DIY advice: Shower for the elderly

[Samson]

Any recommendations for getting quotes for tradespeople to fit a shower cubicle and non-slip floor at my parents house?

Moderator Action: Moved to a new thread from the random-questions thread.
Not merged into the general DYI thread, as 1.5 pages about a topic are good enough for a separate thread. The_J

 

[Birdjaguar]

Is the problem they don't show up to see the job or do you need a list of qualified contractors to call?

 

[Samson]

Is the problem they don't show up to see the job or do you need a list of qualified contractors to call?

I really had no idea how to find someone. After a little investigating there are online portals that seem to do the job, so I think I have answered my own question..

 

[PhroX]

I've used Check-A-Trade before to find tradesmen when I needed work and had no problems.

 

[tjs282]

Unless you're getting something really fancy, you really only need a plumber to install the shower tray -- which AFAIK are usually made in standard sizes (at least, they are here in Germany; I think the smallest is 80 x 80 cm).

We (you) could then buy "off-the-peg" cubicle walls to fit that tray-size, and install them (y)ourself pretty easily. All you usually need is an electric drill, with a bit that will go through tile (if necessary), some rawlplugs, long screws, a screwdriver, and sealant.

Even though I'm not the handiest person in the world, I've done it relatively successfully 3 times now: first in the flat we were renting (with our landlady's agreement to pay for materials) while we were expecting our firstborn, and now twice more in our current house (when we bought it in 2008, and again after we got the bathroom redone last year).

 

[Samson]

What is the best way to design a shower for elderly people?

We are making a new bathroom for my parents, trying to optimise the accessibility. There is a rough plan at [1], toilet and basin are already in place. We are thinking a shower with a foldable seat [2] and a duel shower with an overhead and handheld heads [3]. Also we shall fit a high grip floor "like hospitals have" which means vinyl, I think Duragrip [4] is one suggested.

The big question is how to do the shower "door". What everyone suggests is a fixed polycarbonate screen about half the width of shower, and a flap that folds out of the way against the screen but can be folded out to stop splashes while showering. This would be fitted to half the long side of a 140cm x ~80 cm shower tray.

I think that will get in the way, and if someone needs help getting into the shower the least that is in the way the better. I am suggesting a show curtain, fitted 1m into a 140cm x 140cm shower tray, though I have not found one that size..

Any suggestions welcome.

Spoiler Pics / References :

[1]

[2] Something like this, but the controls for the shower where the alcove is,

[3] Something like this

[4] Duragrip Slip Resistance: RRL Pendulum Test (wet) - > 36

[5] Shower 140cm x ~80cm Polycarbonate divider with flap

 

[Birdjaguar]

Do you think the shower has to be big enough for the person and a helper? The big overhead plus hand held is very nice. We have that plus a built in tile bench.

 

[Samson]

Do you think the shower has to be big enough for the person and a helper? The big overhead plus hand held is very nice. We have that plus a built in tile bench.

The plan is to be big enough for a person and a helper to get them sat down, with the idea that they would be able to shower themselves but not necessarily get in and out themselves.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Ours has a 30"x30" shower floor with a bench that is 17" x30" . Overall dimensions are 30" x 47" with the bench opposite the controls.

 

[Samez]

Does someone else do the cleaning? If not I would try to keep it a simple as possible and not use a folding door. Large flat areas can easily be cleaned using a squeegee, all corners and notches tend to attract dirt and scale.
Also if possible you could use a at-grade shower with a wide door so no danger of tripping over the edge. Wide door can be helpful if you want to be able to clean a wheelchair in there

 

[tjs282]

The problem is the sink. The foldout screen in the last screenie assumes you're entering the shower from the short side, with the shower head at the other 'end' of the tray. But given the floor plan in the first screenie, that doesn't look like a realistic option.

Any door (wide enough to let 2 people into the shower at once) that hinges from either wall is going to hit the sink. And if the door were instead hinged from a narrow fixed screen-section mounted on the sink-side wall, it will block off the sink when it's open (although maybe that's not such a problem?).

Another option might be a sliding door with 3-4 sections, which would save space but adds complexity (and is a bit more awkward to squeegee).

(For the record, I hate shower curtains!)

 

[Samson]

The problem is the sink. The foldout screen in the second screenie assumes you're entering the shower from the short side, but that's not an option given the floor plan in Samson's first screenie.

Any door (wide enough to let someone into the shower) that hinges from either wall is going to hit the sink if it hinges from the wall, and if the door were instead hinged from a narrow fixed screen-section mounted on the sink-side wall, it will block off the sink when it's open (although maybe that's not such a problem?).

Another option might be a sliding door with 3-4 sections, which would save space but adds complexity (and is a bit more awkward to squeegee).

The idea of that would a a polycarbonate screen about half the way across the room, attached to the wall with the basin. It has a flap, hinged on the end of that that folds inwards against the screen when not in use, and can be rotated about 150 degrees to contain the water. I have added a line to the plan in the image below, it is hinged at A.

I do not think it will obstruct the basin, but I think it will make it hard to get in and out with someone providing support.

Spoiler Badly drawn line :

 

[CKS]

I think folding it in is a bad idea. It gives no space inside the shower, and people with mobility issues will need lots of interior space. You won't be able to swing it out once someone is inside.
A big door, but not full width, hinged on the top side in the above picture would clear the sink.

Accessible hotel rooms I've stayed in mostly had a roll-in floor, with slight slopes away from the edge of the shower area. These generally have worked poorly, because they've hung the shower curtain either right on the edge of the shower area or actually out into the non-shower area, and this has dumped lots of water onto the bathroom floor. A curtain that was well to the inside of the high point in the floor might work okay.

My father put a plastic patio chair in a small shower stall (about 80 cm x 80 cm, with a corner taken off and a door in that corner) and made do. It had a raised sill, which I think he worked around by standing in front of the open shower door with his walker and then sitting down into the chair. I'm not sure there was room enough to close the door, and I'd recommend not doing this.

 

[Samson]

I think folding it in is a bad idea. It gives no space inside the shower, and people with mobility issues will need lots of interior space. You won't be able to swing it out once someone is inside.

The idea is that it will, there will be enough room to swing it out once someone is inside and seated. It is not full length of the gap, and there is quite a bit of space. I do think the curtain well inside the shower tray is better though.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I don't see any safety rails/grab bars in these images. Those are potential life-savers if someone gets a dizzy spell and needs to hold on to something to prevent falling. And if the people using this are mobility-impaired, they're even more necessary.

 

[Samson]

I don't see any safety rails/grab bars in these images. Those are potential life-savers if someone gets a dizzy spell and needs to hold on to something to prevent falling. And if the people using this are mobility-impaired, they're even more necessary.

I totally agree. The idea is to put loads in, but except for the shower area and and obvious ones we were thinking of adding them later when we have a better idea of where to put them.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

You put them within comfortable arm's reach of the toilet and the seat in the shower. Ideally, you get the people who are going to use this to sit at the same height as the bench so you can see how far their comfortable reach is (because humans come in all sizes and ranges).

And don't think that an ordinary towel bar is good enough. They're not. They won't support an adult's body weight if they need to grab them for stability or pull themselves up. The setup I have in my own bathroom lets me hold on to both of them at the same time if I need to when sitting on the bath bench, and one of them is within reach when doing other things in there.

 

[Samez]

Also as hint: some health insurances support installation of the support rails financially for the elderly as they are way cheaper than a hip implant.

 

[Cutlass]

I totally agree. The idea is to put loads in, but except for the shower area and and obvious ones we were thinking of adding them later when we have a better idea of where to put them.

Valka is right here, and the thing is, you need to plan these in advance of building the room. Because you have to be able to anchor them to something solid. Which could well mean opening up the wall and putting in something solid to anchor them to. Wallboard is not strong enough for this purpose. Most US construction is stick frame, so you hit the studs. But the grab bars aren't necessarily built to make it easy to get all the screws into studs. Unless you put solid framing in the wall to handle the loads.

And this means grab bars for the toilet as well. And make certain that there is something at the sink strong enough to hold an person's weight.

Like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Handicap-Bathroom-Non-Slip-Pregnant-Disabled/dp/B08T64T9MG?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext

I'm planning on doing my bathroom over soon, with all these built in, and I'm going to be stripping the walls down to the studs to build myself anchor points to do it.


As to the door, I couldn't tell from your description, but you don't have quite enough room for a slider?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Leave the screen and ditch the door altogether, add a floor drain in front of the sink, that way you don't have to worry about opening and closing anything. Most bathroom floors are made to get wet. I've been in many bathrooms where the shower is just part of the room.