Handicap bathroom design can help people with physical challenges maintain their independence and dignity. Whether you or a loved one faces physical challenges due to accident, aging or illness, consider including an ADA handicap bathroom in your remodeling project.

While each person’s needs are unique, the Americans with Disabilities Act created standards for a bathroom for handicap persons. These handicap bathroom requirements have become a guide for private home handicap bathroom designs. Read on to learn about creating bathrooms for the physically challenged.

Wheelchair Accessibility in ADA Handicap Bathroom

A crucial aspect of handicap bathroom requirements is accessibility. For someone in a wheelchair, getting in and out of a room, and maneuvering within a space presents unique challenges. Here are a few wheelchair accessibility basics for handicap bathroom design:

• Doorway widening: A bathroom for handicap persons should be at least 32 inches wide to accommodate a wheelchair. If your hallway requires turning the wheelchair to get into the bathroom, the door should be at least 36 inches wide when open at a 90 degree angle. Doors should all have easy grab handles.
• Thresholds: If possible, remove the threshold in a handicap bathroom design. If you must have a threshold, it should be no more than a quarter inch high, or three-quarters of an inch if it is beveled on both sides.
• Turning space: The interior space in an ADA handicap bathroom should be at least five feet wide for a wheelchair to make a 180 degree turn.

Preventing Falls in Handicap Bathroom Design

Falls are a risk for everyone in bathrooms, where wet floors can become dangerously slippery. Handicap bathroom requirements include features that further prevent falls and injuries. Some excellent safety precautions in handicap bathroom design include:

• Anti-slip surfaces: Floors and tub/shower areas in a bathroom for handicap persons should have non-slip surfaces.
• Handicap bars: Handicap bars make the bathroom safer for the whole family! You can install them next to the toilet, in tub/shower area and along other walls.
• Roll in showers: Those confined to a wheelchair can roll into a curb-less shower, and then transfer to a wall mounted bathing chair.
• Transfer benches: These benches in handicap bathroom design allow you to slide over to the tub across a bench, and then lower your legs into the tub.
• Tub benches and chairs: These ADA handicap bathroom features allow you to sit safely during bathing.
• Walk in Tubs: When part of handicap bathroom design, a handicapped person can enter this tub with only a four to six inch step.

Other Handicap Bathroom Design Ideas

Almost every area of your bathroom can be modified to make life easier for the physically challenged. Here are some other ADA handicap bathroom ideas you may want to include:

• Adjustable height sinks
• Anti-scald water temperature control
• Elevated toilets
• Hand-held shower heads
• Roll under sinks and vanity areas
• Tilt-down mirrors.