Handicap Accessible Bathroom In The Gymnasium

With as many buildings as we have on this 99 acres, you'd think we'd have one handicap accessible bathroom in one of the 30+ buildings. We didn't - until now. The bathroom in the gymnasium was not in operating condition and it was dreary and awful just walking in there. It had 2 stalls with disgusting toilets, a vanity with 2 sinks, 2 stained urinals and a shower with 3 shower heads. 

James and our good friend and master builder, John Meister, ripped everything out, made the concrete block doorway wider and jackhammered the curb out from the shower. 

The walls and ceiling were covered with mildew but it's hard to see how ugly this bathroom really was. 

We had two different people in wheelchairs give us input on what is really important in a bathroom, things we would never have thought of, like drop down grab bars on each side of the toilet since some people can only use one side of their body or the other. They tried maneuvering in the space to show us how much room a wheelchair needs to turn and provided lots of other good information. 

The door John built is very lightweight and slides like a dream. It also has a creative way of locking that is easy for anyone. The light is motion sensitive so there's no need to reach for a switch. 

The new sink and toilet are so much nicer than the nasty ones that were there. The shower has 2 grab bars, a hand held shower and a wall mounted shower, along with a lower faucet. I still need to build a shelf to put shampoo on etc. We'd like to find a narrow bench for outside the shower to place clothes or sit on. Something that won't get in the way. We also need a seat in the shower. For the most part it's done and we're really happy with it. It needs some artwork on the walls and a mirror too 😊

James and John worked so hard on this months-long project and the hard work has paid off. I don't know how it will be used yet, but we're ready if someone asks for a handicap accessible bathroom.