Senior-friendly bathroom remodel?

OK . .here's my list:

Two separate shower mixers in a curbless shower. One 3' high and the other adujustable higher. Bench or chair.

Wall hung toliet - make to ADA height (this makes it very easy to clean under it, or place a commode .

GFI near toliet -Toliet seat washlet (bidet sort of)

Floating vanity cabinets. Foot, walker and wheelchair clearence underneath.

36" wide or wider entrance to area.

Sinks should have single lever misers that can be pushed with hand, instead of grabbing (for arthritis or shakes)

Space for tall closable trash bin for diaper disposal.

Open shelving storage for easy to reach needed items.

Oh bless you! Bless you for thinking this through BEFORE you go ahead and have the work done - trust me, you would not believe how often it seems not to occur to people that such might be a good idea.

To determine the position, height and type of grab rails/bars, walk it through pretending you are your various seniors. Where does your hand naturally want to be? When you're showering, and perhaps having to balance, what will you hold tight to? Will you be able to install a drop-down shower chair? For all of these items, you also need to be sure that the walls/floors they will be fixed to are of strong enough construction. The freestanding ones do come in very sturdy design; their other advantage is that they can easily be positioned to suit a person's needs - one-sided weakness after a stroke, for example, or having to keep one leg out of the water, or needing a caregiver to wield the shower head. When looking online, try to match the choice to the person's build and bottom and do not be tempted by false economies. A forgiving surface to the seat is important too: arthritic or recently repaired hips make hard plastic extremely uncomfortable to sit on.

"Comfort height" toilets are ideal UNLESS you have a preponderance of tiny frail ladies. Dangling feet do not make such a lady feel very secure, nor are they any joke if one is constipated. You can get those steps that toddlers use when they're brushing their teeth, though, which would solve that problem.

Anticipating dementia: taps should look like taps (faucets, I mean). Not dolphins, nor brutalist stainless steel bars, nor "look no hands" magic props. And it should be easy to see which is Hot and which Cold.

Handbasins should be large enough, and have ample shelf space for: soap, 2 x flannels, nail brush, razor, shaving brush, plastic mug for rinsing after dental care.
Ideally, there should be space under the basin for the person to be able to sit comfortably using a perching stool.

The floor should be non slip.

The lighting should be really good.

There must be ample towel hanging space.

What range of seniors are you catering for, if you don't mind my asking? Any significant existing mobility or health issues?

As an amputee - bilateral - I use my wheelchair in the bathroom. We moved into this house 3 weeks before I got sick, resulting in my amputations. Here is what works, and what doesn't.

Our toilet is inside a small cubbyhole in the bathroom, which allows for grab bars on both sides of toilet. The vertical grab bars are positioned on to the front of toilet, to the side. I can use the grab bars to transfer off my chair onto the toilet, and vice versa. Horizontal bars would not work. I need to be able to pull myself forward to transfer either way. When I am in my prosthetics, I grab the bars as a aid in sitting or standing.

Horizontal bars would not work for me. Horizontal bars work for balancing, not for help sitting or standing. Perhaps diagonal bars are a compromise between vertical and horizontal. For me, they are the worst choice, as they don't work well either way.

We installed a bidet on top of the original seat. This works really well. I'm vey pleased with using a bidet.

My husband had to take the door off the bathroom so I could get the chair through. We need a wider door frame.

Our shower is a long tiled rectangle with the shower head at the back. It has a step over lip at the front "entrance." The shower handle is at the side halfway between the front and back, on the wall. Love being able to reach the shower handle without being under the shower head. We put a chair in the entrance with a movable seat. I transfer to the chair, move the seat into the shower, then use the faucet which is nicely within reach. I use a hand-held shower head with a long hose. We have a small built-in shelf for soap, etc. This works, but I would prefer a no-lip shower so I could transfer to a seat inside the shower. If I had water-resistant prosthetics, I would have grab bars on both sides of the shower, minimally. I like vertical bars, as mentioned above. I am a bit mystified by grab bars behind a seat, either a shower seat or a toilet seat. Perhaps useful in certain configurations when sitting down, but useless when standing.

Our sinks are too high. They are placed inside a cabinet with doors, which is ok, though I would like to be able to get my chair under the sink. Shelves with no doors that get in the way would be much better. Also, shelves accessible from either my chair or standing in my prosthetics would be better.

I like the previous suggestion of "no doors." Doors are difficult for me, at best. I do like door frames, though. They give me a place to grab when I need a rest or when I need extra help with a turn from my chair.

Hope this helps.

I'm popping back in to mention that you should include some kind of accessory heating in your plans, even smaller bathrooms can feel chilly, especially to older people.

Hello. I saw your post, and figured i would put some of my knowledge in.. i do home remodeling for a living.
I dont believe the grab bar for the shower has a requirement on the angle. Ive always done them at an angle. It feels more natural to grab. The important part is that it is screwed into the studs. Usually there is one on the back wall. Id also make sure things like toilet paper holder and towel holder are into studs. They usuallly just put them in drywall and they will rip right out.
The heights for toilet seats are pretty standardized. I think they have 2, maybe 3 sizes.. the taller is usually preffered since its easier to get up. Usually another grab bar is put in the wall next to the toilet.. another thing thats over looked alot is ADA compliant doors. Wheelchair accessable. If the doorway isnt at least 32, might as well do it now.
I dont know much about the shower seats.. if you have a little space, id have the tile guy build a permant seat in a corner.
A few other things.. when my dad was in facilities, i noticed they had something wrapped around any plumbimg from the walls, i wasnt sure if it was so they didnt hit their head on it, or if its tamper-resisitance. Take a little time to look at some light switches. They have tons now-a-days, built in night-light, motion activated, some have phone chargers in them.. and outlets by the toilet are getting really popular... Check out "slow close" hinges for cahinets and the toilet seat, so you wont hear slammig doors in the middle of the night

I put in an entirely new bath.  I did not go with built in shower seat, so now a roll in chair can go in.  At first, mom used freestanding, but now transferring is not easy, so I would rather move her into roll in shower chair in her room and wheel her in.

Thank you for planning ahead! As a rehabilitation specialist I occasionally worked with an architect who designed ADA home modifications for people with disabilities. When it came time to design the bathrooms in our home that would accommodate our mothers I had the benefit of his knowledge, as well as my own regarding ADA. My husband’s mom is a tall, big-boned woman who uses a wheelchair. My mom, 5’2’ and able to walk independently, although she uses a walker for longer distances (she tries to walk at least 1/4 mile daily). We installed a higher toilet, which worked for both. Also, zero-entry showers, large enough to allow an attendant’s help. Grab bars positioned horizontally, with (our nephew) an OT’s advice after evaluating both women. We found that both could use pedestal sinks comfortably, so these were installed. Rather than put in a shower seat, we use freestanding shower chairs. Also, freestanding toilet papers holders so they can access them however they need. Adjustable shower wands (some family members are really tall, others, really short) We did three bathrooms in a similar fashion, including our master because we are getting up there, and although in excellent health, we wanted our home to be comfortable for us as we age, and forfamily and friends. Additionally, the U-Shaped kitchen accommodates with plenty of wheelchair turnaround space, drawers for plates, etc so our moms can help unload (and load too) the dishwasher and put items away easily. Nothing looks institutional, as the bathrooms are nearly wet rooms tiled beautifully and the doorways are 36” wide in one suite. We used rocker switches instead of motion lights since those can light up inappropriately. Our home is a new build and our builder was very responsive to the design. My suggestion would be to consult ADA regs and an Occupational Therapist to meet your particular needs.

- An automatic soft night light that they cannot turn off ( can automatically increase when movement, until they find proper light switch)
- An emergency light in case power goes out. ( happened at my mom's and bathroom with no window, became total blackout enen during day time ! Some residents who were in their bathroom got injured trying to find way out, easily desoriented ..)
- Little strap to keep shower curtain open and attached to the wall when not in use , so thay are not tempted to hold on to it as it will not and they may fall into bathtub.
- No sharp edges on vanity
- No free standing pedestal sink, may not be solid enough to hold on too in case of a fall.
- No busy motifs if wallpaper
- Contrast between appliances and wall, ( hard to see contour of all white toilet on all white wall and all white floor.

My dream bathroom would be a complete wet room that is 100% accessible for anyone in a wheelchair. In my opinion an adjustable height shower chair is superior to any built ins, get something with a back and arms too. Put a diagonal bar or an L shaped bar on the back wall and a horizontal bar at the entrance, my mom was always looking for something to hold by the taps so maybe a small bar there too above the taps. Bigger/longer is always better and also more flexible. There are recommended heights but we just placed the shower chair and eyeballed the most logical positions. A hand held shower on a slide bar is a wonderful feature. 3M makes inexpensive no slip shower strips.

Toilet height is going to depend on how tall someone is, instead of opting for a higher toilet may people just use an extension or place a commode over the toilet with portable arms. Grab bars there can be a problem if walls are not withing easy reach, there are nifty systems available that attach on either side of the toilet and can fold up against the wall or very nice looking grab bars the can double as towel bars, don't make the mistake of placing a regular towel bar anywhere that it might be used as a grab bar since they are not sturdy enough. And of course finding studs is always a problem if you are not planning on opening the walls. One thing that was invaluable for me once I was assisting mom was something for her to grab directly in front of the toilet, I purchased a Superpole with a swing arm because there was no wall available.

Make sure your door is wide enough for a walker or wheelchair. Think of anti slip flooring. I opted for a normal pedestal sink as being multifunctional, a wall hung sink would have been better but also much more expensive.

My suggestion is place the toilet paper in front of the toilet if possible. It can be hard to get to on the sides for people with stiff shoulders or shoulder damages. Some of the fancy stand-alone holders have a place to put the roll in use also.