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Barrier-free in your home

Make your home accessible with barrier-free doors and windows as well as sliding and lifting/sliding systems to increase the living comfort for everyone.

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  • Barrier-free accessibility

Barrier-free accessibility

Living without obstacles in your own home

Barrier-free accessibility enables everyone in your home to live their life to the fullest. This not only helps people with disabilities to lead a life without outside help or the use of additional aids, it also makes it easier to cross thresholds with a pram or a walker. This is made easy with accessible window, door, sliding door and lifting/sliding systems.

What does barrier-free accessibility provide?

More comfort

Barrier-free accessibility includes all measures that minimise everyday barriers for everyone who lives in your building. In creating an accessible environment, great importance is placed on the ground floor. Easy and automatic operation of doors and windows also increases the living comfort. Barrier-free accessibility also makes buildings more friendly for families and children.

Removing barriers for everyone

A daily life without barriers makes life easier for many people. Structural changes primarily benefit people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility, including seniors. People who use wheelchairs and walkers especially appreciate barrier-free accessibility at home.

Accessibility throughout the building

Grade-level thresholds, large openings for front doors, room doors and patio and balcony doors allow barrier-free access for wheelchairs, walkers and prams. Accessibility is also achieved by installing aids in stairwells (e.g. railings, stairlifts) and sanitary facilities.

Information on barrier-free accessibility

  • What is barrier-free accessibility?

    Barrier-free accessibility is defined as follows under the German Disability Equality Act (BGG, Article 4):

    "Buildings and other facilities, means of transport, technical devices, information processing systems, acoustic and visual sources of information and communication facilities as well as other designed areas of life are barrier-free if they can be located, accessed and used by people with disabilities in the customary manner without particular difficulty and without outside help. The use of necessary disability-related aids is permitted."

  • Barrier-free, wheelchair-accessible, suitable for senior citizens?

    The terms "senior-friendly" and "age-appropriate" should not be confused with the term "barrier-free" in the design of a living space. Barrier-free accessibility is defined in the German Disability Equality Act (Article 4), which establishes the minimum conditions for how areas of life must be structured.

  • What should you pay attention to when building or converting for barrier-free accessibility?

    Since 2010, barrier-free construction has been defined in DIN standard 18040 for public and private buildings. DIN 18040 Section 2 determines and defines the basis for barrier-free planning, construction and equipping of residential buildings and their outdoor facilities. The goal of the standard is to define the requirements that must be met in order to achieve barrier-free accessibility. DIN SPEC 1104 also takes into account the lowest possible force requirement for easy access to doors. In addition, the VDI 6008 guidelines present various methods for avoiding or reducing barriers.

    In addition to meeting the standards for a wheelchair-accessible or barrier-free home (DIN 18040), you should not compromise the functionality, durability and appearance of your windows, doors, roller shutters, roller garage doors or sun protection. You can also take advantages of individual subsidy opportunities.

  • What are zero-barrier doors?

    A distinction is made between accessible doors and zero-barrier doors without thresholds. Barrier-free doors include all door systems with a maximum threshold height of 20 mm. Zero-barrier doors, on the other hand, have no threshold at all. For accessible facilities in the areas of healthcare, administration and culture, as well as accessible flats and houses, threshold-free, zero-barrier doors are required.

    Additional features of barrier-free doors include the door and passage width, handle height and automatic operability.

Barrier-free living with heroal doors and windows

Access points and entryways must be accessible without barriers. You can achieve total barrier-free accessibility for your doors and windows according to DIN standard 18040 with heroal window and door systems. The focus is on ensuring unobstructed passage through entryways with both zero-barrier thresholds and automatic operability for doors and windows that provide convenient opening and closing.

heroal doors and windows are manufactured according to your requirements and easily complement your new construction, conversion or renovation. Thanks to our design diversity, your doors and windows can be entirely tailored to your specifications. You also benefit from the burglar-resistant, heat-insulating and sound-reducing properties of heroal products. The heroal D92 D door system was awarded the 2013 universal design award.

Barrier-free front doors

Make an impression with the entrance to your house with barrier-free front doors by heroal. You also get the benefits of the security and thermal insulation properties of heroal front doors.

Front doors >

Barrier-free windows

Thanks to simple operation and minimal effort, windows by heroal are barrier-free when combined with the right fittings in accordance with DIN 18040. Learn more.

Windows >

Barrier-free French doors

Patio and balcony doors create a generous spatial experience and allow accessible, ground-level access to the exterior. Learn more about heroal french doors.

French doors >

Barrier-free sliding doors

Create a welcoming atmosphere with open rooms and increased living comfort with barrier-free sliding and lift & slide doors by heroal.

Sliding doors >

Get inspired

Browse through our Inspiration Finder and get ideas for your home. You will receive details on a wide variety of construction projects and the heroal products used.

Inspiration Finder >

Your living comfort in a barrier-free house

Enjoy the benefits of additional living comfort in your barrier-free home with heroal threshold solutions, the heroal DS drainage system and heroal fittings. Thanks to threshold-free zero-barrier doors and the safe, reliable and convenient operation of heroal windows and doors, you can minimise obstacles to accessibility and increase quality of life in your home.

Barrier-free door thresholds

heroal threshold solutions enable barrier-free door thresholds according to DIN 18010-2 and can be easily used in new buildings and renovations. In addition, you can protect your zero-barrier exterior doors against moisture damage by integrating the heroal DS drainage system. The heroal DS drainage system prevents moisture from getting into your home even in driving rain with water accumulation in front of your door. Thanks to its high compatibility, the heroal DS drainage system is the solution for any large-area opening at a barrier-free entrance, window or sliding door. Due to the installation type, the system is visually inconspicuous.

Easy and automatic operation

heroal fittings enable easy and reliable opening and closing of doors, windows, sliding doors andlifting/sliding doors, meeting the barrier-free accessibility requirements of DIN 18040. Automatic operation can also be provided. Enjoy maximum comfort when opening and closing your doors and windows. The controls operate silently at the push of a button on your control panel, remote control or smartphone. At the same time, fully integrated components and built-in anti-trap protection leave no compromises in design and safety.

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When it comes to how we live and work, the most important thing is having choices. heroal knows that. As a family-run company with more than 140 years of experience, we believe that when it comes to quality, there are no compromises. That is why our products give you a way to create ideal solutions for nearly any requirement. As a technology leader, we believe that quality means more efficiency, more reliability and more performance – solutions that are "SIMPLY. BETTER."

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