Home improvement techniques pioneered three decades ago provide a good retrofit for the homes of today's aging baby boomers.

That's good news.

Nearly a quarter of those aged 45 or older say they or someone they live with will have trouble getting around their home in the near future, according to "Fixing to Stay, 2000: A National Survey on Housing and Home Modification Issues," conducted this year by the American Association of Retired People.

Unfortunately, fewer than 10 percent of the nation's approximately 100 million housing units have features to make them universally accessible, the study says, but the older home owners get, the more they prefer to remain in their homes.

Two-thirds of the survey's respondents, aged 45 and older, believe their current residence is where they will always live. Just under half of the respondents 45 to 54 fell this way, while four out of five of those 65 and over plan to remain in their current home.

Homes without suitable access can limit the quality of life for older people and increase costs to society, experts say.

AARP randomly surveyed by telephone 2,000 people age 45 and over, to capture the opinions of the "baby boomer" age group. Respondents were asked about their current housing situation, housing preferences, difficulty getting around the house, concerns about being able to remain in their home, modifying their home, changes they have made or would like to make to their home, reasons for making those modifications, and reasons for not having made home modifications.

Thanks to the early 1970s work of Ronald L. Mace, an architect and wheelchair user, universal design concepts can meet the needs of both older people and people with disabilities.

Once considered a threat to the value and marketability of homes, home improvements with "universal design" features are taking on new appeal.

Former director of the Raleigh, NC-based Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, Mace and others developed seven universal design principles to broaden a structure's accessibility, usability and safety for people of all ages and abilities. When applied to home improvements the principles simplify life for everyone with little if any lost value.

"These items have minimal impact on value due to the ability to remove them without substantial cost. Items that are more permanent in nature, home buyers see them as a safety features, rather than unsightly obstructions," said Greg Stephens, a San Jose, CA-based appraiser with a national real estate appraisal management firm.

Among a host of suggested modifications for a variety of disabling conditions, the universal design center offers these home improvement suggestions to compensate for certain disabilities and to make life easier at home for all.

Reduced range of motion