Often one is motivated to remodel his or her bathroom for either aesthetic or personal reasons. Perhaps one wishes to modernize the look of his or her bathroom or wishes to replace bathtub with walk in shower for a more comfortable bathing experience. However, sometimes there are far more practical and necessary reasons to remodel one’s bathroom, such as in the case of trying to make your bathroom more handicap-friendly for a family member who might be constrained to a wheelchair.

Today, we’re going to look at how to make your bathroom more wheelchair-accessible. So how does one go about transforming a small bathroom into one with all the amenities needed by someone in a wheelchair?

One of the first projects you will likely want to look into is how to replace bathtub with walk in shower. After all, if you still have a bathtub in your bathroom and you have a family member who was recently injured and requires the use of a wheelchair, they are not going to be able to easily get themselves into a bathtub. However, by replacing a bathtub with a walk in shower, you lower the floor of your shower so that is even or slightly elevated from the rest of your bathroom floor, making for easy access to the shower.

Another step one might need to make is to increase the size of his or her bathroom to widen the door to the standard 34 inches required for wheelchair access and allow for a 5-feet turning radius. However, if space is tight, remodelers can sometimes make do without increasing the size of their bathroom, especially if you have an electric chair that takes your family member into the bathroom.

When it comes to the toilet, it is essential that you install handles on either side of the toilet to allow for disabled individuals to lift themselves onto the toilet. In addition, if you can afford it, you might also want to look into one of the newer combination toilet/bidets. Furthermore, it’s important that the space between the support bars is at least 36 inches apart and that the toilet seat is 17 inches off the floor, making for a more comfortable fit.

By following the above steps, you can transform your bathroom into a wheelchair-friendly haven in no time.

Contact Litt’s Plumbing in Cleveland, OH for more details on bathroom remodeling services.