Grab bar placement and type
We are remodeling my mother's bathroom so she can age in place. I'm trying to think through grab bars for her shower. It is approximately 3'x5' with a fold up chair. Bathroom is gutted but this picture is similar to the plan (other than that the built in bench will be a fold up chair in her new bathroom. Also, her shower door will be a sliding door).
I know to put in a vertical bar as you step in. Trying to decide if a horizontal bar or diagonal bar or even an angled bar would be best on that long wall.
Thoughts?
Comments (10)
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Attractive, interesting, creative grab bar placement? (any pics?)
Comments (17)We have just installed a 2 man Jetta tub and wanted grab bars for it. Since we used oil rubbed bronze faucets, I had problems finding what I wanted. A local plumbing store was going to order them for me when I found them at Lowe's. I had asked repeatedly and was told they didn't have them in ORB. Well, this is called Venetian Bronze or something like that. It is close enough. It is a Moen product and is ADA approved with a 500 pound pull capacity. They only had the 16 inch one, but I was going to check into a longer one. Thanks for the link above it has them there! We just got this bathroom finished a couple of days ago. Now, granted this tub is not a handicap type one, but we wanted the bars for practical use now and need in the future. The small one is placed vertical on a stud at the edge of the tub. I already know that I want and need one lower. They gutted my other bath this week and the tub/shower is being replaced with a shower that will be handicap accessible--but we are adding glass doors that can be removed later if needed. This shower will have the grab bars and I think we are going to add one beside the toilet in there. Both new toilets are the ADA higher ones and I love the one that is new to master bath. The master bath is large enough to get a wheelchair around in, but the hall bath was very inaccessible. We found this out during the past few years as our parents health failed and we had them here for extended times. We decided to do this bath remodel Christmas when my Dad's health failed to the point that he could not remain at the assisted living. We were going to move him in with us and remodel the bath. However, we lost him in late January. We looked at the overall picture and realized that although we have now lost all four parents, we will have a need for this at some point. So, we went ahead with the plans--just took a little more time doing it. We also have taken out the small hall bath door and they are installing a much wider pocket door so that a wheelchair can go through it. Although I do have solid wood vanities in both baths, we decided to leave them. They will be able to be replaced with a pedestal or something more handicap assessible if needed. I am adding a link to pics of the new master bath. You can see the bar on the right side of the front of tub. Again, it is not a tub that you would think of in this way, but wanted to share the grab bar there. We will add another one. The shower will be much more practical and I will post pics when they finish it. http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z203/printersdevil72/Master%20Bath%20Pics/...See MorePlacement for grab bar(s) in tub/shower combo
Comments (19)The photos are great. Thanks much. I've been surfing and have found quite a few sites with grab bars that also look good. Here are a few sites: http://www.greatgrabz.com/grab-bars http://www.pontegiuliousa.com/bagnosicuro/grab-bar-collections.html https://www.plumbingsupply.com/luxury-grab-bars.html And here is the cornershelf/grab bar I am contemplating. Moen makes a much cheaper version, but it has a plastic insert, and I want something that will be more permanent. http://www.wrightstuff.biz/cornershelf.html Here is one take on which type to install: "Never anchor a grab bar into drywall , it will not hold and you could be seriously injured. How to properly install a grab bar is to screw it into the wall studs or to blocking in your walls. If your walls don't have blocking, add it by nailing a piece of plywood into the studs. The plywood should be þ inches thick and 6 to 12 inches wide. A grab bar should have 1-ý" of clearance from the wall. Wall mounted grab bars come in several lengths. Deciding which length to install depends on how the grab bar will be used. For example, if you're putting a main grab bar on the side wall of a bathroom tub enclosure a grab bar at least 24 inches long is best. If you're adding a second grab bar for support on the shower head wall, it should be at least 12 inches long. Horizontal grab bars offer better leverage when you are trying to get out of a bathtub or up and down from a toilet, but a grab bar placed at a 45 degree angle to the toilet or bathtub's rim is better when trying to accommodate people of different heights. Angling your grab bar has an additional advantage. A 24 inch bar installed at a 45 degree angle will exactly span wall studs spaced 16 inches apart, and you can screw into the studs on each end for maximum support. Horizontal grab bars should be located 33 to 36 inches above the finished floor around toilets, and 33 to 36 inches above the floor of the bathtub (7 to 11 inches above the rim) and close enough to the shower head wall to support you when adjusting water temperature."...See MoreGrab bar placement in a shower
Comments (1)Side Wall. A 42 inches (1065 mm) minimum length grab bar is required on the side wall, spaced a maximum of 12 inches (305 mm) from the back wall and extending a minimum of 54 inches (1370 mm) from the back wall at a height of 33-36 inches (840-915 mm). ADA Bathroom - ADA Grab Bar Requirements www.adabathroom.com/grab_bar_old.html...See MoreShower grab bars
Comments (3)Showers come in many shapes and sizes, so think about the motions you would go through to get in the shower, wash, use a bench, reach for towel, get out of the shower, etc. and place the grab bars where they would make most sense. I'm sure there are some ADA and/or ageing in place guidelines you can google for some further suggestions....See More
Missy Bee
16 days agoWe put in some grab bars with our recent remodel. Our goal was to provide something you could grab if you felt dizzy or unsteady and to steady yourself with your eyes closed when rinsing hair or face. So our bars were put where they were right at hand. We also hoped that it could be available if we needed a little help sometime in the future to pull ourselves to standing position after being seat on the fold down bench. Our configuration did not allow the vertical bar to be used when entering or exiting. Those can be quite useful no matter what the age or physical ability….note the little holder for the handheld shower and the controls near the seat. You can’t plan for every possibility so you have to envision how you will meet every challenge and for some it may mean moving…..
agroark thanked Missy Bee
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15 days agomarylut
13 days agoSome ideas for aging in place shower…the water on/off control should be on wall reachable from outside the shower without having to lean over the toilet or be inside the shower, curb is tripping hazard so make it a contrasting color tile to the bathroom floor and shower pan, don’t spend money on wall mount shower head and instead get hand held shower head on slider bar with hose long enough to reach the chair (Delta makes slider bar that doubles as vertical grab bar), use product niches instead of shelves that stick out and place niches low enough to be reached while sitting (so not on wall behind the seat), put horizontal grab bar within reach of chair to assist with standing up and sitting down. The wave grab bar is pretty instead of institutional-looking.
agroark thanked marylutagroark
13 days ago
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