How To Remodel Your New Jersey Bathroom For Accessibility

Five Ways To Make Your Bathroom Safer & More Accessible

Bathing safely, accessing the toilet and the vanity, and maneuvering around a small space might be easy for some. But for many others simply taking a bath or using the toilet can actually be dangerous. Navigating around a cramped space with a wheelchair, or with a physical limitation is difficult. Getting in and out of a tub is even harder.

By making some simple adjustments to your New Jersey bathroom, you can make it fully accessible for seniors and anyone with a physical disability. Slip and fall accidents and injuries are much less likely to happen if some thought was put into making your bathroom safer and more accessible.

Here are five ways you can remodel your New Jersey bathroom for accessibility.

Walk-In Tub

Converting your regular bathtub to a walk-in tub can make it much simpler and safer for the elderly and disabled to take a bath. Instead of stepping over a barrier every time you need to take a bath or shower, you can simply walk right into your tub and shut the door.

Take the stress out of bathing by getting rid of your cumbersome tub and replacing it with a hassle-free, risk-free walk-in bathtub.

Grab Bars

Installing grab bars in strategic locations is another great way to make your bathing experience much more relaxing and more risk-free. According to the ADA (American Disability Association), grab bars should be smooth with no sharp edges. They should also be between 1.25 and 1.5 inches wide and within range of a wheelchair so that they can be easily gripped.

Grab bars are not only limited to the shower or bathtub. They can be attached to the wall anywhere that requires standing up or maneuvering. Good spots for grab bars include right near the toilet, or along the wall so that you can move safely from the toilet to the vanity, and to the door.

Toilet

Consider elevating your toilet seat to prevent the need to bend your knees. For the elderly, and people with physical limitations, bending at the knees can be painful or impossible. When remodeling your bathroom for accessibility, it’s also important to make sure there is an adequate amount of space in front of and next to your toilet. This will make it easier for seniors and the wheelchair bound to use the toilet.

Vanity

Adjusting the vanity to make it easier for less mobile individuals to wash their hands depends on whether someone is wheelchair bound, or can walk with difficulty. For the former, the height of the sink should be lowered to be within range of the wheelchair, and there should be space underneath the sink for the wheelchair. For the latter, the sink height should be higher, for someone who has a hard time bending.

Faucets should either have levers that can be easily reached and operated, or be entirely contactless, and operate based on motion sensors. Another thing to consider is adding a feature to your faucet that controls the temperature to prevent accidental scalding.

Measurements

A bathroom is a very small space with a lot going on. For individuals who are limited physically, it can be hard to navigate the cramped space. For this reason the ADA requires that public bathrooms be big enough to accommodate wheelchairs. The ADA’s dimension requirements are based on the needs of wheelchair users and can be adopted for private bathrooms as well.

Specifically, the ADA recommends that bathrooms be 30 inches by 48 inches to allow for increased accessibility. This way, individuals in wheelchairs can move forward, backward, and make turns in a wheelchair without bumping into walls or fixtures.

Thinking about remodeling your bathroom for accessibility? Bathroom Pros can guide you through the process! You’ll be amazed at how convenient your new bathroom is.