Universal bathroom renovations are designed to accommodate the needs of everyone: adults, children, and seniors with or without disabilities. The main goal of universal bathroom renovations is to maximize usable space. Everyone appreciates a well-designed home bathroom that’s accommodating for all, spacious, relaxing, and easy to use.
The first step in creating a successful design for a universally accessible bathroom begins with identifying the needs of all family members and visitors who will use the bathroom. Having a universally designed handicap shower also known as a curbless shower or walk-in shower, has become an increasingly popular bathroom renovation feature. Aside from being easily accessible for every member of the family with or without disabilities, their appeal lies in their spa-like visual appearance with tile-top linear drain (invisible or hidden drain) as well as the absence of a door. The curbless or handicap shower is designed with large tiled open areas that can be equipped with one or more shower heads with the appropriate drainage. The streamline look makes for a more aesthetically pleasing design as well, with the main features being that the curbless shower floor continuous with the bathroom floor as well as the lack of shower walls makes for a reduced number of barriers
A handicap shower or universally designed bathroom renovations should be comfortable and accommodating for every member of the family as well as future guests. Before you begin your bathroom renovation it’s important to consider all of the design elements or specific features needed in your bathroom:
• the size of the bathroom and its location within the house
• The configuration of space within the bathroom, space between the toilet, bathtub and shower
• The type of shower you prefer, curbless with wall coverings or without
• All safety issues, do you require grab bars, support rails, a bench seat, and slip resistance of the floors
• Additional storage requirements
• The types of lighting
• And the overall use of space
What’s great about handicap showers or universally designed showers is that they can accommodate more than one person who uses a mobility device. With the open floor plan of a curbless shower any person regardless of their disability can enjoy the freedom of taking a shower whenever they so choose. Many people also like the idea of a rain-shower head, which is installed on the ceiling instead of the wall to give a wider and gentler water flow. To get more information on the types of bathroom renovations available for wheelchair accessible showers speak with a professional contractor to more ideas on the best option for you.
