Adapting Your Home To Maximize Mobility

John Canning of Reston says he's proof of the potential. He just had a tiny powder room modified to help him cope with advancing multiple sclerosis. "It's really made a difference, and it wasn't all that expensive," said Canning, retired owner of an office coffee service.

Canning hired the same remodeling firm that he used seven years ago to redo the main living spaces in a three-story townhouse. At the time, he was still walking but knew he would someday need a power scooter. The latest work cost about $6,000, including the new fixtures, tile work, flooring and painting done to update the 20-year-old bathroom and make it accessible.

For the first renovation, Butler Brothers Corp. of Clifton "did the usual stuff -- grab bars in the bathrooms, and the elevator -- but I also had them do over the master bath entirely, at their suggestion," Canning said. Vince Butler, who chairs the Remodelors' Council of the National Association of Home Builders, is an advocate of "universal design," design that provides as much accessibility as possible to as many people as possible. And he convinced Canning, as he has other clients, that it would pay to " 'handicap' the master bathroom" ahead of time, Canning said.

The contractor gutted the room, which was a bit bigger than the standard 5 by 8 feet, and added space from an adjoining closet to make room for a roll-in shower, instead of the tub. The shower has grab bars and a handheld showerhead as well as a regular one. The sink is set up without a vanity cabinet beneath, so he can roll his chair right up to it.

"Everything has come in wonderfully handy at this point, obviously particularly the shower," said Canning, whose disease was diagnosed when he was 40 and who now, at 55, depends on a powered wheelchair. Canning says he is "lucky enough to still be able to stand up, if I lock my knees, as long as I am holding on to something."

But recently, the Reston resident decided to also make over the small downstairs bathroom "because I couldn't get into it with the wheelchair and that caused problems."

The powder room, though, didn't have space for a wider doorway, so Butler put in a pocket door, which slides into the wall. Then the space was outfitted with accessible fixtures.

Such upgrades can be a relatively inexpensive solution for some.

"The answer is yes, but," said Richard Duncan, senior project manager with the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, when asked if tiny spaces can be modified.

The "but," he said, means the answer depends on the decision's variables: the needs of the person who is going to use the bathroom, the extent of the disability, the space and the budget available.

"Those kinds of bathrooms are very challenging," Duncan said of a 4-by-7 powder room in a 1958 house. "In most cases, with one that is smaller than five by seven, you will have to make it bigger, by stealing space from an adjacent closet or hallway."

Duncan and others say a 5-by-8 space is generally considered the minimum space if a homeowner wants to fit an accessible toilet, sink and roll-in shower; a 5-by-5 space is the absolute minimum for a sink and toilet. Most wheelchairs need a clear five-foot circle to make a turn.