Transforming Usable Space in a 16th Century Cottage

Once in a while we come across a project which really gets our grey cells working.

We recently received a call from a lady living in a beautiful 16th Century cottage. As was expected, the cottage had low ceilings, stone floors and narrow doors. She is a wheelchair user, and wanted to create a shower facility on the ground floor.

The only feasible possibility was to adapt a cupboard and cloakroom by removing a dividing stud wall. The cupboard door was to be left in place as a “dummy” to preserve the look and feel of the cottage. Access would be via the cloakroom door, which was just wide enough to allow a shower chair to pass through.

Detailed measurements were taken, and a scale model made. This allowed us to manoeuvre a model shower chair into the room, and test the turning circle required. The job could be achieved by removing the wash basin unit and replacing it with a much smaller wall mounted item.

The cupboard contained several electric sockets and the house sound system, all of which had to be moved. The lighting was changed to bathroom specification fire retardant units, and an electric fan heater installed for comfort.

In order to achieve level access, a shower waste pump was installed in a position which would not impede the shower chair, and the pipes boxed in for a clean appearance. The job was finished with white tiles and a red floor, making a bright and cheerful showering environment.

This was a real challenge, but an enjoyable project.

You can contact Practical Bathing on 01753 842944

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