Future proofing the bathroom - late 60s

[CountingDownTheLongDays]

DF is talking about having his bathroom redone - not a moment too soon, I think it was last touched in the 70s. When I was at school twenty years ago he borrowed a pritt stick off me, walked into the bathroom and stuck the wallpaper back to the wall... you get the idea. I am very keen to encourage him on this one.

He's in his late 60s now, and while he's got good mobility at the moment on this board we all know that won't last forever. No grab rails necessary yet, but I would be thinking about where they can be placed.

He really values being able to stretch out in the bath, and any suggestion that only features a shower will be vetoed. It's a small space, so there's no space for a separate shower.

I've seen these walk in baths - if he gets dementia, is there anything to stop him opening the door before the bath has drained, and flooding the place? Another elderly relative let their bath overflow and the whole place had to be rewired...

Can anyone give any tips for a future proofed bathroom for someone at this stage of life?

Check out wetrooms.
I understand about the bath, I’m in my 60s and a bath is essential to my well-being. But wetroom designs seal the room so that any flooding is contained.
A shower over the bath is a useful option for later in, if he needs supported washing with a carer.

I've no idea about walk in baths, just that you have to get in before adding water and have to let it drain and you can't stretch out.

You Can get a set that lifts up out of the bath.

My local council has a shop where you can look at things and try them out, check your council.

I'm with your dad re bath v shower. When I first moved in here I had what was supposed to be a wet room. It was a disaster.

After several attempts at new floors and various gates to try to keep the water down the drain the HA put a bath in.

Another thing with a shower is if you get one with a seat then the water is cold by the tine it hits your feet, no good for my arthritis.

I have grab rails and a bath board.

You can get bath lifts, which can be fitted over a normal bath when the need comes.

And that need could come tomorrow (as it could to any of us, following accident or stroke) or could be 20 or more years away (my DMum got one in her mid/late 80s and was getting herself in and out of the bath using it until well in to her 90s)

So I wouldn't be trying to push adaptive bathrooms on someone who is only a couple of years older than retirement age, because you can fit aids later on to any bath.

My parents redid a shower room. I suggested grab rails and a shower seat but no, they knew best. My mum didn't want it looking like an old folks home.

Well it looks like a disaster zone when my dad collapsed, ripped the flimsy towel rail down and was laid out on the floor for a couple of hours waiting for the ambulance.
After that the whole place looked like a complicated, bodged mess with plastic chairs, etc.

When I redo my bathroom, we will be putting in chunky, firmly fixed rails, perfect for towels and building in a seat - great for every age cos we can all have a wobble.

If you have a bit of extra room, you could extend the frame around the bath to the side or end - really useful to have space with everything close to hand without over reaching and provide a transition point when moving in or out.

No need to get too far ahead of yourselves - at a later stage if the bath becomes a problem there are showers that fit into a bath footprint, or you can swop for an accessible bath or whatever. Just make sure the bath is wide and not too deep.

If he has a shower over the bath make sure the shower and bath taps and plug are accessible from outside the bath - I've just had mine redone with a shower screen that's hinged so you can get at the bath taps, and shower taps on the middle of the long wall so you can turn on the shower without getting drenched with cold water. So no need for reaching, safer when your balance starts going.

A bath simply won't be feasible if he gets dementia. Another vote here for a wet room

If he’s having it tiled or panelled I’d buy spare to match
so a full size bath can be very easily replaced with a shower the same size and you have the tiles or panels to make it a quick job

ideally go for a shower but the older they get the more stubborn they get so from experience it wasn’t a hill worth dying on

walk in baths leak
it took a plumber a day to whip the bath out re panel the wall plumbing minimal
And replace it with full size shower
flooring fine as shower same size as bath

Walk in baths are extremely expensive. I'd just get a spacious bath with overhead shower. If he loves to bath and doesn't want just a shower then he's not going to agree to a wet room at this stage anyway.

I agree with pp above who say that there are lots of adaptations that can be put in place if and when the time comes.

However in the meantime you need to make sure that the basic architecture supports these adaptations. For example have a normal height bath, as bath seats often need you to be able to sit on the edge of the bath to transfer and if it's too low you won't be able to do that. Make sure that the toilet is far enough away from doors/corners to allow for a support frame to fit around it. Think about whether there's enough space to get in and turn around with a walking frame. Probably lots more but that's all that immediately comes to mind.

We have just decided against a walk in Bath for my DM, 87, who has just had half hip replacement following a fall.

There us still a lip to get over.
You have to get in and then fill up the bath, and drain before getting out, all of which is less convenient and can get cold.

DF, 94, and DB are looking right now at a v. Low shower tray, half height walk in surround, seat, and shower. Half height surround means carers can assist without getting wet.

The balance is having things ready, but not too early. We could have done things 20 years ago, but they weren't needed then.

See also stairlift which was installed within 2 weeks. Dad at 94 still doesn't need one.

The walk-in baths you have to get in before filling (obviously!) which then means you get cold. Then you can't get out until it's drained away so you are then both cold and wet.

Does he actually need mobility aids, grab rails etc in late 60s? That's retirement age?! I'd do a nice bathroom refurbishment, with normal bath, making sure there's enough room to manoeuvre in the space. Think carefully about positioning of controls and towel rails so they're easy to reach. Avoid anything with sharp corners. Grab rails etc are easy to fit retrospectively and certainly OT were very quick to help get this done.

Nobody would ever persuade me to sacrifice maybe ten or fifteen years of having the luxurious proper deep baths I love, on the grounds that I might not be able to get into the bath when I'm eighty so should get a shower now (my octogenarian relatives all still use their baths though).

Sturdy thoughtfully located grab rails might be a worthwhile investment with virtually no downside - from what you've said about your DF he's not going to object that they spoil the aesthetics.

And the PP's suggestion about getting some spare tiles so amendments can be made good is quite a good one.

If there are adult children around capable of arranging alterations quickly then I agree no need to do too much too soon.

Following on what we have been doing in last 3 weeks for my DPs, I have said to my DH we will need to be more prepared as neither of our DC will have the ability to do what my DB and I have been doing.

It could easily be 10 - 15 years before your DF needs to adapt his bathroom if he is in good physical health now. My DM was 84 when we had to rip her bath out after she broke her hip. It was pretty easy to do though - took the plumber less than a week (although he had to fit a new electric shower and electric heater). He just removed the bath, fitted a full length, low level shower tray in it's place with a partial screen, a fold down shower seat and a grab rail. He used shower panel boards, so no need to worry about matching tiles.

So if your DF wants a bath now, let him have one. Then if/when the time comes when he can't use it, either get it changed or acquire one of the many bath lifts that are available. I would avoid door opening baths - they look fraught with problems.

Agree with planning now for a bath that can be easily replaced later with a shower.

You can get remote control showers so you can turn them on and let them warm up before getting in.

You can get toilet pans that ensure the seat is at a higher level that makes it easier to get on and off.

Why does a seat mean the water is cold when it hits your feet? Why is it any colder than in a shower without a seat?

My mother has a walk in shower with a seat in it. The seat is pull,down and attached to vertical pole. You can use the shower without the seat. My mother is 96. Her carer helps her into the shower but can leave her alone while she washes.
I have recently seen toilets that wash and dry you underneath. I would love one of those for my old age.

The water takes longer to get to your feet. If you are standing it hits your head and then goes straight down, when you are sitting it goes head, chest, knees, feet getting colder all the time.

My No 1 priority would be a downstairs toilet. I say this as my late parents didn't have one and in my fathers final illnesses it was issue. You can try pre-empt with stair lifts- but assumes they have the strength to use them - not necessarily so in the latter stages of their life.

Make sure the loo (if that's being replaced) isn't a very low one. They're a nightmare to get up from if you start having mobility problems.

DH and I are almost mid 60s so only a couple of years younger than @CountingDownTheLongDays father.

With the greatest of respect we do not need our adult children to take over bathroom planning for us. We are still working full-time and are not decrepit. Neither is my 87 year old mother.

If we de

Though you can get frames that go over to raise the seat.

My biggest concerns for mum coming home, hopefully in 5-10 days are actually the gravel drive, the height and depth of steps at the front and back doors, and the narrow doorway into her bathroom upstairs. Oh, and the under counter fridge.

One thing I did in anticipation, when we renovated our house nine years ago and due to a bad back, was to have the plugs repositioned to windowsill,/radiator height. It is absurd they are ordinarily close to the floor.

My parents and MIL, in their mid 70s, had the common sense to have downstairs showers installed, MIL a downstairs wc also.

We helped replace MILs bath (when it became essential) with a walk in shower, you can buy the shower trays sized for this. It helped that the shower was wall mounted and fully separate from the bath taps. Keep a couple of spare boxes of tiles and some flooring for the future is my suggestion.

Agree with all the voices who say let him keep his bath and don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You don’t know what the future holds.