Murphy's Law has invaded my "universal design"
home remodeling project, which aims to retrofit my house
to accommodate people both with and without
disabilities. Even with the best planning, be ready for
a glitch or two.
I'm remodeling my out-of-date bathroom to be
barrier-free. I've spent the last two months planning,
shopping and scrutinizing details that could inflate
costs or time. The project is on hold while I wait for
two essential pieces of the remodel: a bath bench and a
flip-up grab bar.
These might seem like small things, but a bath bench
that is workable and inexpensive is virtually
non-existent. Initially, I thought building a custom
bath bench would be the easiest part of my new roll-in
shower. Boy, was I wrong.
For starters, unless you build the base of the shower
from scratch, which means two days and two workers at
the cost of nearly $800, you are stuck with buying a
shower pan.
Shower pans are basic to any home remodel and can
come in various sizes. Unfortunately, my shower is 70
inches wide, and the largest shower pan I could find was
60 inches. What to do with the 10 inches left?
Contractor creativity comes into play.
I decided against custom-building a bench. I had been
shopping on-line and by phone with local medical supply
houses all week. I finally found a bench for less than
$300 that folds up against the wall when not in use.
This allows the contractor to use the leftover 10-inch
space as a mounting block for the bench. Otherwise, he
would need to reconstruct an existing wall at an
exceptional cost of time and money.
Additionally, most benches are a mere 15 inches wide.
Unless you're slim, you won't have enough space to sit
safely and comfortably. This is especially important for
quadriplegics or anyone with limited trunk-control.
The second glitch was the flip-up folding grab bar. I
budgeted about $50 for this. I was shocked to find the
item scarce and costly and shelled out $150 for a piece
of curved steel with a locking hinge.
But without it, I wouldn't have the necessary
stability for the toilet area or have the flexibility to
flip the bar up and out of the way when transferring.
Simple things can come with big price tags.
I ordered both items, gulping down the cost. Now I'm
waiting for them to arrive so the project can move
ahead.
Mychael Rodriguez, owner of Precision Remodeling in
Grants, has been a gem in tackling this project, which
many contractors didn't want.
That's the key to any disability-related remodeling
project: a contractor who is open-minded and creative
about the needs of people with disabilities on tight
budgets. Thanks, Mychael.
McKee, a wheelchair user, is an Albuquerque
writer, poet and producer. You can e-mail Barbara
at chairgrrl@chairgrrl.com.
Her column runs on Tuesdays.
