Accessibility Doesn't Come at The Price of Attractiveness

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How much difference does a bathroom that works for you make in the quality of your life? We took a retrospective look at  some clients who we helped improve the safety of the bathroom while modernizing it and helping her achieve her vision of beauty. She was happy with the way her new bathroom allowed her husband to be more independent and able to shower mostly by himself now in security.  She’s been able to truly relax, and not be afraid that her husband would fall. He enjoys the privacy.

As we improved the accessibility of the bathroom, we kept budget and aesthetics in mind as well. Rather than widening the door and moving walls, we were able to use much more economical swing-clear hinges to provide the extra 1 and a half of door way width we needed. Our grab bar placement was designed to allow him to move through the bathroom and to help him up off the toilet, but matches the theme of the room without looking out of place or disruptive.

In the shower, we were able to use a pre-blocked Best Bath shower to place grab bars where he needed them, and to ensure he could place the showerhead wherever he wanted it most. Best Bath showers are beautiful, durable, and low maintenance, but their functionality and practicality, as well as their ability to be changed in the future as needed, is something else that we love about them. Here, we made use of their adaptability with a temporary threshold.  It’s secured and caulked down now, but if they ever need a roll-in shower, it’s a simple matter to remove it and for a simple, elegant conversion to a roll-in shower. You can think about Best Bath System’s life time shower concept as two showers for the price of one.

So, share the news and share the video. Accessibility doesn’t come at the price of attractiveness. It’s possible to have a bathroom that is a pleasure to be in for both its safety and its beauty.

Magic Wand of Accessibility

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Sorry Virginia, there is no magic access wand.

Sometimes we can tell that we are disappointing the person standing in front of us at a health fair or talking to us on the phone. We are simply too responsible to attempt to solve their home accessibility answer without more information and usually without going to their home. Sometimes they’ve given long explanations of what is going on and what isn’t working, and we have listened. But even when they can accurately describe their abilities and what their home looks like, they are only able to give us their perspective of those things. 

While our client’s perspective is critical and plays a huge role in the recommendations we make, they deny themselves the benefit of our objectivity and experience over the years if they ask us to rely solely on their impressions. 

Here are a few reasons why a responsible access consultant won’t just attempt to solve problems for people without a good individual and on-site review:

1. There are accessibility guidelines that some people think can be used like a cookbook for access such as the Americans with Disability Accessibility Act Guidelines, but these are not designed to meet the personal need of every individual and they aren’t required in private residences unless they’ve been incorporated into a building code.

2. Every person is different from others and should be treated individually. Even two people with the same medical condition, same age, same size, and same sex, will have different goals, preferences and abilities.

3. Houses are very different from each other.
In short, there really is no notebook or cookbook that says what is exactly right for every person and we know there is really no such thing as accessibility magic wands so we have to rely on good old evaluation, knowledge about a multitude of options, and the experience to match those options with the individual’s needs. We feel like the best way to solve an access issue is to listen to a person to understand their goals and observe them in the environment they want to change. So if you give us a call with an access question, we really don’t want to disappoint you. Expect a thorough residential access answer to include a visit to you in your residence. 

If you want an objective, professional solution to your residential access problem, call us and set an appointment with one of our designers. We provide in-home assessments with no travel fee in the Greater Omaha, Nebraska area. All other areas in Nebraska and Iowa are possible with a travel fee. We will give you a firm estimate of your costs for consultation when you call to make an appointment.

"I’d recommend them for about anything."

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We first met the Xs (obviously not their name) when Mr. X was in rehab and couldn’t return home as Mrs. X had no way to get him and his wheelchair into the house. They’d called someone about a ramp, but there was no room for it. It would have taken all the space in the garage and then some. They called us, and we took a look at the situation. We ended up suggesting a vertical platform lift. It would take less effort for both of them to use, it fit better in the garage, and it would still be helpful if he was able to regain the ability to use a walker or cane. We also provided Mrs. X with some tips for a friend of theirs who was widening their doors. The special hinges saved them several hundred dollars a door. Better yet, Mr. X was able to return home!

After living with the wheelchair for about a year, they called us to help figure out whether they should make modifications to their current house, try to find one that was more accessible already, or if they should start building from the ground up. The process for this consultation is to listen carefully not only to what people can do in order to determine what environmental modifications will increase independence and safety, but also to how they want to live and what is important to them. The bathrooms, and Mr. X’s need for Mrs. X’s help to transfer had been the worst trouble.  The stress was starting to take a toll. Despite that, they didn’t want to leave this house behind. They loved the neighborhood, their yard, and had invested much time in making their house their home. With that in mind, we recommended changing the house for accessibility. They were pleased to have options available that would make living easier in the home they loved. We worked together designing exactly how we’d increase his independence around the home.

Since the entrance to the home had already been addressed right after his stay in Rehab, the major changes were modifying the bathroom and providing an independent transfer method. We found a solution which solved both problems in combination. We installed a SureHands ceiling track with a body support. Mr. X can transfer independently, and can move between the bathroom and the bedroom at will. Furthermore, we didn’t have to rob any other rooms or closets for space which, was important for Mrs. X.

 We used a Best Bath shower with a threshold in the bathroom to obtain maximum useable space and water control within the existing shower pocket and bathroom. We ordered a custom width and depth seat and placed grab bars strategically to assist with sitting balance when Mr. X uses the ceiling lift to enter the shower. We replaced the traditional sink with a roll under sink after calculating that Mr. X  would have just enough room to swing his legs under it once the door was widened. The toilet is accessed by a rolling shower commode chair, a solution customized for Mr. X . If a person needed access to the toilet on a more regular basis, we could have used a track splitter in the bathroom to help him transfer there. He didn’t feel he needed it, however, and picked an option that was simpler and more economical to him.

Once the lift system and the bathroom was remodeled, there were just a few smaller jobs we did which at first seem minor, but often small things have a big impact.   Mr.  X has two dogs, which he loves dearly. However, dogs being dogs, they love to go outside and come back in frequently. Having to get the door constantly for those two was a major physical effort. So, he planned an elegant little solution to that problem: We installed a doggie door to the fenced yard which gives them boosted accessibility too!  If you watch the video closely you can see one of them coming and going through the door since we weren’t including it in the conversation.  The second job was a specialized doorbell.  It has a built in camera, speaker, and microphone that allow Mr. X to see who’s at the door and let them know he’s on the way without having to yell across the house.

So, at the end of over a year and a half on and off of working with us, their house has undergone both  major and minor changes and transformed from a place filled with barriers to a place that is easy for them to live in.