FYI here is the simple layout used in the building I'm living in. The facility is a "retirement community" for seniors built in the mid 70's.

I would guess many of you have a bath that is the same width as a standard bathtub which results in a room that is way too small for those using a powerchair. I would also guess you have a 30 or 32" door, hopefully not a 28"er.

I need my powerchair to get to the bath so having a bit larger room is much appreciated.

Two things make this bath usable: 36" door (which I had removed) and the extra 1' of width (height below) in the room. The space "above" the tub is not accessible from the room. To use this layout for a remodel you would have to gain an extra foot of width somewhere. The wall opposite the existing plumbing is the likely location.

The dimensions are not exact on the drawing but represent the layout. The powerchairis about 50% larger than the chair shown. The is enough space in the bath to do a 360 in the powerchair. The walls are a bit banged up however! If it where my space I would an at least 1' border that could take abuse from the powerchaircasters and I'd add some sacrificial material to the door jams.



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I have grab bars opposite the toilet at 4' 1" which is a useful height for me for doing standing transfers (I'm 5'10".) I also have a heavy duty shower curtain rod up about 6'+ that is very helpful for turning around while standing in front of the john or tub/shower. The shower rod is mainly for balance, I'm sure it wouldn't take much weight but probably more than I can muster with my grip/arm strength. Not shown is a shower bench with a sliding seat.

Getting on the john I use the robo john arms, top of robo john, and the shower rod/grab bars to do a 360.

The room is narrow enough that when I rise from the john the grab bar is within reach which is my first assist. I then turn 180 using the grab bar and shower rod to face the john and use the top of the robo john as my third assist. I can then back onto the lowered seat on the C300.

If I was designing the room from scratch I don't know that I would change much. I'd add some depth to allow for attended transfers next to the john and design a vanity I could get under with the C300. Making the room wider may not help and may hurt - the ability to reach the grab bar opposite the john is critical for me given my current "skills." I would also use a roll in/low threshold shower - Google "roll in shower" images for examples.

The drawing was made on line at http://www.homestyler.com and it is free to use after registration. Here is the drawing URL.

Hopefully you found something you can us in the above.

THX for posting, I know we will be in this spot in the not so far future. Our bath is small. We built our home with 36" doorways years ago. If we stay here, I was thinking we could try to build out from the master bedroom or bath if needed. I'd add a door to the outside too for a fire escape.

We have a shower with a portable shower chair, the step-up is about 3" but when I had ankle surgery, impossible to get in and out especially once wet. We took the doors off the toilet area and put bookshelves in to hold stuff as we don't have a medicine cabinet or storage space. Once Bob needs a power chair inside, I'll have to take those back out. We have a nice tub that Bob wanted so badly but I have no idea how long he will be able to get in and out. I suppose a lift could be put in the ceiling or would the ceiling need to be reinforced? He only weighs about 160 lbs.

Bob, thanks for posting this on the forum. Your experience will be helpful to all of us looking at our future needs.

There are a lot of bath tube lift options: Google Click on Web at the top of the page for the web search.

I use a sliding bench w/swivel seat.
http://ucanhealth.com/goto.php...g_transfer_bench.php