Tips on planning a disabled access bathroom

When you have a bathroom which you want to make more accessible to anyone with mobility needs there are many factors which need to be considered. Many of these factors are things which you will no doubt mirror elsewhere in the home, but there are some very crucial points to make a bathroom work for someone who has specialist needs.

Below are just a few of the key considerations for planning an overhaul of an existing bathroom where disabled access is needed.

Room to Manoeuvre

The most obvious point to make for planning a new bathroom is the need for space. If you have to fit a wheelchair in then you need to allow room for the user to turn and access all of the different parts of the bathroom.

While most bathrooms are the smallest rooms in the house you can still make the best of the space available with lots of forethought put into the designs. Space between fixtures will be key as wheelchair users will need to get up close to perform daily tasks without struggle or delay in movement.

If your bathroom is too smallthen you might decide to take the bath or the shower out and only have one or the other, creating that much-needed space. Alternatively, you could convert a larger room into a bathroom if you have it to spare, giving you more than enough space with less sacrifice.

Think about height

Wheelchair users will need to be able to access all parts of the bathroom but they also need to be able to use the fixtures. For this you’ll need to lower some parts of your bathroom to a more comfortable height, this includes things like shower controls which would usually fixed higher up on the wall. Moving down the sink along with any vanity units will also help to make the bathroom more user friendly and puts all things within reach for anyone using a wheelchair.

Built in shower seat

For ease of use for any wheelchair users a shower seat is great. It means extra comfort for those using the shower, while grab bar fixtures are also beneficial to give more balance and stability. These things can also be easily fitted to a bath if you choose to keep a bath over a shower.

To ensure a bath or shower is easily accessible then you must ensure that there are no curbs or lips which a wheelchair user wouldn’t be able to get past. There needs to be straightforward access throughout the room to make things as simple as possible when it comes to getting in and out of the shower in this respect.

If your bathroom has a step down then don’t forget to install a ramp to make getting a wheelchair in and out of the bathroom a breeze.

Here at Stechford Mobility we provide a variety of high quality wheelchairs as well as a variety of other mobility aids. Simply contact us today and we’ll find you the best wheelchair for your needs and budget.