I just read a thread where there was some discussion on the lack of good seating for handicapped folks in the tub/shower.
I'm in a wheelchair and initially got hand shower installed and a stool that had a plastic seat and tubular plastic coated legs. I managed with it for a few months and it began to give way. Mercifully I had rinsed off and it just gently started leaning. That was the end of that.
It's hard to find something durable and reasonably priced so a friend got creative and made a fantastic solution. It is made of two treated deck boards 5/4 thick. The length spans from the wall to the outer edge of the tub. There are two wooden cleats on the bottom to prevent side to side movement but allow it to slide easily forward for use and out of the way for others. All the edges are rounded and there's even a small wooden basket on the wall side made from thin wood to hold my necesaries. The whole thing lifts out easily if someone wants a bath.
It will last a lifetime and the design is so simple even an unskilled person could make one. It's also attractive and if I didn't need it, I would leave there for plants. Perfect for less than $10.
It's been a blessing to me and hope the idea helps someone else.
Shower Bench Suggestion
Great idea, Twiggybuds! Your friend could perform a great service by making up a few of these and offering them for sale online. I do have a question, though. Since the boards extend to the outer edge of the tub, a shower curtain or enclosure panel couldn't be closed. How do you keep water from spilling on the floor?
Oh Yuska, I did say it was perfect didn't I. Not perfectly true. I have a shower curtain that I pull past the seat as far as possible. This allows me to lay some excess on the seat and tuck the edge under me leaving plenty of slack. It works quite well to discourage water running under the curtain and out on the floor. There's still a gap at the back of the tub and I just carefully try not to aim the hand shower in that direction. I've really only had a few drops escape the tub by splashing off my back.
I love the security of having something solid under my almost 200 lbs.
I used to play at wood working and I've often thought this was a worthwhile project. It's so simple someone should make them. I've regained about 65% of my upperbody strength and maybe 10% of my legs. I may talk myself into trying it.
dorothy
Dorothy,
Can you get a picture of it to show me?
Sometimes my mind is in a creative gear and other times it's flat lined.
~* Robin
Dorthy, it sounds like a wonderful adaptive device. Thanks for the post
l'd like to see a picture too.
Bernie
Hi guys,
I was dx'd with MS 20 years ago. It has afffected my sense of balance - what my neurologist calls proprioception - terribly. Twiggy, your contraption, which sounds beautiful and less than $10 is amazing, wouldn't work for me because I guess I don't have the trunk strength or the proprioception to know if I'm falling over or not. Fifteen, twenty years ago they knew how to make a shower chair! Nowadays, they have spindly legs and either no backs at all or backs that are attached by plastic. I've fallen and hit my head several times. Now, at a cost of between $150 and $200, I have a shower chair that is imported from Sweden (!) that is attached to the studs behind the wall (!) and not only has a back but has arms (!!). Even though it was expensive, I feel it was worth it (I value my brain). XXXXXXXX,
Carrie
Good for you Carrie. Yes anything that adds to our sense of safety and security is wonderful. I'm truly glad for you.
To the rest of you, I got a digi cam to take pics of my flowers and also as you requested above. I am an idiot when it comes to computers and much of our wonderful technology. I didn't get the A/C adapter with it and the manual says it really drains the batteries to use them when uploading to the computer. So I got the bright idea just to get a "cheap" card reader to plug into my usb port. Something was terribly wrong with the cd that came with it because my computer went crazy and crashed when I attempted to install the software. I really must get my act together and will post a pic whenever I figure all this out.
Can't wait to see the picture, it sounds wonderful!
Hi Carrielamont and everyone. Hey, Carrie, I lived in West Millbury for many years! Small world.
I, too, have MS and now I am wheelchair bound (but garden from my wheelchair just fine).
I had the same problem - falling off the chair, and the chair collapsing. It first happened 3 weeks after we spent $40 on what was supposed to be a heavy duty" bench, so it's not like this thing had a lot if use, and I'm a lightwight.
What I found is that the screws on the underside that hold the legs on to the bench come undone and you only know this if you happen to find one (and they often roll into corners and under things where they are out of sight). And it doesn't matter how tightly they are tightened. DH used a wrench and that didn't make a difference.
I also had trouble falling off the bench onto the floor. After that happened a few too many times for me, we got what is called a "transfer shower bench". I have seen them on the Internet for as little as $60 and as much as $300. We paid $120 for one that allows me to slide to the end and transfer to another bench outside of the shower and it is heavy duty and doesn't tip over. And it has arms which I need because I have no balance and no equilibrium.
The one I have comes apart very easily without screws to lie flat so we can take it traveling.
Hope this helps!
PS... I love the idea of the boards. Unfortunately, I need a back and arms, at this point. But I'm on chemotherapy and hoping for a remission... and if I get better, I'm going to makeuse of your idea.
Thanks for sharing!
Here is a pic of my shower bench. Please excuse the unscrubbed tub. The basket area could easily be omitted and replaced with a plastic basket. They're available everywhere in many sizes and configurations. A cup hook could be screwed to the edge near the wall for holding one of those scrubbers shown. Mine is bare wood but paint or water seal could be applied to improve appearance. I've not had any problems with splinters. If you have those sliding doors, it could probably still work, jus have to trim a little shorter. Notice the cleats on the bottom. They are common treated 1x2s and serve to hold it all together and to prevent any side to side movement. This is completely stable and would probably support 400 lbs.
materials: 1 six foot 5/4 treated deck board
1 treated 1x2
4 screws 1 3/4" long
It needs a crack between the boards to allow for drying between use. It is very important that the cleats be positioned to allow the unit to slide forward and backward freely, but only about a 1/8" side to side movement. This needs to be stressed to the person making it.
Lowes and probably the other stores will cut the lumber for free.
Dorothy, thanks again for the post, picture, material list and instrustions on how to build your simple bath/shower chair.
After a stroke in 1986 I still have balance problems. I can't ride a bike- (no biggie); but I sure don't want my kids picking me up in the bath (major).
I too had a seat from a medical supplier; but the broken plastic made it useless in about 1.5 years. Heck, at about $10.00 a pop I can taylor make my own anytime! Thanks again.
Bernie
I just had another thought for those of you needing the support of back and arm rests. A boating supply store would have seating to meet your needs that could be screwed or bolted to this bench. Most of them also swivel which might be helpful. They come in all colors, styles and prices. Probably several online catalogs. The drawback is that it would become very bulky.
This homemade solution isn't for everyone and would probably not win a beauty contest. It never fails to raise my hackles that the stores selling handicap aids are outrageously priced. Feels like they're trying to kick me while I'm down and I choose to beat them out of every penny I can.
Hi This is for everyone looking for a good seat with or without back for the shower/tub. Found it while looking for something else on ebay-seller is Med Supplies -jlg5332- item #320006090954- said it was guaranteed for up to 650 pounds. They had extra large equipment and other things- transfer benches etc. that looked much sturdier than what you see all over. Hope this helps someone else. Kathy
i recently broke my ankle and my dh has started trying to make everything more accessible for me. he put a plastic garden chair [not expensive at all] in the shower for me and it worked really well. it's a shower stall so i won't have the problem of it tipping over - we already had a handheld shower head - and since it's in the basement [luckily a walk-out] there's a drain too.... which is great since i can't close the door cuz i keep my cast 'outside'. he's also placed a our extra chairs every 25-50 feet around the yard so i have places to rest when i need to. this is a very eye-opening experience for me. 12 days down, 77 [hopefully] to go for non-weight bearing.
We've used a lawn chair in the tub for showers for years. $10 at WalMat I think. Or else Dollar General. Best $10 we ever spent I think.
leaflady,
Is that the plastic resin type of chair?
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handhelpers,
You just can't stay away from those accidents; huh?
I do the same things as you; no walker or chair in the garden = falling down alot.
I just bought a folding out door chair made of plastic resin for outdoor use, at home depot.
~* Robin
i'm using the plastic resin solid chair