Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

[mako]

My wifes grandparents are both about 80 and have trouble getting around, especially her grandfather. My inlaws have been taking him to their house to give him showers. But with the New England weather being pretty nasty lately, and a long cold winter outlook, they need a stall in their house. They have 2 bathrooms in their one floor house but both have a plain old fashined bathtub. My father in law and I are planning on putting in a shower stall because it is much easier for them to take a shower. Anyone have any ideas on what stall would be best? A square one thats 36" each way? or a four foot long one? I think grab bars would be a plus. Any ideas are appreciated. And their is plenty of room in their larger bathroom, plus I can access all plumbing from the basement. Thanks for any input!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

Some things to consider.<br />Try to make it comply to handicapped access guidelines, grabrails etc.It could help in resale of the home.<br /><br />Also, as large as possible. The time may be coming when wheelchairs may be needed, and they take up a lot of room.<br /><br />Cousin is confined to wheelchair and this is what she had built: 6' wide x 4½' deep, she wishes it was 6x6' for those times when someone helps her to bath.<br /><br />The floor ramps up about 2.5 inches as you approach the shower, then down to a center drain from all sides in the shower. She also has<br /> a 2" x 36" grate style drain on the outside of the shower to catch water. She uses 2 standard shower curtains that drag the floor a little to keep most water inside.<br /><br />Showerhead is on an adjustable arm and can also be handheld.<br /><br />Scaldproof or tempguard faucet control is a must.<br /><br />If possible, a shower safe seat is nice, portable or permanently installed. Grandmother used one, when she died, mom kept the seat for when her back was acting up.<br /><br />If you have enough space and $, make it nice.<br />Might visit a nursing home to see how they set up their showers. Or maybe search the web.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

They have also came out with a walk in shower, for people that have a hard time stepping into a bath tub.<br />It has a glass door that keeps most of the water inside.<br />I think I saw one at a Lowe's store, but don't hold me to that.<br />Check with some people at these places that deal in such stuff and they can give you some good ideas.

 

[pmueller]

Re: Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

Mako, there's a pretty good plumbing forum with a number of pros. I'll bet if you pose your question to them, you could get a number of ideas. The web address is: <br /><br /> http://www.pldg.com <br /><br />good luck.

 

[amtsst]

Re: Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

Hey mako,<br /><br />My grandparents are both 90 and we went through your experience a while back. They've since moved to retirement home which also has a good arrangement.<br /><br />Home: We put in a 4' x 3' shower unit purchased at Home Depot. It has a 3 inch high threshold and both of the Grands could step over the lip without assistance. Full length curtain. We added grab bars that went through the unit and screwed into studs behind that we'd pre-measured for location. Sealed the bars to the shower with silicon calk.<br /><br />At the assisted living home: They have a really slick setup. They put in a 5' by 3' shower stall that was shelled in with that concrete-type drywall stuff. Then they tiled over the whole thing and they use a curtain instead of sliding doors. They added a perforated stainless steel stool with handles at one end and bolted that to the floor. The shower head is handheld so granddad can go in there and sit down and take his shower.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Any recommendations for a shower stall for elderly couple?

The wider the better is one motto. The reason is because if it does not have a built in bench you can get a shower bench for older folks to sit and shower on. Check out a home medical supply store and look at one for dimensions and such. You can also find other neat gadgets and such there.