Disabled Showers

oldbuffer

Because I now have problems getting out of the bath I was thinking of going for one of the "Disabled Showers" that are frequently advertised on TV and in magazines.

I dont necessarily need a recomendation but if anyone has had a bad experience with any particular company I would be very obliged.

hutchie_3

you could get a level access shower fitted by a reliable plumber,but contact your local council grants dept,as you may be entitled to a grant which can be as much as 90% of the outlay.Hope this helps.

simpywimpy

Get social services or occupational therapy to give you a needs assessment. If you need a level shower and your income isn't too high you could qualify as my parents did to have it done free of charge. They also got a stair lift and a new boiler and a downstairs toilet too.

Personally I think the likes of Dolphin etc are way overpriced for what they do and as said, if you do want to just arrange it yourself, ask the council for a list of approved builders that do their disabled facilites grants and get a quote for one from them.

ormus

the companies who advertise nationally like this are just the same as the double glazing scumbags. dolphin is probably the best known.
deal with them at your financial peril.

get a local plumber to give you a quote. or contact the social services.

andrew-b

Is your bathroom ground floor...if so is it wooden floor or solid concrete...if it's concrete it's going to be more complicated!

I too have problems getting in/out of a bath. The old shower enclosure we have is raised about 4 inches off a concrete floor - which is too big a step for me without support from a grab rail. I wanted something that looked good as well as practical for me..most of the "disabled" showers don't do that and look like something you'd see in a hospital. My solution is to channel out the concrete floor for the waste pipe and trap and fit a low-rise shower tray (this MX quadrant one with this enclosure). By the time we've fitted the floor covering too i'm expecting there to be a very small difference in height between floor and base of tray.

Not all manufacturer's are as helpful as others i found.. for example when i mentioned to Mira that i was going to channel out the floor for the waste pipe so needed to know the depth of their waste traps the answer that came back was "you don't want to be channelling out the floor as it's a lot of hard work - it would be easier to use our riser kit" (like i didn't know that!!!) - they never did tell me the dimension i wanted so i just went elsewhere! Whilst other companies like simpsons and manhattan bent over backwards to help. Manhattan even sent me detailed CAD drawings by post.

Anyways decide what you want and don't let manufacturers or plumbers talk you out of it else you'll end up with something not suited to your needs. Make sure any installer knows it needs to be low to the floor as there was a case recently on the forum here where the installer fitted a raised shower tray that was completely unsuited to the their client's needs.

Andy

rottertron

I have a friend that converts bathrooms for elderly or disabled use, he does the work normally for the local council, where the owner had got grants to do the work. Ive helped him out labouring a few times and its actually quite interesting as he either makes a complete wet room or a walk in shower thats level with the floor which also has bi folding doors.

bex2002

there is also the potion of having a wetroom so you dont actually have a shower enclosure - the whole floor is waterproof!