Blocking

The final thing to get done before closing up the walls in the Powder Room was to put in some blocking. We will be adding grab bars to both bathrooms, because it's better to plan for them and be ready than not.

There are lots of reasons for able-bodied people to put in things like grab bars. The most obvious one is that accidents happen even to the most graceful, together of people.

Also, sometimes one of us will do one of those workouts. You may know this kind of workout, the kind where you feel really great afterwards but an hour later even the thought of trying to get out of a seating position makes you want to cry. Now nobody has to choose not to pee to avoid trying to struggle back to their feet afterwards.

There's not much room for blocking for grab bars, but a little bit of support is better than none at all, so on one side we'll have a 24" bar, and on the other a 12" shorty.

Here's the left side of the toilet.

We like to take pictures like this, with things like blocking measured out, for our own records. Easier than poking around in the walls later.

On the right side, the doorway gets in the way, but the grab bar will be helpful for steadying yourself even if it would not meet the ADA requirements for full wheelchair access (which the bathroom doesn't meet in the first place).

Sometimes it's better to get part of the way there rather than take the all or nothing approach.

Now we can put up some drywall and this room is almost done.

posted by ayse on 07/26/15