It’s that time of year again! Holiday season is upon the U.S., and with it comes food, festivities… and family. The AAA projects that 46.3 million Americans will travel over 50 miles from home during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, this highest number since 2007. This is also the busiest time of the year for air-travel, with 24.6 million passengers venturing an average of 588 miles over the same period of time. With over 70 million Americans away from home this week, many chose to stay with family or close friends. If someone has a houseguest for the next couple of days, maybe it’s time to upgrade their bathroom to a more accommodating space by following ADA bathroom requirements. This can help make their stay more comfortable, as well as ease household tensions due to these most welcome guests.
There are three main requirements for making a bathroom ADA friendly. They are floor space, barrier to entry, and installed fixtures. The ADA mandates a 30” x 60” minimum bathing area for a standard shower space. This allows for maximum bather movement in the shower stall, as well as accommodating mobility aids such as wheelchairs and walkers. To create a dedicated wheelchair transfer bathing area, the size requirements are smaller. This needs only a 36” x 36” space, but carries additional seat and grab bar requirements.
The barrier to entry for a roll-in shower must be low enough to not hinder movement into or out of the shower area. This is for cases where the bather is using a mobility aid or has a limited range of movement. The ADA defines this height as ½”, which is almost flush to the floor. This low threshold is helped even more through a pitched entrance or ramp, with makes this transition seamless no matter what the mobility needs of the bather are.
…over 70 million Americans away from home this week, many chose to stay with family or close friends
Finally, the ADA requires certain fixtures to be installed in order to assist shower occupants while bathing. A folding-type seat needs to be provided in a transfer type shower stall, and it should be installed on the wall that is adjacent to the control wall. The seat itself should be able to support at least 250 lbs., and the top of the seat should be between 17” and 19” off of the bathroom’s finished floor. Grab bars should be installed on the back wall and the side wall opposite the seat, but should not be installed over the seat. If there is no seat, grab bars should be installed on all three walls. When installed, they should be spaced at 6” maximum from adjoining walls, and should be installed at the same height when multiple grab bars are used.
Ella’s Bubbles has several ADA shower packages that are made in the USA and are ready to be installed in a new home or as a quick remodel. All Ella ADA Shower Packages come with a pre-leveled shower pan and walls, which is the Ella Standard Roll-In Shower Kit. These are available in 38” x 38”, 62” x 38”, and 62” x 32”, and feature a Grip Sure™ floor, collapsible white rubber dam, and a steel-reinforced beveled threshold. These components help to ensure a safe shower experience during bathing, entry and exit. The walls included in Ella ADA Shower Packages are reinforced with wood and steel and have a premium gel coat. They have a classically beautiful 8” tile pattern and molded soap dish, while remaining durable and easy to clean. These sturdy walls also allow for customized grab bar installation at virtually any height and angle, and the pin and slot system helps to facilitate a quick and easy front-side install.
These ADA Shower Packages are differentiated by their accessory packages. The Ella ADA Shower Plus 24 Package includes three (3) 24” straight stainless steel grab bars and one (1) four legged fold-up seat (bearing weight up to 500 lbs.). This is an easy kit for owners that would like to make their ground floor bathroom as accessible as possible, while keeping space free for future accessory upgrades and add-ons. The Ella ADA Shower Plus 36 Package includes the same four-legged seat as the Plus 24, but upgrades the three (3) grab bars to 36”. This is a great option for those who want more assistance in the shower space while keeping a sleek, minimalist design. Finally, the Ella ADA Shower Deluxe Package is a complete kit for those wanting a total shower transformation with minimal effort. This package includes the same base and walls as the other packages, but includes a full suite of designer components. Accessories include one (1) 24″ and two (2) 36″ stainless steel straight grab bars, a brushed stainless steel curtain rod, and a four legged fold-up seat. These accessories match perfectly with the beautiful, Italian-designed Ponte Giulio modern stainless steel soap holder and ergonomic hand shower slider. Also included is a German engineered Hansgrohe iBox, interchangeable pressure balance anti-scald shower valve, multi-functional hand shower, vinyl Techniflex shower hose, shower arm mount, and an alternative wall hand shower mount for convenient hand shower placement. All of these components allow for custom positioning, as they are not pre-installed.
