One in four Americans aged 65 and older falls each year — and for a Wareham homeowner with a shaky back staircase, that statistic hit close to home.
As crisp air moves in and leaves blanket the South Coast, many homeowners are checking off essential repairs before winter takes hold. For one Wareham resident, a nagging concern about her back steps turned into a timely fix — and potentially prevented a dangerous fall.
At first glance, the issue didn’t seem urgent: a few worn wooden steps leading down to the backyard. But underneath, time and weather had done their work. Nails were rusted out, boards had begun pulling away, and each step felt less stable than the last.
“She told me she’d been thinking about it for a while,” said Mack, the local handyman who handled the repair. “The steps started to shift under her feet, and with winter coming, she didn’t want to take a chance.”
Though it wasn’t a 911 call, the repair made a big difference. Mack replaced all the corroded fasteners, tightened the framing, and rebuilt the stairs with reinforced support.
“When she stepped onto the new stairs, she could feel the difference right away,” he said. “She just smiled and said, ‘Now I don’t have to worry every time I walk out back.’ That kind of relief — that’s why I do this work.”
Across Wareham and surrounding towns, aging steps and porch structures are a quiet hazard in older homes. Between coastal moisture, snowmelt, and humid summers, rot and rust often go unnoticed until it's too late.
Now, before the frost sets in, is the ideal time to repair or reinforce wooden stairs, railings, and porches — especially for seniors or households with limited mobility.
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