I am currently taking care of my 95 year old mother and may soon be adding my 91 year old step-father to the mix.
My bathroom has a large two-person jet tub with a shower head that sprays into the tub. The tub is large enough that you don't need a shower curtain, sort of like a school gym shower.
To handle mom, I had to get a transfer bench but since the tub is so large I also had to get a small shower chair. She scoots over on the transfer bench then moves to the chair and I give her a shower with a shower head on a hose hooked to the normal shower head. I have to climb into the tub to be able to reach.
The tub dried out and the gaskets for the jets must have failed, because it leaked water through the ceiling of the room below when I ran the jets.
I would like to trash the tub. I never really liked it. It was in the house when I bought it 30 years ago.
What I am considering doing is removing the tub and installing some sort of floor with a lip that has the drain in it. Basically making a 4 or 5 foot wide by 7 or 8 foot deep walk-in shower area.
The walls are tile. When the tub is removed, I would have to add some time to cover where the tub was. Basically a 15 or 18 inch skirt under the existing tiles.
I probably would keep the same shower protocol for my mother, except that it would be easier to get her onto the chair.
My step-father is feeble but mobile and stubborn enough that he does not want to scoot on the transfer bench and sit in the chair. He currently would be showering himself. No way he could climb into the tub now without the transfer bench. I figure if I did this walk-in thing I would put grip rails along the sides.
So, now the questions
Does it sound feasible to make some sort of waterproof floor or drip tub that is the entire size of the tub area with something like a 6 inch edge on it to contain the water?
If the new floor were tile and grout, is this actually waterproof enough for being the bottom of the shower area? If not, what sort of material would be good for this? I figure it needs to be textured to avoid slipping.
Would I be able to get something like this as an actual product from a bathroom plumbing supply store, or would it have to be custom built.
I think they had something similar to this floor drip pan setup in the nursing home in the room where they would wheel the residents in for their showers, but I never got a close look at it.
Well, I hope you get the idea. Feel free to ask for clarification and offer suggestions and alternatives.
I had considered those sorts of corner shower units with a door, but I don't think that would work with my mother not being able to shower herself.
Thanks.
Joe
My bathroom has a large two-person jet tub with a shower head that sprays into the tub. The tub is large enough that you don't need a shower curtain, sort of like a school gym shower.
To handle mom, I had to get a transfer bench but since the tub is so large I also had to get a small shower chair. She scoots over on the transfer bench then moves to the chair and I give her a shower with a shower head on a hose hooked to the normal shower head. I have to climb into the tub to be able to reach.
The tub dried out and the gaskets for the jets must have failed, because it leaked water through the ceiling of the room below when I ran the jets.
I would like to trash the tub. I never really liked it. It was in the house when I bought it 30 years ago.
What I am considering doing is removing the tub and installing some sort of floor with a lip that has the drain in it. Basically making a 4 or 5 foot wide by 7 or 8 foot deep walk-in shower area.
The walls are tile. When the tub is removed, I would have to add some time to cover where the tub was. Basically a 15 or 18 inch skirt under the existing tiles.
I probably would keep the same shower protocol for my mother, except that it would be easier to get her onto the chair.
My step-father is feeble but mobile and stubborn enough that he does not want to scoot on the transfer bench and sit in the chair. He currently would be showering himself. No way he could climb into the tub now without the transfer bench. I figure if I did this walk-in thing I would put grip rails along the sides.
So, now the questions
Does it sound feasible to make some sort of waterproof floor or drip tub that is the entire size of the tub area with something like a 6 inch edge on it to contain the water?
If the new floor were tile and grout, is this actually waterproof enough for being the bottom of the shower area? If not, what sort of material would be good for this? I figure it needs to be textured to avoid slipping.
Would I be able to get something like this as an actual product from a bathroom plumbing supply store, or would it have to be custom built.
I think they had something similar to this floor drip pan setup in the nursing home in the room where they would wheel the residents in for their showers, but I never got a close look at it.
Well, I hope you get the idea. Feel free to ask for clarification and offer suggestions and alternatives.
I had considered those sorts of corner shower units with a door, but I don't think that would work with my mother not being able to shower herself.
Thanks.
Joe
