Walk-in baths ...

Gers

My lovely mum didn't want a hinged seat fixed in the shower, she thinks it will put off buyers when the time comes for me to sell the place! So she uses a plastic and metal seat which fits in nicely when needed.

She is actively resisting 'old age' even though she's almost 89 years old. There are grab rails in the cubicle, two in fact and I've bought some removable ones for my house for when she's here. They work by suction and are very simple to install and remove.

When she was very ill 18 months ago I bought a Zimmer which she used for about two days, carrying it, and then hung her clothes on for the next three weeks. It now sits in the spare room.

cupcake4

Re, walk in showers, I have quite a small narrow bathroom and I would have to replace my bath if I decided to fit this type of shower. Various people have told me that if I was to sell my flat, then this would detract from the sale as people still want the option of using a bath. Any thoughts please?

elsien

I would think it depends on the target market. Families with kids like to have a bath, given the choice busy working people often prefer a shower.

Mojisola

cupcake4 wrote: »

Re, walk in showers, I have quite a small narrow bathroom and I would have to replace my bath if I decided to fit this type of shower. Various people have told me that if I was to sell my flat, then this would detract from the sale as people still want the option of using a bath. Any thoughts please?

My parents had their bath replaced with a level access shower. When their house was sold, the buyers did replace the bath but we priced the house to allow for that expenditure so they were happy enough to do the work.

We also replaced the bath with a big shower in our house because none of us used the bath. We reckon that the bathroom will be ready for updating by the time we sell so we'd rather have things that suit us while we live here.

Gers

cupcake4 wrote: »

Re, walk in showers, I have quite a small narrow bathroom and I would have to replace my bath if I decided to fit this type of shower. Various people have told me that if I was to sell my flat, then this would detract from the sale as people still want the option of using a bath. Any thoughts please?

My feeling is that your home should be fitted out to suit you and not future residents. Think ahead to your comfort and needs not some random people a few years hence.

My mum's bathroom is also very narrow and long. The new shower fits the bath footprint (about six feet long - it was a very old cast iron bath which was also very long) and has a sliding door. She was so worried about having to have the floorboards up, the bathroom bring out of use etc etc. In the end all was very smooth and she was delighted. As am I, in my remote cottage we don't have mains gas so the shower is a fairly poxy electric one, I really enjoy the proper pressure of hers.

margaretclare

Gers wrote: »

My lovely mum didn't want a hinged seat fixed in the shower, she thinks it will put off buyers when the time comes for me to sell the place! So she uses a plastic and metal seat which fits in nicely when needed.

She is actively resisting 'old age' even though she's almost 89 years old. There are grab rails in the cubicle, two in fact and I've bought some removable ones for my house for when she's here. They work by suction and are very simple to install and remove.

When she was very ill 18 months ago I bought a Zimmer which she used for about two days, carrying it, and then hung her clothes on for the next three weeks. It now sits in the spare room.

I love your mum! She can give me 7 years, but I hope to be like her to the very end.

I was told years ago that I'd never sell this property unless it had a bath. Nowadays people think differently. People are more used to hopping into the shower and going off to work. Property prices here are healthy because the redevelopment of the small airport half a mile away has drawn in more buyers and renters.

When I had my hip revision end of September efforts were made to get me to go home with a Zimmer. I refused, I managed with crutches and then a stick.

Be careful of those suction grab handles. We bought some to take on holiday and quite often, in the night we'd hear a bang, and the thing had fallen off the bathroom wall. Luckily no one was holding on to it at the time!

DH is in hospital for further knee surgery later this morning, and he was told 'you must have a shower'. As he hadn't been able to have one since 9th November he was delighted, and he's had another one this morning. It felt wonderful, he said.

cattie

cupcake4 wrote: »

Re, walk in showers, I have quite a small narrow bathroom and I would have to replace my bath if I decided to fit this type of shower. Various people have told me that if I was to sell my flat, then this would detract from the sale as people still want the option of using a bath. Any thoughts please?

In my last home I had a very small bathroom & after moving in I had the bathroom completely refitted replacing the bath with a shower.

Like you I was told house would be harder to sell & detract from price when the time came as most families preferred a bath. I even asked the estate agent if they'd advise me to reinstate a bath when I was selling 4 yrs later & they said no & not to waste my money doing it. Although there were one or two people with young children put off with there being no bath, I still sold quite quickly to a family with teenage children who all preferred a shower over a bath.

Be_Happy

OH had a visit from Occupational Therapist who arranged for a rising bath seat to be fitted (and paid for). OH finds this really easy to use - sits on seat, lifts legs into bath, presses button and seat lowers into bath. Reverse on getting out.

Seat is powered by a rechargeable battery - again paid for by Council when required.

There is an added safety feature in that the seat will not lower into bath if battery power is too low to be able raise up again out of bath.

Snowbird

We looked at getting one for my mum many years ago but decided against it.
The salesman was pushy which put us off, and like you say "i'll have to phone the office...."
So you never knew if the price was the "proper" price.
We were put off by having to sit in it for ages and also because it looked like a care home. For the same reason we did not want a folding chair in the shower in the wet room we installed. She has lots of visitors so we wanted it nice.
My mum still manages to get in and out of the bath using a Zimmer and a chair.
She is friendly with her neighbour and looks after their kids sometimes and she takes her mobile into the bathroom in case she falls She also texts the neighbour "in bath" then "out of bath" so if she does fall and hit her head the neighbour would let herself in if the "out of bath" text does not come
I guess if she did deteriorate we would think about the bath like gwilim.
Even though she showers each morning she loves her bath

margaretclare

Like you, we didn't want anything that looked too institutional, like a care home. Our new bathroom has been much admired - and yes, it has a fold-up seat in the shower enclosure (never been used so far, but it may be when DH gets home after more leg surgery).

This is ours: http://www.mobility-plus.co.uk/walk-in-showers/the-richmond/rimless-sliding-quadrant-cubicle

The walls are a bit different - wall panels instead of tiles - and no, it doesn't look anything like a care home.