How to Make a Handicap Accessible Bathroom

Whether someone has been in an accident, a child is born with a physical disability or an aging parent who moves into a home, there may come a time when it is necessary to make a bathroom handicap accessible. In addition to removing the fabric shower curtain and the shower curtain rods, homeowners can make simple changes to help adapt their bathrooms for easier use. By expanding doorways, installing hand rails and removing all clutter, homeowners are able to create handicap accessible bathrooms that won’t cost a fortune and can be completed in a small amount of time.

A typical doorway needs to be widen to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers and other devices that assist with mobility. By removing the door jam and replacing it with a wider version, a home owner can also make the choice to eliminate the door all together or make the change to a pocket door. This is a door that slides into the wall, creating more space in the room. Removing the door allows the handicap person to have additional room to maneuver in and out of the bathroom and also eliminates the need to have hands to operate the door itself. Being hands-free and able to get in and out of the bathroom without help, gives the handicapped person the freedom to use the lavatory without assistance from someone else in the home.

The installation of hand rails in and around the bath and toilet are necessary for all handicap accessible bathrooms. These rails give support to people when trying to lift themselves up and down. They also provide safety for them while maneuvering around the bathroom. Whether they are drying off from a bath or just trying to stand up from using the restroom, it is imperative they have the necessary tools to support themselves. Again, adding this type of change to a bathroom gives them the personal freedom to do this type of task by themselves. It is not only liberating for them to feel this independence, it is also a huge safety benefit to add these precautionary measures.

A third change a homeowner can make in a bathroom to make it more handicap accessible is to remove all the clutter. It is imperative to remove all rugs, garbage cans, towels and other things that get in the way of the mobility of a handicap person in a bathroom. Not only can a rug be a nuisance for a wheelchair, walker or crutches, it can also be a safety hazard for someone when exiting the bath or getting up from the commode. If a homeowner must have a rug of some sort in their bathroom, they should purchase a commercial grade skid resistant mat. These can be found at any large home improvement store or medical supply company. This type of floor covering is designed to provide a safe environment in which handicap people can still get around.

Although most homes aren’t currently handicap accessible, by completing the suggestions above, a homeowner can adapt their bathrooms with little cost and construction. By doing this the homeowner can have peace of mind as to the safety of their handicapped family member.

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Tips For Small Kitchen Makeovers

Thankfully with some creativity and elbow grease you can give yourself a small kitchen makeover and turn your currently small and crowded kitchen into a versatile and highly usable space that meets all of your needs! So how do you make the transition from small and crowded to light and airy? Here are some hints to help readers who are looking for help with their makeovers for small kitchens.

The easiest way to completely change the look, feel and usability of your kitchen is to put your appliances in new positions. This is the first thing any small kitchen makeovers expert will tell you: move the big things into manageable positions. If you do this correctly you could open up quite a lot of usable space! Remember to position your appliances in a usability triangle. You might also trade your old and wide refrigerator for a taller and narrower refrigerator. You might also trade your current standard sink in for a larger and over sized kitchen sink (the larger your sink, the easier you can store dirty dishes and food prep items).

Another thing that most people who are researching small kitchen makeovers overlook is the use of vertical space. So many kitchen designers focus on horizontal space: counter tops, sinks, etc that they forget that vertical space is just as usable. When designing makeovers for small kitchens, consider installing taller cabinets for your dishes and food items. Some small kitchen owners install kitchen cabinets that extend all the way up to the ceiling! To keep these cabinets from overwhelming your space, consider using cabinets with glass or clear plastic doors. This helps the space look more open and usable (and can save a lot of time searching for the right spice or serving dish).

Instead of a free standing kitchen table, have a corner booth installed. This will open up half of your dining space for storage you can even build a table that has shelving units or drawers below the tabletop to help you store larger or lesser used items. Heck, with a nice tablecloth you could rest your tabletop on top of a filing cabinet and small bookcase and nobody would know! So many people overlook the kitchen table when they work on their small kitchen makeovers. Don’t be one of them!

Finally, when working on makeovers for small kitchens perhaps the most important detail to remember is that less is better than more. Let your appliances and utensils serve as decorations for your counters and exposed walls. Don’t try to over crowd the space with superfluous items that you do not need. Consider washing a pan out and using it again while cooking a meal instead of using two pans of the same size!

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How to Tile a Floor – Bathroom Or Kitchen

How to tile a floor – tiling a bathroom/kitchen floor is a straight forward process if you know the right techniques to go about the job.

The most important part is the preparation, the removal of the toilet and basin is highly recommended to eliminate the need for awkward cuts around the toilet pan and the basins pedestal. Removing the toilet and basin will also result in a lot neater finish to the job.

Prepare the floor using ply wood sheet or a self levelling compound and coat with a layer of pva adhesive, this will help aid the adhesion of the tiles.

The next step is to work out the tile spacing, this is important to ensure that the tiles at the edge of the room are not slithers, and also to produce a symmetrical finish to the floor.

Now its time to start tiling, mix up some tile adhesive and spread it on the floor using a notched adhesive spreader, now lay the tiles on the floor and separate with a 5mm tile spacer. Once the whole floor area is covered leave the floor to fully set.

When the floor is fully set its time to apply the grout, mix up the grout and apply with a grout float or a grout spreader, when the grout has partially set, sponge of the excess with a damp sponge.

There are different types of adhesive available for different types of floors and tiles, care should be taken in the type of adhesive purchased.

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