Has anyone built a roll-in wheechair shower in pre-existing bathroom?

Question

We live in an 80-year-old house with a fairly large bathroom. Our son was injured in an accident and is now quadriplegic. We need to modify the bathroom for rolling shower chair access. Since someone will be in the shower with him, the area needs to be about 5 feet by 5 feet.

My question is about how to manage the drain, what water barrier to put underneath, whether to use tile or a preformed base of some kind, and any other general tips you can provide from your experience. I have searched many websites and have seen many pictures of this type of shower. I am asking for first-hand knowledge about this. Is 5 x 5 reasonable?

Thanks for any info.

What is FRP?

Answer 1

yes. i need more specifics. [e-mail]

Answer 2

When my elderly (and in bad shape) parents moved in with me, I had a shower 'kit' installed that was 6 feet wide from side to side and about 3 feet deep going back... It had the shower pan, the three side walls, and 2 little 'seats' built in and I mean REAL little. i don't know who's butt could fit on those seats so I simply put a white plastic shower seat in the middle for them to sit on. Then I installed a shower head that comes on about a 4 feet hose so that they could shower themselves while seated. The temp controls are within hands reach and the flow controls where right on the shower head.

The shower pan had an opening for a drain. Since my house is built on a slab and there is no basement, I had the plumber drill down and connect the shower drain under the ground to the main stack. About a foot or so from the shower, I had ANOTHER drain installed in the floor and also connected to the stack because a handicap shower does not have a threshold to keep in water, a curtain OR a door. Oh yes, i do remember a black water barrier having been put under the shower pan. This work is more than ten years old and works like a charm. Never a clog or leak or anything else. Any Loews home improvement centers or Home Depo's near you? You should be able to find everything you need even if you have to special order it. Also HGTV and the DIY channels on cable often cover these type of home improvements. They're on the internet under hgtv.com and diy.net.

When anyone would help with the shower routine, we could stand OUTSIDE of the shower and hold the shower message and do what ever else without getting wet OR in the shower itself. I realize your son probably needs even more assistance than my folks but this may work for you as well.

The shower kit is not glam or anything but the sidewalls are easy to maintain - no grout lines. I also put in a handicap toilet (several inches taller as well as larger and oval in shape). And a wall mounted sink so the wheel chair could roll up close and no pedistal to bump your knees on.

Hope this helps. God bless and take care....

Answer 3

yes, 5x5 is reasonable. We took out a stand up shower stall and replaced it (after adding an additional wall)with a shower base special ordered through a plumbing outlet store here locally, and lined 3 walls with FRP. Worked out rather nicely. A couple of other suggestions from personal experience...1. get a shower chair that is made of all PVC pipe. They are very lightweight and dont rust. and 2. if you can get a shower head that has a "pause" (sorry, don't know the technical term) for the water flow. You will find that helpful as well.
Sorry to hear about your son, I hope he is doing ok, it is very difficult at first.

Answer 4

OK well what about this make your bathroom into a shower put a drain in the middle of the floor and maybe mix it up with a few shower heads and BOOM you have a wheelchair access shower! but ofcorse you will have to work on the floor and the walls... but it is all up to u!
your welcome,
Gia