About Keepstead
Keepstead is a free aging-in-place planning tool for families in the United States. You walk through a home answering 64 checks, and it turns every hazard into a ranked, priced fix, a one-page brief for a contractor and a shopping list. It is built for adult children planning for a parent and for older adults planning for themselves. The name is short for keeping the homestead: staying in the home you know, safely.
Where the checks come from
Every check cites the guidance it is based on. The main sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC STEADI: Check for Safety, a home fall prevention checklist for older adults (2017)
- National Institute on Aging: Preventing Falls at Home: Room by Room (2022-09-12)
- U.S. Access Board: 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010). Binding for public buildings, not private homes. Used here as a well-tested benchmark for dimensions.
- AARP Livable Communities: AARP HomeFit Guide (2025-05)
- U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA): Smoke Alarms (accessed 2026-10-17)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: CO Alarms (accessed 2026-10-17)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Tap Water Scalds (safety alert 5098) (accessed 2026-10-17)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Recommendations for Consumers and Caregivers about Adult Portable Bed Rails (accessed 2026-10-17)
- Alzheimer's Association: Home Safety (accessed 2026-10-17)
- FIRESafe MARIN: Install high-visibility address numbers (accessed 2026-10-17). Local codes vary; many US fire codes ask for numbers at least 4 in tall on a contrasting background.
- NAHB Eye on Housing: Aging-in-Place Remodeling Work Fell While Familiarity and Receptiveness Remain High (2025-05-28). Q1 2025 Remodeling Market Index: 56% of remodelers did aging-in-place work; grab bars were the most common project (87%), then curbless showers (78%) and higher toilets (71%).
- Medicare.gov: Durable medical equipment (DME) coverage (accessed 2026-10-17)
- VA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service: Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) (2025-02-12)
- Internal Revenue Service: Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses (2025 tax year)
Dimensions such as 33 to 36 in for grab bars or 32 in for clear door width come from the 2010 ADA Standards. Those rules bind public buildings, not private homes; we use them as well-tested targets, and you should adjust heights to the person.
How the ranking works
Each check has a severity and a likelihood on a 1 to 5 scale that we assigned from the cited guidance. A "No" answer counts the full product (up to 25); "Unsure" counts half until you look; "Yes" and "N/A" count nothing. Profile toggles multiply the hazard categories they affect, capped at four times:
| Profile | Raises |
|---|---|
| Cane or walker | trip ×1.5, bathing ×1.3, egress ×1.3, reach ×1.2 |
| Low vision | lighting ×1.8, trip ×1.3, fire ×1.2 |
| Memory changes | fire ×1.8, egress ×1.3, lighting ×1.2 |
| Wheelchair | egress ×1.8, reach ×1.5, bathing ×1.4, trip ×0.8 |
Each fix removes a share of its hazard (its effect, for example 0.8 for two grab bars). The plan orders fixes by risk removed per dollar of the middle of the cost range, so free and cheap fixes come first; you can switch to highest risk first. The budget picker solves the choice exactly as a multiple-choice knapsack: at most one option per hazard, the most risk removed, never over the budget. The engine is unit-tested; the weights are planning judgments, not measured probabilities.
Where the prices come from
43 fixes carry national US price ranges, collected October 17, 2026 from published cost guides (Fixr, HomeGuide, Angi, This Old House, Bob Vila) and US retailer listings for DIY items. Every range shows its source and the date the source states. They describe a typical job; real quotes depend on your area, access and the state of the house.
Funding information
Grant amounts and rules were checked on October 17, 2026 against the programs' own pages (VA, USDA Rural Development, IRS, Medicaid.gov, Medicare.gov, the Eldercare Locator). VA sets new SAH and SHA maximums each fiscal year; we re-check those each November.
What this is not
Keepstead is a home-safety planning checklist. It is not medical advice, not an occupational therapy home assessment, not a building inspection and not a contractor's quote. If someone has fallen, is recovering from a hospital stay or has a changing condition, ask their doctor for an occupational therapy referral: a therapist can assess the person and the home together. Get professional quotes before any work, and check local codes and permits.
It covers US homes and US programs only. Costs are in US dollars.
Contact
Spotted an outdated price or a broken source link? Join the beta list on any page and reply to our first email; corrections are read by a person.