One of our recent jobs was for Ms T who has arthritis in her shoulders and elbows. She was enjoying her retirement by refurbishing her home room by room and now turned her attention to the bathroom. Due to her reduced mobility her bathroom was becoming difficult to use and she recognised the refurbishment required the input of a specialist. Like many others who approach us, Ms T got in touch with us for our expertise in designing bathrooms to suit people with reduced mobility and our access to a large range of baths and showers adapted for ease of use.
As a lifelong bath user Ms T wished to continue bathing, but needed a bath that would be easy to step into. Once inside the bath, she also required help with getting up and down – a common requirement for people with reduced mobility in the upper body. In such situations, a walk-in bath with a power lifting seat or belt is ideal as it provides lifting assistance when getting up and down in the bath.
Ms T booked a time and date to visit our appointment only showroom in Henley on Thames and view some examples of our walk-in baths. The visit helped her decide that a walk-in bath would be suitable for her to use as she could compare a walk-in bath to the shower mock ups we also have in the showroom. Having assured herself that a walk-in bath would allow her to continue bathing comfortably, a home appointment was arranged for one of our Advisor’s to visit and provide a design and quote.
When our Advisor visited Ms T he took one of our mobile showrooms, a converted Ford Transit, with two examples of walk-in baths on board. One of the baths on the mobile showroom is a Luxor walk-in bath. The Luxor has a walk-in door for easy step in/step out access and a powered lifting belt to provide assistance getting up and down in the bath. This helped Ms T make the final decision that the Luxor and its lifting belt was the best choice.
Whilst on the home visit our Advisor was also able to assess the water system, measure up the bathroom and agree the specification of the other bathroom fittings in order to refurbish the bathroom.
A few days later, Ms T accepted our quote and placed an order for a full bathroom refurbishment with a new Luxor walk-in bath. The installation began a few weeks later, on a Wednesday and completed the following Friday.
The bathroom layout is a long rectangle with the entry door in the left corner of one of the shorter sides. The basin is to the immediate right when entering the door. The WC is opposite the entry door and the bath occupies the right hand side behind the basin. The layout was to be retained in the refurbishment.
The first task was to remove the existing dusky pink coloured suite, which quickly filled up a Hippo bag of waste. Whenever we undertake bathroom works we always ensure we inform the customer when the water is being turned off and on and the WC is going to be removed, so that access to the facilities can be maintained. And of course, we always ensure the WC is in working order overnight.
With the old suite removed, the walls were prepared to receive the new wall cladding. This was followed by fitting the new WC, basin with vanity unit and the Luxor walk-in bath. The bath was fitted with a pump to ensure the bath filled quickly. Accessories such as a bathroom cabinet with integral light and grab rails above the bath to aid with entry and exit were also fitted. The final job was laying Altro anti-slip flooring to finish the bathroom and provide a safer floor.
If you are interested in a new easy access bathroom incorporating a walk-in bath, easy access shower or wet room, please get in touch with Absolute Mobility today.
