Fixing up the house

The bathroom is a very important area of the home for anyone who is disabled or who has less mobility. There are many issues to consider such as accessibility and safety, which are major obstacles for most handicapped persons, when using a residential bathroom. This particular room in the home is not only very important, but it is often one of the most costly to deal with in terms of making more handicap friendly.

There are generally 3 ways of addressing disability issues in any home. You can retrofit any existing bathroom, by simply adding some handicapped equipment to fit with your current fixtures, you can completely renovate the bathroom with conventional disability equipment or you can add-on or build a new room to your home that is specifically for the handicapped.

Before, however, you determine which of these options you should use, you should thoroughly evaluate the needs of the person for whom you are providing the accommodations. It’s a good idea to talk to them personally to find out their preferences and needs. Then you can also talk to their doctor or therapist to get a broader picture of what is needed now and perhaps in the future. It also helps to look at some general bath room designs to get a good picture of what you may need to do.

The budget that you have on hand will be the next determining factor when planning your project. Be sure to only make concessions on design elements and not handicap equipment or fixtures that may be necessary. Because this type of project can be costly, you can save a lot money by choosing to retrofit an existing bathroom instead of building a whole new room. You can use portable handicap equipment for areas like the tub, shower, toilet and sink area. These are cheaper and just as functional and safe in many cases.

The easiest equipment to install is portable handicapped items that are designed to make conventional bathroom fixtures more accessible to many people. Equipment such as lifts for tubs, seats for showers, risers for toilets and a variety of other items can be used and then put away for use later. Safety features such as safety bars can be installed by yourself if you can handle a drill and hammer. Be sure to determine what the needs are and what kind of budget you will work with before choosing the right handicap bathroom project for your home.

For more info, stop byhttp://www.disabledbathrooms.org/ for discount prices onhandicap toilets and more.

Tweet This Post

Now that the toilet has been loosened and you are ready to take it out you need to know that there is a wax ring at the bottom of it that makes the seal to the plumbing and it sticks down under the toilet. This will need to be covered with plastic (like one of those grocery bags) or paper or removed so it wont make a mess if you set it down on the floor. I don’t think you are going to want to clean the wax off the floor.

Maybe you should get some help carrying the toilet out of the house. They are very awkward to carry alone. Now plug the hole in the floor so you don’t have to smell the sewer gases while you take the vanity apart. You can stuff an old rag in the hole or there are plastic plugs you can get from the hardware store that are made just for the floor flange.

If you have an old house that has the lead toilet plumbing you will need to upgrade this. I have gone and purchased a new flange that will slip down into the lead and then sealed it between the flange and the lead with the wax ring and then screwed the new flange to the floor. Use a new wax ring for this. The one that is just wax with no plastic in it. This is a little messy but it makes a seal that will last as long as the plumbing will.

If you can get to the main drain from under the toilet without tearing out your ceiling then it is better to change the lead to ABS and glue it together. You can get rubber grommets that hook the ABS to the cast iron sewer pipe and make a very tight seal.

Now back to the vanity. You should have the water supply lines disconnected now but if not go ahead and remove them. (turn off the valves so you don’t get a shower under the sink. Usually a clockwise rotation to turn them off.)

Remove the drain P-trap. Now it is time to get the top off the vanity. You will have a few different possible ways to get the sink off. If it is a one piece top with molded sink then it will be glued somehow to the vanity so you will need a putty knife to wedge under the top between the vanity and top to get it cut loose. If the screws holding the vanity to the wall can be accessed when the top is in place and you can get them out then the top can just remain on the vanity and the screws removed and the vanity carried away complete.

The other way of getting the sink off is a drop in sink that is simply glued with adhesive caulk to the top. Once again the putty knife comes into play and you wedge it under the sink edge and cut it loose. (Caution here, if you are reusing the sink be careful and gentle when cutting it loose so you don’t chip the edge and make it ugly.)

Now the counter top pulled loose and the screws or nails that hold the vanity to the wall are removed and the vanity carried out.

Now you should be down to the bathtub on a simple bathroom.

You will have already made the decision on whether or not to keep the tub. If you are keeping it then maybe you want to cover it up to protect it. You can purchase a thin plastic tub liner-protector from the Home Depot or Lowes that will work great. They are cheap and worth it.

For a comprehensive guide to bathroom remodeling

Tweet This Post