Hi all, I live in a 1880s Housing Association purpose built ground floor one bedroom flat, with a self contained bathroom and kitchen, it is a good flat I feel lucky to have as a 70s single male.
The bath is very short and with my knees having Osteoarthritis I have difficulty getting into it to use my over bath electric shower.
I was assessed a few years ago for a possible conversion to a walk in shower, that is how I ended up with an over bath shower as I did not then meet the physical need for a walk in conversion.
There is some hope that with me paying part of the cost, this could now be done!
I know this is at best a guess without a builders quote, but would I be on the right lines thinking it could cost about £7,000 (this is in the south of the UK).
Well it could I guess, but t rather depends on what exactly you need doing. Whole new bathroom, shower cubicle 'wetroom' type arrangement?
when you say walk-in do you need it flush with the floor, or is a small step up ok. You can get modern low profile shower trays that are only about 40mm high. would one of those baths with a door in the side do you? That might be the cheapest /less disruptive option?
My father needed this sort of thing. My parents got a shower installed that was all sort of one unit. Quadrant, floor walls, all of plastic, standard electric shower. Drainage is via a pump that sucks up the water so it could go anywhere really.
Although cheaper, in a confined space you could run into difficulties with mobility declining further due to arthritis later on.
There are several companies that offer walk in baths with a claimed 1 day installation but no idea how good they are - none would have fitted in my mum's tiny bathroom without a complete redesign from scratch so it would have been pointless. Anyone actually had one done? I am always sceptical of brochure claims which sound too good to be true.
My vote would be in favour of a low profile walk in shower. I installed one for my mum and apart from the difficulty in working in her tiny bathroom in a very warm centrally heated home it was DIYable with care. It was right on the limits of my DIY skills - I hate plumbing!
The hard part was getting the shower tray exactly level properly supported and setting up everything so that it would be attachable in situ. I opted for a 4" step up to the shower to avoid having to work under the floor and a fold up seat in the shower itself. Grab bars placed to make getting in and out easy.
I reused the entirely adequate existing thermostatic shower over bath installation and added appropriate waterproof tiles and a glass screen anchored against a wall and back to the other wall with a high tie in. Handling that was a two man job as was putting the shower tray down.
I guess it would be dominated by labour costs if not a DIY job.
I was very glad I didn't go for a larger shower tray than 70x90 - anything bigger and we would have really struggled with the weight.
We recently had our bathroom converted to a walk in shower and ?7,000 seems on the high side - although it depends on exactly what specific works are needed.
If your existing bathroom doesn't actually need a major upgrade then a low sided bath or a shower cubicle might suit your needs almost as well but be very much cheaper and less disruptive to install.
Beware of those baths with a door fitted into the side. Just remember you can't open or close the door while there's water in the bath, so you have to sit/stand in it and shiver while the bath fills/empties.
I saw one once and basically it has like a double rubber waterproof seal on a door that moved out and slid parallel to the side of the bath and was clamped into fixed position with locks on the top and sides.
There was some cunning arrangement to drain water from inside the door frame bottom too. But basically yes it has to be empty when you get in or out since opening the door with it full of water would be disastrous.
The other option worth mentioning to the OP are the bath boards and in bath seat lifts that NHS will lend/sell to people with arthritis. They all seem to have become a lot more mercenary these days.
I find where disabled access stuff is concerned I have to count my fingers before and after ever encounter with a salesman. YMMV
I assume at the moment you have a set of plastic steps (even the very cheap ones form "pound shops" are effective and fold away) and handrails to help you get in.
We're hoping/planning to convert the (large, double) garage to living space, with an easy access walk-in shower. Initially, the space would be a workroom/library, but could be converted to bedroom/sitting room for us, with the main house used by a live-in carer, should that become necessary in time. The garage is connected to the house by a small laundry/utility room.
How does a walk in shower differ from a simple shower cubicle? The latter should cost vastly under £7k to do.
The main difficulty in an old block of flats is likely to be the drain. The drain hole in the bath is a few inches off the floor, and the drain may need that height in order to get the water to drain away properly. Consequently, if a new shower cubicle is going to use the existing drain connection, it might need to be raised up a few inches, with a bit of a step up into it. Nothing like stepping into a bath, but not a level walk in either. How much of a problem would that be?
And while they drain. I've no idea who thinks they're a good idea. The one at my inlaws gets used as a shower - it's possible it was never used as a bath.
A lift on a normal bath (bath knight?) is a rather more sensible option for somebody who can't get in normally but still prefers bath to shower.
You have a bit more engineering and glasswork to prevent splashes escaping but no moving door or hinges to deal with. TBH I'd expect it to be cheaper to do than one involving fitting a bunch of moving parts.
Unless the OPs price is for conversion into a total wet room.
I managed to fit it all inside a 4" step height which my mum can easily manage. The shower tray itself is about a 1.5" lip and I worried about overflowing at first but it seems the fast drain plughole wins out.
The main gotcha I ran into was obvious once I took the sides off the bath. There was random water pipework running all over the place underneath it on an "Out of sight out of mind basis". .
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.