Tub to shower conversion

sunshine5

We have one & half bathroom, as DH dementia progresses, should I convert the bath tub to walk in shower? 

I am in Akexandria, va. Any contractor suggestion and financial help suggestions would be appreciated 

Ed1937

Sunshine, you didn't indicate if he is a veteran. If he is, this might help. https://www.agingcare.com/articles/vet-assistance-for-alzheimers-and-dementia-care-136878.htm  . There are likely other sources for help, if you do a Google search. 

I replaced a tub with a walk in shower. Our son has a remodeling business, and he did it for us. Best thing I ever did. I was concerned about it being too small if both of us needed to be in there at the same time, but it's not a problem. Of course you can't have one too big.

Ed1937

I should have mentioned that it might be against code if you don't have a tub.

sunshine5

DH is not a veteran 

Where does your son work? I am in northern Virginia 

sunshine5

Don’t understand what u mean by - against the code?

Tub bath is the only full bath we have, that I was thinking about converting 

Pat6177

Sunshine5, we converted a tub to a walk in shower about a year ago. DH is still able to shower on his own so I can’t yet speak to the usefulness of the walk in shower. But I know my DH would be bothered by the construction now. As this disease progresses, his tolerance for noise and upset to his routine shrinks. So if you decide to do, the sooner the better.

loveskitties

You might want to contact your local Agency on Aging for suggestions and info about how to apply for grant or low interest loan for remodel due to his inability to enter bath tub safely.

There should be no building code problem as long as your home has either a bath tub or a shower.  Their only issue is if you have neither.

You might want to check with habitat for humanity to see if they have any suggestions on contractors/individuals who could perform the work at a reasonable cost.

You also might want to check and see if remodel due to health needs would be deductible on your taxes.

Ed1937

sunshine5 wrote:

Where does your son work? I am in northern Virginia 

He was in NW Indiana until recently, when he moved to Florida, not far from Disney World.

Ed1937

sunshine5 wrote:

Don’t understand what u mean by - against the code?

Code may be different depending on where you live. Some places may require that you have a tub. You should find out about that before having anything done. You don't want legal problems. If it is allowable to convert to a shower, I highly recommend that. When it is time for my wife to shower, I always get in there with her to help.

Doityourselfer

I had our entire master bath updated; the tub/shower unit was replaced with a tiled walk-in shower with a couple of grab bars in late 2018 when my husband was in early stage 6 EOAD.   It took about 3 weeks to complete by a local contracting company.  It is not wheelchair accessible but it's easy for my husband to get in with my assistance, of course.  I opted for a shower curtain instead of a glass door for safety reasons.

By the time if/when he's in a wheelchair, his showers will be a thing of the past anyway.

Donr

The most inexpensive way to convert a bath to a walk-in shower is to use Bathfitters. At least in my case. Not the classes but solved the problem.

jfkoc

NO CURB, WIDE OPENING OR SHOWER CURTAIN/ROOM FOR SMALL WHEEL IN SHOWER CHAIR AND ANOTHER PERSON.

GMcG

We just had our master bathroom remodeled incorporating what we learned from our experience with our mothers who both had Alz and my father who had post-polio mobility issues.  Neither my husband nor I have mobility issues but at 74 we want to be prepared.  We chose a curb less shower not just walk in.  There is no level change between the shower and the remaining bathroom. A shower chair could easily be wheeled in/out.  We have a bench which is integral to the tilework.  It runs the entire width of the shower.  Grab bars were added where appropriate.  We also opted for a handheld shower because most with dementia do not like water in their faces.  We also added a large rain head shower thinking we would use the handheld "later " when/if we needed it.  As it turned out my husband prefers it to the stationary head and uses the handheld in its holder.   Our toilet has it's own cubicle with door.  We added grab bars around it as well.  Because the grab bars match our towel bars and other fixtures we didn't have to sacrifice aesthetics for functionality.  If you Google "aging in place" you will find guidelines for placement of grab bars, etc.

sunshine5

Thankyou Gmg. Useful information