Has anyone seen anything published on site built showers that are wheelchair accessible, the codes, etc. recent visit to the building department didn’t turn out so good, the gentlemen was showing me some minimal threshold requirements (residential) that looked like a wheelchair would have a hard time getting over, the shower will have cpe with the motar deckpan. the shower is 4′ x 5′ (three walls, no door) any ideas appreciated.
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I'm sure you'll have better luck posting this over at the Breaktime forum. That is the forum associated with Fine Homebuilding magazine.
Thanks Anne, will post in breaktime forum.
A few years ago I saw a picture in a book of a wheelchair accessible bathroom. Essentially the entire floor was waterproofed. The room was tiled. The shower was just a corner of the room with a slight depression and a shower curtain. There was no threshold, it literally was just a corner of the room. It doesn't get more accessible than that.
You may have some leverage with the building department or the politicians they work for. If you could not come to an agreement with the code officials as to how to accommodate a homeowner in their own home it would be embarrassing for the department for the politicians to find out. You'd have a better chance if you could find recognized standards that described what an acceptable threshold, for example, is for a wheelchair. A code official would have a harder time requiring you to violate a recognized standard simply because the local code doesn't consider disability to exist.
Thanks for the answer - you do have a point. an inspector I contacted today said pretty much the same thing as long as code is followed to the point where the access differs from normal standards.
you may want to check out an elder care facility to see what is done there, i'm sure it would be up to code.
I would go to 2 places. the national Ceramic Tile Installation standards book and the ADA book. They both should show ADA approved shower specs. We have done roll-in showers as someone else described where the floor simply slopes into the shower. We use an outswinging shower door and the gutter from the door drains into the shower and just clears the tile when closed.
hey barnone,
i do this stuf for my living. ansi, tca,& cti of America,all have your answers. get copy of ,"TILE & DECORATIVE SURFACES" magazine. in it you will find manufacturors of many installation products. you will be ineterested in thin applied waterproofing membranes.these come in a wide variety,and they definitly will solve any installation requirement.also these aforementioned sources will have websites. some of the prouducts i use; schluter, mapei,dab ,durabond, latacrete. these few and many others have great thin applied membranes. one of the people in the forum mentioned a floor that was completely membraned,that is the way to go. i'll be standing by, AL Sr.
I have followed this topic for some time and the best product I've seen advertised is this one: http://www.info-link.co.nz/listing.html?id=6541 The product is from a German firm, Wedi. The product is called wedi fundo. Look very modern, but I've not gotten up the courage to try the remodel myself. Dayton is very conservative and I don't know any contractors who would like to experiment. Best of Luck. There are lots of design guidelines about this topic, as well. Wright State University has an ergonomic study department and might offer some professional suggestions if you have specific questions.