Accessible bathrooms and walk-in showers
Accessible bathroom remodel and walk-in showers in NJ
Plan an accessible bathroom remodel in NJ around how you use the room today. Tell us what is hard, and we will connect you with a local contractor who measures the room, talks through the options and puts a written price in your hands.
What accessible bathrooms work can include
Tub-to-shower conversion
The tub comes out and a low-entry shower goes in the same footprint, so there is no high wall to lift a leg over. It is often the simplest bathroom change.
Curbless or roll-in showers
The floor runs straight into the shower with no lip at all, which suits a walker, a rolling shower chair or a wheelchair. It usually means reworking the floor and the drain.
Seats, bars and handheld sprays
A fold-down seat, solid bars where a hand naturally reaches and a handheld shower head on a slide bar make a shower comfortable for someone who tires standing.
The rest of the room
A taller toilet, a vanity with room beneath it, a wider door and non-slip flooring can be folded into the same job, so the walls are only opened once.
Questions people ask
Should I choose a walk-in tub or a walk-in shower?
Many households find a low-entry shower simpler to live with, because a tub has to fill and drain while you sit waiting. Our comparison guide sets out where each one makes sense.
Can we stay in the house during a bathroom job?
Often, though the bathroom is out of use for part of the job. Ask the contractor about a second bathroom, a temporary arrangement and how long the room will be closed.
Will the finished bathroom look like a clinic?
It does not need to. Seats, bars and a roomy shower come in finishes that match ordinary home bathrooms, and you choose them with the contractor.
Can the work be done in stages?
Yes. Some households start with bars and a handheld shower, then convert the tub later. Say so when you talk to us and the plan can be built around that order.
Will insurance or Medicare pay for a new shower?
Original Medicare lists bathtub seats and lifts among items it denies, and it does not pay for a bathroom rebuild. Other help exists for some people, covered in our paying-for-modifications guide.
Is the written quote a firm price?
The quote is the contractor's offer for the work described in it. Any change to the work should be agreed in writing before it goes ahead.
What changes the price
- Size of the room and whether the contractor can reuse the existing tub footprint or has to open the floor.
- The style of shower. A step-in unit in the old tub space costs far less than a curbless shower with a moved drain.
- Wall finish. Solid panels and tile come at different prices and different installation times.
- Fixtures you choose, from a basic seat and valve to a thermostatic valve and a full set of bars.
- What is found once the old tub is out. Soft subfloor or old pipework can add work that no one could see beforehand.
- Permit and inspection fees, which are set by the town.
The permit point
Replacing a faucet, shower valve or fixture with a similar one, leaving the pipes where they are, counts as ordinary maintenance under the state code. Moving or changing a drain or supply line does not, and that work belongs to a licensed plumber on a permit.
Source: NJ Administrative Code
Signs this job fits
- Stepping over the tub wall is the hardest moment of the day.
- A walker or wheelchair cannot reach the tub or the shower at all.
- Someone has to stand close by whenever you bathe, and you would rather they did not.
- The bathroom is the room your family worries about when they leave.
- You are planning a longer stay in the house and want the room ready before it is needed.
Our 100% Guarantee
- Asking is free. It never commits you to anything.
- We charge you no fee for planning or the introduction.
- You pay only the contractor you choose, at their written price.
- Your $100 credit is honored on your first booked project.
- Not happy with an introduction? Say so, and we will find you another at no charge.
Small print: This guarantee covers our planning and introduction service. The contractor's work is covered by your contract with them. Offer terms. Guarantee terms.
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How the job goes
Describe the room
Tell us who uses the bathroom and what has become awkward: the tub edge, standing for a full shower, turning around beside the toilet. A family member can fill in the form for you.
The contractor measures up
A local contractor visits, measures the tub, the doorway and the clear floor, and checks what is behind the walls and under the floor.
You get the price in writing
The quote sets out the work, the fixtures, the permit steps and the schedule. Nothing begins until you sign, and your first project comes with $100 off.
Work, then a walk-through
The contractor does the work, arranges any inspection the town requires, and walks the finished room with you. Hold back final payment until you are satisfied and have any inspection paperwork in hand.
Find accessible bathrooms and walk-in showers in your town
Accessible bathroom remodel in NJ: three levels of change
You do not have to rebuild a bathroom to make it safer. Think in three levels, and stop at the one that solves your problem.
Level one adds bars, a handheld shower head on a slide bar and non-slip flooring. It is quick, and it suits a household that mostly feels unsteady. See grab bar installation for how that job goes.
Level two swaps the tub for a low-entry shower in the same footprint. The tub wall is the hardest part of bathing for many people, and this one change removes it.
Level three rebuilds the room: a curbless shower, a wider door, a taller toilet and a vanity you can roll under. It costs the most. It suits a wheelchair user, or a person whose needs will grow.
Measure the room before you pick a shower
A shower that looks right in a catalog may not fit your bathroom. Three measurements settle most choices.
- The tub footprint. Tubs vary between houses, and so does the room around them.
- The clear floor beside the toilet and in front of the shower. A walker or shower chair needs space to turn.
- The clear width of the bathroom door. If a chair scrapes the frame, doorway widening can be done in the same job.
For a roll-in shower, the Access Board allows a threshold up to half an inch if it is properly beveled, and notes that a flush transition is easier still. Its standards do not bind private homes, but they make a good yardstick.
What moves the price of a bathroom remodel
Two bathrooms of the same size can price very differently. The big swing is the drain. A step-in shower in the old tub space keeps the plumbing where it is. A curbless shower often means opening the floor and moving the drain, which adds trades, days and inspection.
Ask each contractor to split the quote into demolition, plumbing, waterproofing, wall finish, fixtures and trim. Then you can compare two offers line by line.
Also ask a plain question: what happens if the subfloor is soft once the tub is out? Get the answer in writing, with who decides and how the price would change.
Plumbing, permits and who does the work
A fixture swap that leaves the pipes alone counts as ordinary maintenance in the state code. Moving a drain does not. The people doing plumbing and electrical work must hold the license for that trade, and the license numbers go on the permit application.
New Jersey also bars a home improvement seller from starting work before the required permits are issued. Ask for inspection papers before you make the last payment. The permit guide for common home modifications covers the rest.
Sources: NJ Consumer Affairs, NJ Administrative Code
Walk-in tub or shower, and a room that does not look like a clinic
A walk-in tub has a door you step through, but you must sit while it fills and drains. Many households find a low-entry shower easier to live with. Our comparison of a walk-in tub and a walk-in shower sets out both sides.
If a parent resists, start with what they care about. They may not want a hospital look, or a stranger in the house. Show them finishes that match an ordinary bathroom, and let them pick the tile and the bar style.
If you rent, ask your landlord for permission in writing before any work starts.
Living in the house during the work
A bathroom job closes the room for part of the project. Ask the contractor for the number of days in writing. Ask where you will wash, and whether a second bathroom or a temporary setup will do.
Ask how the work area will be sealed from the rest of the house, how pets and walkers will get around, and what time the crew starts each day. Plan a few easy meals. A short, clear schedule makes a hard week much easier.
Paying for a bathroom remodel
Original Medicare lists bathtub seats and lifts as denied items and does not pay for a rebuild. NJ Medicaid managed care can cover bathroom changes required by a plan of care, and the VA names roll-in showers among the changes its HISA benefit supports. Our guide to paying for home modifications in NJ explains who qualifies. Call or send the form, and your $100 comes off the first project.
Sources: VA HISA benefit, Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
Ready to plan it?
$100 off your first project. Call or send a request.