Home built 1961, need suggestions for following: Lowering Medicine Cabinet (Mirrored) as due age and disability have shrunk and can't use, but wall directly below is tiled. Replace toilet with handicap, rails and a taller toilet, removing vinyl asbestos floor tiles and replace, convert existing tub into handicap walk in shower. Husband not handy, on fixed income....

Are either of you Veterans? If so, you may be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits through the VA. One requirement is service during periods of war, as well as the need for assistance with ADLs (daily living tasks).

The Area Agency on Aging has offices through Michigan; I don't know about other states but Google them and see if you can find an office near you.

They have annual expos at which contractors who retrofit bathrooms provide information, photos of past jobs, and sometimes offers and discounts. Obviously they have to be checked out carefully, as anyone who provides services should be.

You may find that purchasing assistive devices is far cheaper and less risky (financially and legally) than retrofitting a bathroom.


I'd be very leery about removing vinyl asbestos flooring as asbestos abatement would probably be required and this would be very costly. Might be best to just leave the flooring in place.

Have either of you been in a SNF (skilled nursing facility, a/k/a nursing home) recently? If so, the occupational and physical therapists can recommend alternatives to a too highly placed medicine cabinet. Is there room in the bathroom for a floor based cabinet, such as a standing cabinet?

Therapists can also provide you with information on local suppliers who can provide assistive devices such as rails for toilets (vs. a commode).

I had grab bars installed by hiring a carpenter; some handymen will install them but don't always agree on the proper method, which is to anchor them in studs (this is absolutely mandatory!).

Conversion of a bathtub is expensive; such a conversion cost my aunt about $3,000. But it depends on the specific configuration. In the meantime, there are shower seats that extend out beyond the bathtub so that the person can sit down on the outside of the seat, scoot over, then lift her/his legs inside the tub and shower. This is one of the safe methods of tub transfer.

http://www.health-mobility.com...i?item=ISG-CEXB15411

These are some of the devices we've used:

http://www.assistivedeviceskey.com/category/659393

Binsons's is a local supplier; there are other suppliers as well; look in your yellow pages (or search online) for "assistive device suppliers" and comparison shop.

These devices aren't cheap but they are much less costly than retrofitting.

Also, some Catholic Social Services have social work counseling and assistance; contact any in your area to see if they can help financially.

No not veterans.

Agent on aging is just down the road from me. Will call them and ask again.

Have rails on current Toilet and one of those plastic risers but the seal on the toilet leaks and have asked my husband to either replace it or get a taller toilet so he doesn't have to remove the plastic everytime he uses the toilet, but getting him to help with anything around here is impossible, it's always tomorrow which never comes.

The tiles around the toilet are loose already and the ones in the kitchen are chipping off bit by bit. Original floors from '61.

I in one about two years ago.

I have a seat in the tub but it takes up almost the whole tub not much room to move and of course when he uses the shower he removes it, Thank you so much for your suggestions.