Accessible Bathroom Remodeling

Start with the person who will use the room

Before we talk about tile, we want to understand who the bathroom is for. Does she use a walker, a cane or a wheelchair? Which side is stronger? Does he shower standing, seated or with someone helping? Will a caregiver need room to stand beside the toilet or reach into the shower? Those answers set the grab bar heights, the shower entry and the door width more than any rulebook does.

If an occupational or physical therapist has worked with the family, their notes are welcome on the walkthrough. We would much rather build to what a therapist has observed than to a guess.

We also ask about the future. A bathroom built for someone who uses a cane today might need to work with a walker in a few years. A little planning now, like wider clear space or blocking in more places, saves tearing the room apart later.

The route to the bathroom matters too. A doorway that is too narrow, a step down into the room or a hallway with a tight turn can matter as much as anything inside it, and those are easier to address in the same project.

Solid blocking behind the wall for grab bars

Grab bars are only as strong as what they are fastened to. While the walls are open, we install solid wood blocking between the studs everywhere a bar might go now or later: beside the toilet, along the shower walls, near the seat and at the shower entry. Drywall anchors do not belong in a grab bar.

Before the walls close, we photograph and measure the blocking and give you a record, so anyone adding a bar in five years knows exactly where to drill.

Grab bars do not have to look clinical. They come in finishes that match the faucets, and some double as towel bars or shelf rails while still being rated as grab bars. A towel bar that is not rated as a grab bar should never be used as one, and we will not install one where someone is likely to grab it.

Placement is set to the person, not to a diagram. A bar beside the toilet goes where that person's hand naturally lands as they sit and rise. A vertical bar at the shower entry helps someone steady themselves while stepping in. We will often hold a bar against the open framing with the person present and mark it, which is the surest way to get it right.

The same tile, fixtures and finishes you would choose anyway can be set to the right heights and clearances.

A shower you can walk or roll into

Stepping over a tub wall is often the first thing that becomes hard. The answer is usually a shower with a very low curb or no curb at all. A zero-threshold entry on a first floor can often be built by recessing the subfloor so the shower floor slopes to a drain without a lip. On an upper floor the framing decides what is possible, and we tell you before promising it.

Inside, a handheld shower on a slide bar lets someone wash seated and lets a caregiver direct the water. A fold-down seat or a built-in bench goes where it can be reached from the entry. The valve goes where it can be reached from the seat and from outside the spray. Floor tile needs real traction, so we steer toward smaller tile with more grout lines.

A curtain on a shower rod can be easier for a caregiver than a glass door. That choice is about who helps, not appearance.

Water containment gets extra care in a curbless shower. The floor slopes to the drain over a longer run, the waterproofing extends well past the shower area, and a linear drain at the entry or back wall keeps the water where it belongs. Done properly, the bathroom floor stays dry without a curb to hold it back.

Doors, toilet height and the smaller changes that add up

Many older bathroom doors are too narrow for a wheelchair or walker. Widening one means reframing the opening, and if it sits in a load-bearing wall, a proper header. We check that before anyone cuts. A door that swings out of the room, or a pocket door, means a person who falls against it does not block the way in.

A comfort-height toilet is easier to sit on and stand up from. Lever handles on faucets and doors work for hands that do not grip well. A vanity with open knee space works for someone seated. Brighter, even lighting and a contrast between floor and wall color help anyone with weaker eyesight, and a low night light makes a two in the morning trip safer.

None of these are dramatic on their own. Together they decide whether the person can use the room alone.

Most of these changes need the walls open at some point, which is why it pays to do them together in one project. Running new wiring for brighter lights or moving a toilet drain is far simpler while the room is already apart, and licensed electricians and plumbers handle that work under their own permits.

Built for the person, still looking like your house

An accessible bathroom does not have to look like a hospital. The same tile, fixtures and finishes you would choose anyway can be set to the right heights and clearances. Most visitors will never notice the blocking or the extra floor space.

Families often do this work with someone already living in the house or about to come home, so timing matters. We plan the order of work around how the household needs to function, keep you updated as each step finishes, and leave the house clean every day.

Throughout the project, you deal with Steve and the people doing the work, never a call center. If the person the bathroom is for has a hospital discharge date or a move-in day, we plan the schedule around it and tell you early if anything threatens it.

When the bathroom is finished, we walk it with the person who will use it. They try the seat, reach for the controls and use the bars, and if a handle or shelf is in the wrong spot, it gets moved before we leave.

See the rest of our bathrooms work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.