Barrier Free Architecturals
August 25, 2011

Finding the Perfect Handicap Shower

Bath Accessories. Image Source: ShowerCurtains.org

Purchasing your first handicap shower can be confusing.  There are so many factors to consider – price, construction time, features and durability are only a few of them.  There’s also the matter of personal décor.  Luckily, there are a wide variety of handicap showers available on the market today and, with a little research, you’re sure to find something to suit your unique needs and preferences.  Here are a few things to consider when purchasing your first handicap shows.

Handicap showers are, obviously, easier to install in a newly built home, but remodeling a bathroom to accommodate a new shower is also quite feasible.  Contact us and we can help you find the best contractors on the market.  We have a lot of experience with handicap showers, and only work with the most knowledgeable people.

One thing to consider when designing a handicap shower is accessibility.  Soap, shampoo, wash cloths and other bathroom accessories need to be easily reachable and at a good height.  Having to bend down or stand up to reach bathroom essentials is dangerous and could lead to accidents.  Your faucet also needs to be positioned at the right height, and your handicap shower should be equipped with a handheld device to facilitate quick and easy control.

Our tile showers usually have a cement mortar base that lie beneath the tile and it is designed to slope about 1/8 inch per foot.  This allows water to reach the drain easier.  Your entire modified bathroom should have a subtle tilt towards the shower.  This will help water spray reach the drain easier.  All-in one shower pans are great products that help water drain easier, but slopes will still have to be a part of your bathroom design.

Handicap shower doors are water-tight, but you will still want to invest in a good shower corner with weighted corners.  This will help prevent spills or excess water making its way onto your bathroom floor.

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December 8, 2010

Bath and Shower Mobility Issues Concerning Older Adults

A study entitled “Bath Falls Common Among Older Adults” by the University of Michigan Health System was published a few years back, but is definitely still a matter of concern for older people.

The report states that shower and bathtub safety is of utmost importance since one-third of people age 60 and over have difficulty accessing their bathtub or shower, even with basic bathtub safety equipment installed.

Susan L. Murphy, ScD, OTR, an occupational therapist and U-M research assistant professor who had worked on the study had stated that there are many “independently bathing older adults who have trouble or are unsafe getting into and out of the tub or shower stall. For older adults, losing the ability to bathe is associated with having falls, fracturing bones, and even being admitted to a nursing home. It is important that we take steps to help to prevent bathing disability before it occurs.”

So recommendations of the study include:

1.      Do not use a sliding glass shower door for stability and balance since these glass doors are not design to support a person’s weight. Shower doors can be replaced by shower curtains.

2.      Use proper shower and bathtub equipment. These include handicap shower accessories and grab bars. Under no circumstances should unsafe shower equipment, such as plastic lawn chairs or other equipment not intended for this purpose. Built-in showers such ADA showers and barrier free showers with features are perfect examples of this.

3.      Educating older adults about shower and bathtub safety. The study showed that older adults did not recognize the difference between grab bars or towel bars or have unsafe methods for getting in and out of the shower or tub, such as using a step-stool.

The full study can be found at the Journal of American Geriatrics Society.

Since often older adults have trouble climbing in and out, navigating or hitting the side of their bathtubs or showers, it makes sense to make life easier with specialized shower systems.

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August 27, 2010

Getting Clear on Universal Design

We touched on the subject of ‘universal design’ in our recent post on Barrier-Free Living in Ontario, and thought it might be interesting to go into the principal with greater depth. So, what exactly is ‘universal design’?

To use the definition provided by The Institute for Human Centred Design, universal, or inclusive, design can be defined as “the design of products, environments, and communication to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design”. This simple definition houses a simple, yet incredibly important idea. The adoption of universal design signifies more than an acceptance of equality across all members of society; it recognises the importance of equitable living, without the need for distinction or paternalism.

Two key factors contributed to the growth in popularity of universal design. Firstly, more and more people are living with a greater range of disabilities. Secondly, we are living in an ageing population, and it’s not getting any younger! Making accessible design the norm rather than the exception makes a lot of sense given these two facts.

The Institute of Human Centred Design lists the seven principals of universal design as the following:

  1. Equitable Use – the design does not single out a group or groups of individuals in any particular way.
  2. Flexibility in Use – lots of different people can use the design in lots of different ways, according to their needs and wants.
  3. Simple, Intuitive Use – the design shouldn’t take any expertise or particular skills to use to optimum performance.
  4. Perceptible Information – the lines of communication between the design and the user are as clear as possible,
  • Tolerance For Error – if something goes wrong, the design will not break easily or become dangerous to use.
  1. Low Physical Effort – the design can be used by anyone, despite their current energy or strength levels.
  2. Size and Space for Approach & Use – the design is accessible and usable for anyone, regardless of their size, posture or mobility.

Although the phrase ‘universal design’ has been around for about 50 years, it has only become mainstream recently, so do look out for it! We promote these principals in our company through, for example, in our holistic handicap shower designs.

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August 20, 2010

North Americans Fear Disability

A recent survey called the “Eye on Eyesight” found that Americans fear blindness more than heart disease, even though the latter is the biggest single killer of both men and women in the United States. This news was covered in Earth Times.

Choice Magazine Listening commissioned the survey, which was conducted by Surge Research Incorporated. Choice Magazine Listening is a non-profit organisation that records and distributes audio recordings of reading materials (including anything from magazine articles to poetry) to anyone who struggles to read because of disability.

The results of the survey are particularly surprising when you learn that the group questioned were those with the highest risk of serious heart disease (men and women between the ages of 50 and 64), and that they were nearly twice as scared of blindness than of heart disease!

Furthermore, the survey found that 79% of Americans consider losing one’s sight to be the “worst thing that could happen to me,” other than their own death or the death of a loved one.

Whence cometh this fear? Although the Americans that took this survey answered that death is their greatest fear, why are they more afraid of a non-fatal disability than of a sudden, often fatal, attack of the heart? As Sondra Mochson, Editor-in-Chief of Choice Magazine Listening, puts it: “Many of us take our vision for granted. The thought of losing abilities that are basic to us, including important day-to-day functions like reading, creates tremendous fear.”

All this goes to confirm the importance of the implementation of accessible design for the American lifestyle; if visual impairment came to be less of an issue in day-to-day life, perhaps it would become less feared. This means building barrier free living into the infrastructure across public and private living, making accessible kitchens, handicap showers and accessible offices the status quo, rather than the exception. The knock on effect of reducing the fear around something like blindness might even go as far as to increase awareness of heart disease and the steps that can be taken by individuals to lower their risk levels.

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August 15, 2010

Disability Hate Crimes

The Australian Broadcasting Association recently reported on some new research that reveals thousands of Australians with disabilities are suffering at the hands of increasingly potent hate crimes. Unfortunately, because the legislation in Australia is unclear, these crimes are often passed off as straightforward Abuse crimes, which result in much smaller charges.

Dr Sherry, a local expert on the problem, says that a lack of awareness is the biggest problem; for example, the Australian statutory appointee who is meant to oversee the affairs of adults with disabilities claims not to have heard of any hate crimes, despite multiple examples that suggest otherwise. Dr Sherry argues that the only way to deal with this problem is to include physical disability into hate crime legislation, as is done in the US, Canada, and many other countries around the world.

The Canadian Criminal Code states that sentences should be increased according to whether the crime was motivated by “hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor”. Source. This clarity makes appropriate charges very accessible to law enforcers in this country.

Disability hate crime has been in the international news a lot over the last few months. For example, in June, the UK changed its legislation in order to increase the sentences associated with disability hate crime following some high profile cases.

On June 16th, Statistics Canada reported the numbers of hate crimes committed in 2008, showing a really alarming increase of 35% between 2007 and 2008. However, very few of these hate crimes are targeted towards Canadians with disabilities (racial and religious crime is much more common).

Making such statistics accessible to the general public is a really important step in raising awareness about just how prevalent hate crime is, and what steps can be taken to reduce it. One of the best things you can do to raise awareness specifically about disability hate crime is to make sure you cater for all levels of disability in your home and work environment, whether that means providing ramps, handicap showers and bathrooms, better lighting or greater wheelchair access to your yard.

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July 14, 2010

Kitchen and Bath Design: Accessibility

I recently came across this article by Mary Jo Peterson in the trade website Kitchen and Bath Design News. While it came out in April, it’s a good overview of trends in universal building and the projects that some of the major players are undertaking.

Since the real estate market is a bit up in the air (it’s really pretty weird, to be honest) remodelers are driving the forward movement for accessibility: things like bathroom renovations with handicap showers, accessible kitchen renos and so forth are big right now.

AARP (which now makes no reference to retired persons, but who still serves that demographic) has a bunch of programs to help drive these goals forward, including the Liveable Community awards. NAHB (that’s the National Association of Homebuilders) has joined them in that effort. As we’ve mentioned before on this blog, universal and accessible can make good sense for lots of stages of life—so folks are discovering there’s some demand out there for it.

Per the article, a demostration home built by Eskaton Senior Residences and Services

offered many of the subtle design concepts that we have come to expect as good Universal Design and just good design in general. These include varied-height vanities, a no-threshold shower and bath accessories that enhance the beauty of the space while improving safety and access. In the kitchen, the home featured an opportunity to sit while working, appliances at comfortable heights and counters at varied heights for the comfort of cooks of different sizes.

This home was truly impressive, featuring a home automation system that measured blood sugar and communicated with the homeowner’s doctors automatically.

Peterson says that one of the unifying themes was that the offerings are generally quite attractive—there’s no reason that something can’t be accessible and nice. She mentions Green Mountain Ranch, which is the home of Cynthia Liebrock who is a longtime “universal design guru”.

One thing that Peterson talked about was that it can be difficult to find the products needed for these kinds of building renos and so forth. That’s where we can help. Get in touch for all the latest on the products you’ll need for a beautiful, functional bath or kitchen space.

Filed under Health and Mobility Tips, Home safety tips for the elderly
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June 25, 2010

Installing a grab bar in a Handicap Shower

In our earlier post this week we discussed the importance of shower seats to improve accessibility in the shower. We would like to stay on the theme of handicap showers and now turn our attention towards grab bars.

Since the point of having a grab bar is to help people stay upright and potentially avoid falls, they really need to be installed correctly and not fail when they are needed most. A proper installation is essential. Ordinary towel bars will not do because they are simply not strong enough to support the weight and torque that may be placed upon a grab bar.

Anything that needs to stay on the wall and not come off–especially grab bars–needs to be screwed into the studs. And we want our grab bar screwed into 2 studs, not just one. Studs are typically located 16 inches apart, measured from center to center. You can locate them by using a stud sensor or by using a nail (if you don’t mind patching up). But make sure you’re certain you have got them located. Then, mark your tile or other bath surround effectively using some colored tape or a dry erase marker. Determine how you want to place your bar. For example, often a grab bar is placed at an angle between two studs on the tub’s longest wall. The bottom of the bar is typically about 6 to 10 inches above the top of the tub.

Drill a 1/8 inch hole to confirm the stud location. Obviously you’ll be going through the tub surround now, so make sure you have the appropriate bit, be it for plastic (for acrylic surrounds) or glass and tile, or stone (for slate tiles). If you find the stud, keep going and drill the remaining holes. If not, locate the stud and try again. If you’ve hit the wrong place, don’t worry, the hole should get covered up by the mounting plate. If you need to enlarge the holes with a larger bit to accomodate the screws, do that at this point.

Now you’ll want to put caulking on the back of the flange and screw the bar to the wall with stainless steel pan head screws. The screws should go in to a depth of at least one inch. Two inch screws are a good rule.

Finish off the details that come with the kit, and test your bar’s strength by yanking on it. If you can feel any kind of give, you need to figure out what went wrong and rectify that. You don’t want a grab bar to fail when you need it.

Check out our great selection of grab bars, and feel free to contact us for advice or recommendations.

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June 9, 2010

Top Handicap Bathroom Solutions: Wheelchair Accessible Bathrooms

To many, the ability to take a shower unassisted, even when in a wheelchair, is an important part of being able to live independently and in a dignified way. The handicap-accessible shower solutions here at Barrier Free Architecturals make taking a shower independently as easy as possible. We will work with you to assure you have the solution that fits your physical needs, your physical space, and your budget.

We have several solutions available. We have one-piece and multi-piece units with a low threshold that permits easy access to the shower unit. These shower units are ideal for retrofitting your existing bathroom, with the ability to replace an existing bathtub setup. One of these showers can be installed on your existing subfloor, and they do not require extensive renovation, saving you time and expense. In addition, these showers are backed fully with plywood, allowing for installation of grab bars and seats at any point.

Another multi-piece option is the corner shower, which is a good choice for a small bathroom. These corner units share the same benefits as above, including the ability to be installed on your existing sub floor and the plywood backing for safety accessories. All of these units are pre-assembled and arrive ready for installation in your bathroom.

We also offer various solutions for those customers who require a higher-end, recessed shower. The benefit of this is of course that the wheelchair simply rolls right in to the shower without having to cross over a threshold. This can be a great option if you’re considering a more extensive overhaul of your bathroom.

Please get in touch with us if you’re wondering about which handicap bathroom solution might be best for your case. We’d be more than happy to assist.

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