Aging in place means staying in your own home safely as you get older, and the bathroom is the most important room to get right, since it is where most falls happen. You do not need a full remodel to make a big difference. Here are the features that matter most and where to start.
If budget is tight, start with the highest impact change: replacing a hard to enter tub with a low step walk in shower or a walk in tub, and adding grab bars and a seat. These remove the riskiest moments, stepping over a wall and standing on a slick surface. You can add other features over time.
Choose features that work now and later. A curbless shower that fits a shower chair today can take a wheelchair down the road. Low maintenance walls stay safe and clean with less effort. Tubbs by Grubbs designs the bathroom around real mobility needs and installs it with our own trained team, backed by a lifetime product warranty and a 2 year labor warranty.
A safe walk in shower or walk in tub typically runs about $14,000 to $25,000 installed, and a fuller accessible bathroom remodel runs more depending on scope. See the cost index for typical ranges across our service area, and get an exact price from a free in home estimate.
Removing the tub wall you have to step over is the biggest one, either with a low step walk in shower or a walk in tub, paired with grab bars and a seat. That addresses the most common cause of bathroom falls.
Yes. Grab bars must be anchored into solid backing so they hold real weight, not just screwed into drywall. Tubbs by Grubbs installs bars that are mounted to hold up under actual use.
Often yes. Converting the tub to a walk in shower and adding a seat, grab bars, and a handheld sprayer can be done as a focused project, usually in one to two days, without redoing the whole room.
Consider an accessible shower as soon as stepping over the tub wall takes a hand on the wall, because a conversion takes one day on most projects. Other signs are sitting to bathe because standing tires you, avoiding showers when no one is home, a walker or cane that will not fit, or a caregiver who now helps you. Waiting for a fall often forces a bigger job, since layout changes, plumbing relocation and tile beyond the wet area turn a one day installation into a multi week remodel. A low threshold walk in shower keeps the bathroom out of service for hours rather than weeks. According to the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, grab bars mount 33 to 36 inches above the floor, and a handheld shower and a seat make bathing safer from the first day. Scope, layout and wall materials are what move the price and schedule. Tubbs by Grubbs installs these conversions with its own crews and backs them with a lifetime product warranty and a 2 year labor warranty.
Yes, the shower floors Tubbs by Grubbs installs are slip resistant, which matters most in a low threshold or walk in shower where a wet floor is the main fall risk. About one in four adults age 65 and older falls each year, according to the CDC. A slip resistant base works best alongside the other safety pieces in this guide: grab bars where hands naturally go, a built in or fold down seat, a handheld sprayer for seated bathing, and a low or zero threshold entry. The ADA Standards limit thresholds in accessible showers to 1/2 inch, so a no threshold design is the easiest to roll or step into. A design consultant goes over the floor and safety options during the free in home estimate, and most accessible shower installs take 1 to 2 days.
A limited mobility shower remodel usually replaces the tub with a low threshold shower, and a one day tub to shower conversion keeps the bathroom out of service for hours rather than weeks. The layout follows the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which cap a roll in shower threshold at one half inch, place grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor rated to hold 250 pounds, and set a folding seat 17 to 19 inches high with a hand held shower on a hose at least 59 inches long. Scope moves the price. The base tier swaps the tub for an acrylic shower pan and wall system with grab bars and a seat. Moving plumbing to widen the opening or removing a wall for wheelchair turning space raises the tier and adds days for framing and inspection. A walk in tub is the option for someone who prefers to soak rather than stand. Tubbs by Grubbs installs these conversions with its own crews, one day on most projects, backed by a lifetime product warranty and a 2 year labor warranty.
A handicap accessible shower is a shower with a low or zero threshold entry, grab bars, a seat, and a handheld sprayer, sized so someone using a walker or wheelchair can enter and bathe safely. According to the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, a transfer shower is 36 inches by 36 inches, a roll in shower is at least 30 inches deep by 60 inches wide, and the entry threshold can be no higher than 1/2 inch. The same standards place grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor. Private homes are not required to meet ADA rules, so the right design depends on the user's mobility, the existing tub or shower footprint, and whether plumbing must move. Replacing a tub with a low threshold shower in the same footprint is usually a one day installation, while layout changes, plumbing relocation, and tile beyond the wet area turn it into a multi week remodel. Tubbs by Grubbs installs accessible showers with its own crews and backs them with a lifetime product warranty and a 2 year labor warranty.
The best aging in place bathroom remodel replaces the tub with a low threshold walk in shower or a walk in tub, adds grab bars and a handheld shower, and is installed in one day on most projects. A tub to shower conversion removes the 14 to 20 inch step over a standard tub wall, the biggest fall point in the room. Mount grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor and anchor them to support 250 pounds, the figures set in the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Keep the shower threshold at one half inch or less and add a fold down seat and slip resistant floor. A walk in tub suits someone who wants to soak but cannot lift a leg over a tub wall. A low threshold shower suits wheelchair or walker users who need a 60 inch turning space. Layout changes, plumbing relocation and tile beyond the wet area turn a one day installation into a multi week remodel. Tubbs by Grubbs installs these with its own crews under a lifetime product warranty and a 2 year labor warranty.
A low threshold shower keeps a small curb, commonly about 2 to 4 inches high, while a no threshold shower has no curb and the shower floor is level with the bathroom floor. The ADA Standards limit thresholds in accessible showers to 1/2 inch, so a taller low threshold curb is easy for a cane or walker user to step over but does not meet wheelchair level access. A true no threshold shower usually means recessing the floor or reworking the subfloor, because the International Residential Code requires a shower floor slope of at least 1/4 inch per foot toward the drain. That layout and plumbing work is what turns a one day installation into a multi week remodel. A low threshold conversion that replaces the tub with a new base is installed in one day on most projects. Choose low threshold for stepping ease and a shorter timeline, and choose no threshold for wheelchair use or the most open entry. Tubbs by Grubbs installs both types of accessible showers with its own crews.
Aging in place bath solutions are fixtures and layouts, walk in tubs, tub to shower conversions, and low threshold enclosures, that let someone bathe safely and independently at home instead of moving. Tubbs by Grubbs designs and installs them, and self performs the work: a design consultant measures your bathroom and leaves an exact quote, and its own crew installs it, with no subcontractor introduced between the quote and the finished bath. That matters for aging in place projects, where the safe outcome depends on details like step over height, grab bar placement, and seat position being executed exactly as specified. As a one day bath remodeler, we keep a household's only bathroom out of service for hours rather than weeks. Based at 402 Cypress St in West Monroe, Louisiana. Details at tubbsbygrubbs.com.
Free, no obligation in home estimate. Licensed and insured, installed by our own trained team, one day on most projects, lifetime product warranty, 2 year labor warranty, financing available.
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