At various points in life, we all need help maintaining our physical independence. Unfortunately, the design of most American homes fails to support independence for people of all ages and abilities. However, with accessible remodeling, your home can. To make your home a safe haven for anyone with physical limitations, you’ll want to make accessible renovations throughout your house. Specifically, you should learn how to update bathrooms with accessible bathroom design.
Contents
- Accessible Design
- Accessible Remodeling
- Accessible Bathrooms
- Accessible Bathroom Design
- Examples of Accessible Bathroom Design
- Accessible Remodelers
What Is Accessible Design?
We all want to live safely, healthily, and comfortably in our homes no matter our age or ability levels. Accessible design makes this possible. By creating spaces that anyone can use and enjoy, accessible design produces homes that work for everyone in every way.
The accessible design philosophy considers people in every stage of life: a child, a teenager who’s received surgery, a disabled person, a senior, or an injured adult. By understanding the different ways each of these individuals move through a house, the principles of accessible design can create a home that welcomes absolutely everyone.
What Is Accessible Remodeling?
If most houses in America aren’t accessible for all, then how do you achieve accessibility within your home? With accessible remodeling. Accessible remodeling produces easily accessible living spaces. They are also attractive home upgrades.
The foundation of accessible remodeling is universal design. Universal design focuses on crafting inclusive environments that anyone can use regardless of their physical abilities, mental abilities, or age. Architects, occupational therapists, home remodelers, and interior designers work can work together to plan and execute the most effective renovations tailored to specific households. So, with accessible remodeling, everyone can feel free in their own homes.
What Is an Accessible Bathroom?
An accessible bathroom is a bathroom that a disabled person can use with little to no help. The Americans with Disabilities Act has established the qualifications for publicly accessible bathrooms, but this code can be applied to private bathrooms as well.
The ADA recommends exact dimensions and spacing for an entire bathroom as well as the shower, sink, and toilet. For example, a wheelchair needs a 60-inch minimum circular turning space. A sink should afford 27 inches of clearance beneath it for those in a wheelchair. Grab bars on the side wall next to the toilet should be 42 inches long, while grab bars behind the toilet should be 36 inches long.
Consequently, the ADA’s standards for bathrooms show us just how much of a science accessible design is.
What Is Accessible Bathroom Design?
Accessible bathroom design is the point at which the ADA’s code for accessible bathrooms and bathroom remodeling meet. With accessible bathroom design, the bathrooms in your home can be both safe and stylish. When your bathrooms utilize accessible bathroom design, you can be confident that they assist people of any age or ability level.
But how can you ensure that your bathrooms fully comply with accessible bathroom design? By working with a Certified Living In Place Professional (CLIPP). A CLIPP has accumulated the knowledge and training needed to understand the ADA standards and insert them into your bathroom while also infusing it with beauty. What’s more, a CLIPP can team up with other health and building specialists to successfully customize accessible bathroom design to your space.
With a CLIPP by your side, you won’t have to worry about all the technicalities of accessible bathroom design. Instead, you can find peace of mind in their passion and expertise.
What Are Examples of Accessible Bathroom Design?
As a living in place home modification, accessible bathroom design covers every part of the bathroom. A CLIPP can determine exactly which elements of accessible bathroom design you need, but most bathrooms require some of the following updates:
Accessible Bathroom Design Floorplan:
- More space to allow for walker or wheelchair clearance
- A wider door or a pocket door
Living in Place Bathroom Flooring:
- Non-slip flooring such as laminate or textured tile
- Floor transitions and counter edges outlined with colored lines and walls painted a different color than the floor to promote depth perception
Showers and Bathtubs with Disabled Bathroom Designs:
- A walk-in tub
- A no-threshold shower
- Shelving and seating inside of the shower and bathtub
- Grab-bars positioned in and around the shower and tub
- Showers with adjustable and removable shower heads
- A thermostatically controlled and pressure-balanced shower valve
Living in Place Bathroom Toilets:
- A bidet
- A comfort height toilet
- Handrails and grab-bars surrounding the toilet
Disabled Bathroom Designs for Vanities:
- Under-sink clearance
- A lowered vanity sink and countertop
- Pull-out shelves in the vanity as well as pull-down shelves in the cabinets and closets
- An angled or pivot mirror above the sink
- D-handles or loop handles on all cabinets and lever handles on all doors
Living in Place Faucets:
- Faucets fitted on the side of the sink
- Infra-red faucets that detect motion
Accessible Mirrors:
- A mirror hung low enough for a seated person to see themselves
- The top of the mirror tilted out
Living in Place Lighting:
- Motion sensor lights, side mirror lights, and recessed lighting installed for added convenience
- Rocker-style light switches instead of toggle-style
How Does My Bathroom Receive Accessible Design with Accessible Remodeling?
If you want to live in your current house indefinitely, then your home has to do more for you. You’ll need to make accessible renovations throughout your house, but the bathroom specifically will require accessible bathroom design. And due to the specialized science of accessible bathroom design, you should plan to work with a Certified Living In Place Professional (CLIPP).
But where can you find a CLIPP in northeast Ohio? At BenchMark Home Services. As a branch of Capozzi Design Build, BenchMark Home Services is led by owner Anne Capozzi. Anne Capozzi is a CLIPP. Therefore, we have the living in place expertise it takes to apply accessible design to any and all of your bathrooms. With Anne’s guidance, we guarantee that your accessible bathrooms will exemplify universal design while satisfying your personal tastes.
Everyone on the BenchMark team has over 15 years of experience. What’s more, our company has an excellent reputation for professionalism, quality, and compassion in the industry.
Service Areas
You’ll find the BenchMark Home Services headquarters in the greater Cleveland area. Consequently, our service areas include the following cities and their surrounding communities:
- Hudson
- Pepper Pike
- Beachwood
- Twinsburg
- Shaker Heights
- Gates Mills
- Aurora
- Macedonia
- Moreland Hills
- Boston Heights
- Peninsula
- Hunting Valley
- Cleveland Heights
- Willoughby Hills
- Solon
- University Heights
- Chagrin Falls
After we’ve transformed your bathroom with accessible bathroom design, you and everyone who visits your home will feel completely at ease in the space. That way, you and your loved ones can live independently. So, contact us today to get your accessible bathroom design!