New Bathroom Plans

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arkallen

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Diagnosis
05/2009
Country
AU
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VIC
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Wodonga
We have bought our house, and now we can modify the bathroom.

Happily our ensuite backs onto a workshop behind the double garage, so we are going to brake through into the workshop, doubling the size of the ensuite bathroom. The remaining portion of the old workshop will be a Retreat / Dressing Room, with access to the garage allowing Carers to come and go without disturbing other family in the main house.

View attachment Bathroom Drawings.pdf
This drawing shows the proposed Workshop Converstion

Ive attached a draft plan, and I would love to hear any thoughts about it, or about accessible bathrooms in general.

View attachment Bathroom Drawings 3.pdf
This drawing shows the proposed Accessible Bathroom with inclusions and dimensions

  • Is it big enough?
  • What do I need to include?
  • What is the best and worst aspect of your bathroom?
  • What do you wish you had?
  • What would you change?
  • What do I need to know?
Thanks for your thoughts, I want to get this right!
 
Roderick, your shower isn't big enough. A little over 1 meter squared is about half of what you need in one direction. Mine is 4 feet by 5 feet and is barely big enough--a tilting chair doesn't fit. If you take out the glass screen you can enlarge it just fine, hopefully making the length 2 meters.

I would wish for the toilet (my own) to be further away from the wall also. If you take out the urinal, you could make space between your W/C and the wall, making it much easier to be placed correctly on the W/C. Will you have a ceiling lift system or use a Hoyer style lift? A Hoyer should work fine with your plan.

Otherwise, this seems like a great plan! I'm happy for you. :)
Ann
 
Thanks Ann, that's exactly the sort of feedback I was hoping for!
 
Oh, and I have little idea about lifts, as they seem so far away. But I thought I would put a spandrel (a blank space) above the doorways so that a ceiling lift could be fitted at a later date if needed.

Can anyone comment on the desirability of a Urinal on the wall? That was my contribution to the drawing, and in my immagination it seems like a great idea.
 
I hate to be too personal, but... is this for use while in the wheel chair? That might get more feedback from the men.

You might need to "shoot far", LOL.

I have found that thinking in terms of lifts as well as when your hands are of no use--while unpleasant--is very important. Transferring becomes very important, and planning for all eventualities is needed.
 
I'm with Ann, you need room to swing bugger, and maybe have bugger, a lift and shower chair all in the same space. I'd suggest losing the urinal and maybe the basin and put the toilet where the basin is so you can expand the shower and have some open space. Leaving open the option of a ceiling lift is a great idea. Good luck!
Also, to save room, with a power chair, you might be able to go a little steeper on the ramp to the garage.
 
Can you post this again when you finish your design revisions? I'm trying to help my Mom with my StepDad who is disabled (and 300 lbs), with bathroom ideas for him. Who knows, maybe I'll be using them myself, hopefully much later than sooner.

Thanks!
 
A urinal isn't going to be of much use when you can't stand to use it, hon. Honestly, I'd just suggest a portable urinal that can be emptied by a caregiver when needed.

The toilet will work, too -- as you can be transferred to it when/if you're unable to get to it yourself. The more room for transferring to a toilet the better--and be sure it's the right size to fit any adaptions you'll need (such as the wheeled things that fit right over a commode)

Sounds like a very ambitious plan. I couldn't get a wheelchair in my bathroom if my life depended on it. I can barely get ME in there--but there is at least a counter I can use to pull myself up :)
 
It's more important to have a space beside the commode to park Bugger while you transfer, than to have the urinal.

Make sure there's an electrical outlet behind the commode to plug in your bidet seat.

Make sure you have enough grab bars near the commode and in the shower.

The "slide-bar" type showerhead works best. This has a vertical bar that can position the shower head up and down, down for you and up for people who can stand. Also, the shower head can be removed from its base and held in your hand.

Make sure the commode is tall enough. Getting an "accessible" commode makes it easier to stand up after you do your business.

-Tom
 
I can see I need to pose more questions of you all!

When you say "Comode" - does that equate to the actual toilet, as in the big white ceramic thing? In Australia the word comode refers to the wheelchair contraption that you can wheel over the top of a toilet.

Transfering from a wheel chair to a toilet: is that best done by standing up, or by lifting the arms and sliding from one seat to the other?

The urinal seems such a good plan to me (and I'm sorry for the graphic content....) because I stand quite readily and feel I will for some time, and the big white bowl is - as every little boy knows - easy enought to miss now and then! I figured that with a verticle grab rail beside a urinal I could park Bugger up close and ... hey presto! I'd still like some gentleman's comments on this idea, as it sounds that most of you think it is a waste of space.

Im so grateful for this conversation, taking it all on board. My architect is coming later today to discuss a bit further.
 
Oh, sorry. My usage of the word "commode" in my post was referring to the toilet, that big white ceramic thingy. In the U.S. commode is a slightly more refined word than toilet, but it means the same thing. (If there is "toilet water", is there such a thing as "commode water"?)

When transferring, if you can stand that's great. Later, you will not be able to, and you need to plan for this stage. What I do is pull my PWC along side the TOILET and then raise the arm of the PWC and slide over, all the while sitting. Of course, everyone is different. My arms are still strong. Some PALS have weaker arms than legs and I don't know what they do.

Yeah I know what you mean about the urinal. I still prefer a urinal in a public restroom. I pull my PWC up close and use the elevator feature of my chair to help me stand. It's not that your urinal is a waste of space, but that there simply isn't enough area in your floorplan for the necessities. If you can make the shower bigger AND have a way to pull Bugger up next to the toilet AND have a urinal, great!


-Tom
 
Hi Roderick,

I agree with not having the urinal. You will need the space later on.
My bidet, fits on a standard toilet, you can lift the seat up and go your hardest while standing up.


Re the grab rail by the toilet.

I think Al's son made one for him. He posted some photos etc on a thread a while ago but I couldn't find it. It has all you need 2 rails, able to lift up out of the way, heavy duty etc.

He might see this and repost it for you.

I wish I had one.

Cheers
Peter
 
We just remodelled our bathroom. Definitely skip the urinal. We have 1 ft. (.305 m) from wall to toilet on one side and 2.5 ft. (.762 m) clearance on the "entrance" side. In front of the toilet, there is 4 ft (1.219 m). When we were originally drawing up plans, we planned to bring the PWC into the bathroom. This would have required 4 ft (1.219 m) on the entrance side of the toilet area.

The shower is 7 ft. (2.134 m) by 5 ft. (1.524 m) with a 4 ft. (1.219m) opening. We used a ProLine drain against the wall. The size allows the opening to be free of any type of door, and the floor is a continuous floor. It makes the bathroom look and feel much larger. If you look the drain up through Dr. Giggle, go to gallery and look at the picture of the continuous floor. That's what it looks like (without the glass door).

We have the bidet toilet seat, so there is a plug on the wall behind the toilet on the side between the toilet and wall. We also put an electrical outlet across from the toilet. This allows us to bring the BiPap into the bathroom on a rolling cart. We used it for the first time tonight! I was so glad it was there.

We put in split doors on the bathroom. I'm not really sure why, but we love this (there was a single door originally). It seems like it gives us more space. Not sure if it really does or not, but it feels like it does!

If you do expand the shower (and you really need to), make sure that the handheld hose reaches all the way across the shower. This will be vital if/when you need a caregiver to help you. We put a bench at the opposite end from the faucets. It's great for the CNA that comes and helps my husband. She uses it to put shampoo, razor, etc. instead of having to reach across to the niches we had built into the wall.

If I can, I'll try and post some pictures of what we did. I really cannot think of anything I would change, and the renovations have been complete since the first of April. My husband has no use of his arms or legs, so we are about as far along as he will get in terms of what we need in a bathroom. I'm glad I planned it for the final stages versus earlier stages because it remains completely functional.
 
Hi Roderick,

Prior to being diagnosed I designed a number of these wet rooms.

I suggest you consider the following points.

1. Strip drain. not advised for the following reasons:
a. Requires in excess of 5 metres of of waterproof jointing to be maintained.
b. The long drain requires a lot of cleaning to keep it sweet smelling and corners harbour dirt.

Gently slope shower floor area to drain situated away from walls. Use an overall vynil floor covering taken 150mm up surrounding walls with welded corners. Use a round drain that clamps on the vynil. That way there is only about 450mm of waterproof joint to maintain and being round, the drain is easily cleaned and kept fresh.

2. Ramp. I suggest gradient should be no steeper than 1:15

Best wishes,

Ian
 
We just remodelled our bathroom. ...If I can, I'll try and post some pictures ....

The pictures would be interesting, but only if you have time! Thank you for your good advice.
 
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