PLAYING IT SAFE AND RANGING FIXTURES IN THE BATHROOM |
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PLAYING IT SAFE About 25 percent of all home accidents occur in the bathroom. You can reduce the risk of injury by precautionary planning. For starters, be sure to select nonslip fixtures and surface materials. Anchor carpeting; choose rugs or bath mats with nonskid backing. Choose tempered glass, plastic, or other shatterproof materials for construction and accessories. Avoid mounting objects such as towel bars with sharp corners at eye level. If children live in or visit your house, store medicines (and, when possible, household cleansers) in a cabinet with a safety latch or lock. Make sure that you can access the bathroom from the outside during an emergency. Also be sure electrical receptacles are grounded and protected with GFCI circuit breakers. Outlets should be out of reach from the shower or bathtub. Keep portable heaters out of the bathroom. Install sufficient lighting, including a night light especially if you have children. Avoid scalding by lowering the setting on your water heater (see feature box at right), installing a temperature-limiting mixing valve, or a pressure-balanced valve to prevent sudden temperature drops. Install L-shaped or horizontal grab bars, capable of supporting a person weighing 250 pounds, in tub and shower areas. Installation must be done properly bracing between studs may be required. Plaster-mounted bars don't provide sufficient support. RANGING FIXTURES The more facts you have available, the JL J9L easier it will be to work with your layouts. You'll keep costs down if you select a layout that uses the existing water supply, drain lines, and vent stack. If you're adding on to your house, try to locate the new bathroom near an existing bathroom or the kitchen. It's also more economical to arrange fixtures against one or two walls, eliminating the need for additional plumbing lines. Generally, you can locate side-by-side fixtures closer together than fixtures positioned opposite each other. If a sink is opposite a bathtub or toilet, keep a minimum of 30 inches between them (see "Heights & Clearances" below). To begin composing the layout, position the largest unit the bathtub or shower within the floor plan, allowing space for convenient access, for clean?ing, and (if needed) for bathing a child. Next, place the sink (or sinks). The most frequently used fixture in the bathroom, the sink should be out of the traffic pattern. Be sure to allow ample room in front for reaching below the sink; and give plenty of elbow room at the sides. Locate the toilet (and bidet, if you have one) away from the door; often the toilet is placed beside the tub or shower. A toilet and bidet should be posi?tioned next to each other. Don't forget about the swing-radius for windows and doors. You'll probably experiment with several layouts before determining the best overall plan. Most likely, you'll have to make a compromise somewhere. If you identify your priorities clearly, it should be easy to choose the best solution. HEIGHTS & CLEARANCES There are standard minimum clearances in a well-planned bathroom. Community building codes specify minimum required clearances between, beside, and in front of bathroom fixtures to allow adequate room for use, cleaning, and repair. To help in your initial planning, check the minimum clearances shown at right. Shown at top left are standard heights for cabinets, countertops, shower heads, and accessories. Recommended heights are steadily creeping higher, and you may wish to customize these to your own re-quirements. Below left, we illustrate basic height and clearance guidelines for a barrier-free space. | ||||||
| Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 ) | ||||||
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