Small bathrooms and types of bathrooms

Bathroom for seniors: what to modify immediately, what during renovation, and how to ensure safety

You don't have to completely remodel the bathroom for a senior. Start with what a person really needs: grab bars for poor balance, a slip-resistant mat and a seat, a level-access shower for a walker, and more space for a wheelchair. If you are renovating the bathroom anyway, prepare it for old age right away – reinforcements in the walls and a level-access shower require little extra work during the renovation.

Prepared by: TGB Kúpeľne team, bathroom showroom in Senec since 1991updated 9. 11. 20265 min read

Illustrative image: bright bathroom with floor-level shower, folding seat and grab bars

All dimensions and heights for an accessible bathroom – shower, toilet, sink, doors, and space for a wheelchair – can be found in the chapter Accessible bathroom. This article is about the procedure: what to do first, what later, and how to modify the bathroom so you don't do things twice.

First find out what the person needs

A bathroom for a senior who walks steadily looks different from one for a person with a walker or needing caregiver assistance. Ask what is difficult today – stepping over the edge of the bath, getting up from the toilet, seeing the edge of the step?

Modifications without demolition

• Grab bars by the toilet, at the entrance to the bath or shower, and by the sink – always into a load-bearing wall or reinforcement, not into drywall without it.
• Slip-resistant mat in the bath and shower and a mat with slip-resistant treatment. Remove slippery rugs from the bathroom – more in the article Bathroom rug.
• Toilet seat riser or higher seat and grab bar next to it – options are described in the article Toilets for children and seniors.
• Shower seat on the wall or a stool for the shower, seat or board for the bath.
• Hand shower on a bar, reachable even from the seat.
• Night light with a motion sensor on the path from the room to the bathroom.
• Thermostatic mixer instead of a single-lever mixer – replacement is a quick job for a plumber.

You can find aids and grab bars in the e-shop under the category Accessible bathroom.

Minor modification: bath to shower

The most common obstacle is the edge of the bath. If a person does not bathe in the bath, replace it with a shower – the process without major renovation is described in the article Replacing a bath with a shower enclosure. If they still want to bathe, a bath with a door can help. For a shower with a tray, choose the lowest tray possible, ideally a floor-level shower. Dimensions, seats, and grab bars in the shower are described in the article Accessible shower for seniors.

Renovation with a view to the future

If you are renovating the bathroom, even if no one needs anything today, prepare it for later modifications. Things in the wall and floor can only be added later by demolition.

1. Level-access shower with a drain and a fall of 1 to 2 % – DIN 18040-2 specifies at least 120 × 120 cm.
2. Reinforcements in the walls by the toilet, in the shower, by the bath, and by the sink – grab bars and a seat can be installed when needed.
3. Wall-hung toilet at a height so that the seat is 46 to 48 cm including the seat.
4. Doors opening outwards or sliding, without a threshold, with a lock that can be opened from the outside.
5. Slip-resistant floor tiles throughout the bathroom – R10 and in the shower R10 to R11, for bare feet at least class B.
6. Switches by the doors and lights that also illuminate the shower.
7. Warm bathroom – heated towel rail or underfloor heating.

Safety: falls, scalding, and calling for help

• Falls – most commonly when entering the bath, getting up from the WC, and on wet floors. Grab bars, slip resistance, and removed thresholds address most of these.
• Scalding – a thermostatic mixer with a stop at 38 °C prevents hot water from flowing until the stop is pressed. Keep the boiler heated to the temperature recommended by the manufacturer, more in the article Boiler maintenance.
• Calling for help – a mobile phone within reach, an emergency button, or a bracelet if the person lives alone.
• Doors – if a senior falls in the bathroom, inward-opening doors can become blocked. The lock should be operable from the outside.

When a senior lives in the flat during renovation

Renovation means several days to weeks without a bathroom. Agree in advance where the senior will wash and where the WC will be – at family, in another bathroom, or temporarily with aids. Coordinate with the company on the order of work to ensure the WC functions for as long as possible and the bathroom is completed by the agreed deadline. We can advise you on bathroom design for seniors at TGB studio at Bratislavská 71 in Senec.

Contribution for bathroom modifications

People with severe disabilities can apply for a financial contribution for adapting a flat or family house under § 37 of Act No. 447/2008 Coll. The labour, social affairs, and family office decides based on the permanent residence and assessment. Apply in advance, before starting work.

Common mistakes

• Grab bars for plasterboard without reinforcement or on adhesive pads.
• Renovation without considering what the person needs – an expensive modification that won't help.
• A new bathroom with a threshold and shower tray, even though a level-access shower could have been made.
• Slippery mats and a dark path to the bathroom at night.
• Application for a contribution only after renovation.

Sources: DIN 18040-2 (shower at least 120 × 120 cm, WC seat height 46 to 48 cm), Act No. 447/2008 Coll. (§ 37 – contribution for adapting a flat or family house); our chapters and articles Barrier-free bathroom, Barrier-free shower for seniors, WC for children and seniors, and Floor tiles parameters.

Terms in the dictionary: Barrier-free shower · Slip resistance R9 to R13 · Thermostatic mixer · Moisture-resistant plasterboard · Shower tray · Linear shower drain