Representative project — Crownhill, Plymouth
Overview
A Crownhill family came to us with a simple, heartfelt goal: to help an older parent stay in the home they love. The existing bathroom had become the one room in the house that no longer worked — a step-over bath, a slippery floor and not a single thing to hold on to. What they needed wasn’t a luxury makeover. It was a bathroom that gave their mum back her independence, and gave the whole family some peace of mind.
This is a representative example of the accessible work we do across Plymouth. Names and details are kept general out of respect, but the project, the choices and the outcome reflect a job we’re genuinely proud of.
The brief — and the challenge
Three things mattered most to this family, and they guided every decision we made:
- Mobility. Climbing over a bath edge had become genuinely risky. The room needed to be usable with a frame, and one day perhaps a wheelchair, without a single step in the way.
- Safety. A wet, shiny floor and nothing to grip had already led to one near-fall. Sure footing and solid support were non-negotiable.
- Dignity. Above all, this had to be a bathroom an adult could use on their own — calmly and privately — not a clinical space that felt like a hospital ward.
The honest challenge was balancing those needs against a compact 1960s bathroom footprint, while making sure the finished room still felt warm and like home — not like an adaptation bolted on as an afterthought.
What we did
We stripped the room back and rebuilt it as a fully level-access wet room — every choice made for safety and ease of use, but chosen to look good, too:
- Level-access wet-room shower. The whole floor was tanked and laid to fall, so there’s no tray and no lip to step over — just walk or wheel straight in.
- Grab rails in the right places. Properly fixed into solid backing by the shower and the WC, in a finish that blends in rather than shouts.
- Comfort-height WC. A taller pan makes sitting and standing far easier on tired knees and hips.
- Slip-resistant floor. A safety-rated vinyl that stays grippy underfoot even when wet, with no cold, hard tile edges.
- A fold-down shower seat. So showering can be done sitting down, in comfort, and folded flat when it’s not needed.
- Easy-use lever taps and thermostatic controls. Kind to weaker hands, and set to guard against scalding.
- Good, even lighting. Bright, shadow-free light that makes the room feel reassuring and easy to move around.
Before & after
From a dated, step-over bathroom that had become a daily worry — to a calm, step-free wet room built around one person’s independence.
The result
The change in day-to-day life was the part that mattered. Mum could shower again on her own, safely seated, without anyone hovering by the door. The family told us the quiet anxiety they’d been carrying — the worry about a fall while no one was home — simply lifted.
That’s what an accessible bathroom really gives back: independence for the person using it, and peace of mind for the people who love them. And because we’d designed it to feel like part of the home, no one walking in would call it anything other than a smart, modern wet room.
Timescale & funding
A project like this typically takes us around five to seven working days on site — including stripping out, tanking, the new floor, fitting and a careful tidy-up. We keep the disruption to a minimum and the dust contained, because we know this is someone’s only bathroom and someone’s home.
It’s also worth knowing that adaptations like these can sometimes be funded. Many Plymouth families are eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant, which can help cover the cost of essential changes such as a level-access shower. We’re happy to talk you through how it works — start with our guide to accessible bathroom grants and funding options.
In their words
“Mum can manage on her own again, and we’ve stopped lying awake worrying about a fall. The lads were kind, patient and tidy, and they treated her like she mattered. It’s still a lovely bathroom — it just happens to be a safe one now.”
Could we help your family?
If you’re thinking about adapting a bathroom for an older parent or for yourself, you don’t have to work it all out alone. A good place to start is our overview of accessible bathrooms, and if you’re local you can read more about us as bathroom fitters in Crownhill. You can also browse more of our projects to see the kind of work we do.
Proud Bathroom Fitters Plymouth
Let’s talk it through, gently
No pressure and no jargon — just an honest chat about what would help, what it might cost, and whether grant funding could ease it. A proper bathroom, fitted properly, by people from round here.