Handicapped Bathroom Remodeling

The Need To Remodel For A Handicapped Bathroom
Often when remodeling a bathroom, people tend to forget that they won’t be the only ones using it. Ideally, all of the bathrooms should be equipped with features that would allow them to be used by a person who is unable to move freely and who needs access to the bathroom facilities. A person’s life changes even when encountering something as minor as a broken limb or mild back pain. Pregnant women, especially in the later stages of the pregnancy, who are known to have to use bathroom more often than others, need that extra protection and easy access to all the bathroom fixtures.

The first thing to remember, when remodeling a bathroom designed to be used by elderly or handicapped person, is that special consideration must be given to the mounting heights of bathroom accessories as well as grab bars that will aid the use of facilities. Some of the things to remember when remodeling bathroom to be used by a handicapped person are:

Tips For Handicapped Bathroom Remodeling
When remodeling a bathroom to be used by a handicapped person, there has to be enough floor space so that if a wheelchair is used, there’s at least sixty inches diameter that will allow full turns. Some of that space can be found under bathroom fixtures as long as the required toe and knee space is available.

A handicapped lavatory must have a minimum clearance of thirty inches from the bottom of the seat to the finished floor. Similarly, a bathroom sink, bathroom countertop as well as bathroom cabinets must be within a reach.

If there’s exposed plumbing or electrical wiring it must be isolated to eliminate any possibility of contact. The bathroom furniture edges – preferably – should not be sharp or should be protected with sponge-filled covers.

All the bathroom fixtures and bathroom faucets must also be within a reach, according to bathroom remodeling resources, the maximum force that is required to use a bathroom faucet can not be bigger than five pounds.

Grab bars should be installed anywhere a person may need them – they are necessary in the shower and beside the bathtub.

The floor of a bathroom needs to be made out of non-slippery materials. When remodeling a bathroom to be used by a handicapped person don’t use tile or vinyl unless it’s sanded or sand-like in texture.

Various bathroom remodeling stores offer chairs or sitting shelves that can be installed inside a shower stall as well as in the bathtub – the installation of these sitting shelves is not difficult and will make life much more comfortable.