Dear Ageless Design,
Dad can no longer safely use the stairs and we need to build a bathroom downstairs that he can use. What are your recommendations?
First Floor
Dear First Floor,
The Ageless Design concept encourages open dialogue between caregivers, designers, healthcare and medical professionals. From this interaction we have learned three basic considerations to include in planning and building your bathroom:
- The needs of seniors differ greatly from the needs of those in wheelchairs;
- Eventually, wheelchairs may enter the picture and bathrooms need to be wheelchair accessible;
- Grab bars need to be able to go anywhere in the bathroom, independent of the locations of your wall studs.
To satisfy all of these requirements within the confines of a typical 5' x 8' bathroom:
a) Locate the door in front of the toilet and install it so that it swings out.
Caregivers tell us that to assist an older person up and down from the toilet you stand in front of them, grasp them under the arms and lean backwards, bringing them up with you. This requires at least four feet in front of the toilet. We also recommend an out-swinging door (if it won't create a hazard to the traffic flow in a hallway) to eliminate the possibility of someone falling in the bathroom and blocking the door, plus it creates room to maneuver a wheelchair.
b) Install a roll-in shower next to the toilet.
In doing so, you now have both an accessible shower your father can use (if and when he requires a wheelchair) and it creates space next to the toilet to transfer to and from it.
c) Install 3/4" plywood on ALL the walls in the bathroom, just beneath the drywall finish.
This provides an invisible, but firm, stable backing so that grab bars can be attached anywhere in the bathroom they may be needed: next to the shower, toilet, sink, scale, etc.
Three features that make an otherwise inaccessible bathroom more accessible are a door that swings out, the toilet located in front of the door and a roll-in shower. What other features of this bathroom make it more user-friendly?
- Round counter edges
- A vertical grab bar at the sink
- Fold-down grab bars at the toilet
- Hot & cold shower valves conveniently located
- Continuous grab bars at the shower
- An elevated toilet
- A fold-down shower seat
- Storage in the bathroom
|
Roll-in accessible shower kits |
|
Dignity Unlimited |
(800) 453-8880 |
|
Fiberglass Systems |
(800) 727-9907 |
|
Tub-Master |
(800) 327-1911 |
|
Universal-Rundle |
(800) 955-0316 |
These are only a few of the important considerations that you should incorporate into your bathroom. They represent the value of sharing information of healthcare and medical professionals with design professionals. For illustrations and other ideas please refer to our book, The Complete Guide to Alzheimer's-Proofing Your Home.
