by a young child.
FLOORS, STAIRS AND RAMPS
- Use ramps instead of stairs where possible.
- Observe optimum rise to run ratios for stairs.
- Ensure that stair rails and balustrades comply with building codes.
- Avoid changes of level within the house and between the house and the outside. Where changes of level are necessary, ensure that they are clearly visible with colour change in floor covering.
- Use non-slip, impact absorbing floor surfaces where possible, especially on stairs or ramps and in wet areas.
WIRING AND ELECTRICAL
- Carefully plan the provision of power outlets. Insist on an electrical layout plan. It will save you later inconvenience and may save your life.
- Install earth leakage devices and circuit breakers to all power outlets.
- Provide adequate power points and circuits. This eliminates the need for power boards, which can overload circuitry. It also reduces the need for cords to trail across walkways, where they can trip or electrocute.
- Ensure that the switchboard can be easily accessed at night. Safety switches should be used on indoor and outdoor circuits.
HEATERS
- Ensure fan heaters have a safety switch to cut power off if the fan stops or heater overheats.
- Never leave a heater unattended.
- Position the heater to avoid intake blockage or material falling on it..
CEILING FANS
- Position ceiling fans at least 2.4m above floor level to reduce risk of injury.