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AgeInPlaceGuide.com

Bathroom Modification Planner

Most bathroom plans start with a product. This one starts with what the person can actually do today, because that is what decides whether you need a $30 mat or a $12,000 conversion.

Getting into the bathroom

Measure the doorway with the door fully open, at the narrowest gap.

Washing

How they wash today, not how they would like to.

The toilet

Watch the movement once before answering.

Steadiness on a wet floor

Most bathroom falls happen on the way in or out, not in the shower.

Getting there at night

The bed-to-bathroom trip in the dark is the highest-risk route in the house.

0 of 5 answered. The plan appears when all five are done.

Why it asks what it asks

Five questions, and each one maps to a decision that changes the budget by an order of magnitude. Whether somebody can step over a tub wall is the difference between a bath seat and a rebuilt room. Whether a wheelchair fits through the door is the difference between a handle swap and a header.

It deliberately does not ask about diagnoses, ages or conditions. What matters for a building project is what somebody can do on the day, and a plan built on observed movement is more useful than one built on a label.

Cheap first, and not out of caution

Tub, curbed shower and level-entry shower compared in sectionThree cross-sections side by side. A bathtub with a wall about 15 to 20 inches high to step over. A curbed shower with a low threshold of roughly 2 to 4 inches. A level entry shower with no threshold at all, where the floor itself is sloped to the drain, which is why the floor structure has to be reworked.Tubstep over 15 to 20 infloor untouchedCurbed showerstep over 2 to 4 infloor untouchedLevel entrynothing to step overfloor structure reworked
What a tub-to-shower conversion changes. The visible change is the tub going. The change that sets the price is underneath: a curbed shower keeps the existing floor, and a level entry means the floor structure is reworked so water runs the right way without a lip to step over.

The plan puts lighting, non-slip surfaces and seat height first. That is not timidity. Those changes address where bathroom falls actually happen, they take an evening, and none of them commits you to anything.

The expensive work benefits from waiting a few weeks too. Once the cheap changes are in, it is much clearer whether the remaining problem is the tub, the doorway or the standing.

What it will not do

  • It will not tell you that you need something It reflects your answers back as project scope. Deciding what somebody needs is a clinical judgement, and it belongs to an occupational therapist who has watched them in the room.

  • It will not claim ADA compliance The ADA covers public buildings. A private home follows local code. Where an ADA figure appears here it is labelled as a reference, because that is what it is.

  • It will not give you a grab bar heightPlacement depends on where a specific person's hand lands. A number from a form is how bars end up in the wrong place and go unused.

Common questions

How do I plan a bathroom for an elderly person?
Start with how they wash, use the toilet and get through the door today. Those three answers set the scope. Do the cheap changes first, because they address the most common falls and cost almost nothing, then get quotes for whatever is left.
What is the first thing to change in a senior bathroom?
Usually lighting on the route in, and a non-slip surface underfoot. Both are cheap, both are reversible, and both address the moments where people actually fall rather than the moments that look dangerous.
Do I need an occupational therapist?
If the difficulty is new or getting worse, yes. A planner works from what you type. An occupational therapist watches the actual movement in the actual room and sees things no form asks about.
How much does a senior bathroom remodel cost?
It ranges from under $200 for the cheap changes to $6,000 to $15,000 for a tub-to-shower conversion, and higher again if the floor structure changes for a level entry. The planner groups by effort so you can see where your project sits.
Should I add grab bars before I need them?
Adding blocking behind the wall is worth doing early, because it costs almost nothing during other work and means a bar can go up anywhere later. Bars themselves can wait until somebody can show you where they reach.

Keep going

The part you can buy today

The plan above asks for measurements and for what is behind the bathroom wall, so these are the tools it calls for. Nothing here is the modification itself: Amazon does not sell the labour, the permit or the inspection.

  • Stanley PowerLock 25 ft Tape Measure

    Stanley PowerLock 25 ft Tape Measure

    25 ft, 1 in blade

    Measures the rise, the doorway and the run. Every quote asks for these numbers.

    Check price on Amazon
  • Franklin Sensors ProSensor Stud Finder

    Franklin Sensors ProSensor Stud Finder

    9 sensors, shows full stud width

    Shows where the wood is behind the wall. A grab bar has to land on it.

    Check price on Amazon
  • OTHWAY Non-Slip Bath Tub Mat

    OTHWAY Non-Slip Bath Tub Mat

    198 suction cups, 360 drain holes

    Grips the tub floor so it does not slide. Water drains through it.

    Check price on Amazon
  • Moen Handshower with 24 in Slide Bar

    Moen Handshower with 24 in Slide Bar

    24 in slide bar, 69 in hose

    A shower head you hold, on a bar you can move. Works sitting down.

    Check price on Amazon

These are supplies, not the job itself. Amazon does not sell the labour, the permit or the inspection.

Tell me when new planners land

This planner and the priority planner are the first two. More are coming, along with refreshed cost numbers as we re-price the jobs.

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