2026 edition
The Aging-in-Place Bathroom Planning Checklist
Below is the checklist in full — the same five-part planning sequence our Project Managers use on accessible bathroom builds. Each section stands on its own, so print it, forward it, or use it as a worksheet when you're sitting with a contractor.
Piece 1 of 5
Get the Clearances Right Before Anything Else
Almost every accessibility problem in a finished bathroom traces back to a layout decision made too early. Fixtures, finishes, and grab bars can all be changed; the floor plan usually can't. Before you choose anything pretty, confirm the room actually has the room.
The clearances worth protecting
- A clear floor turning space — either a 60-inch turning circle or a 60x60-inch T-shaped space — for a wheelchair or walker to pivot.
- A 36-inch-wide minimum clear entry into the shower for a true roll-in (no curb, no narrow door pinch-point).
- 30x48 inches of clear floor space at the lavatory and toilet so someone can approach without contorting.
- Door openings of 32 inches clear minimum — often the single biggest miss in a 1980s-90s bathroom remodel.
Watch out
An inward-swinging bathroom door eats your clear floor space and can trap someone who falls against it. Re-hanging it to swing outward (or a pocket door) is one of the cheapest, highest-impact accessibility moves there is.
How we do it
We tape the full layout — turning circle, fixture approaches, door swing — on the existing floor at the walk-through, before any demo. If the clearances don't fit, you find out on day zero, not after the tile is down.
Want this applied to your own bathroom?
Book a free in-home walk-through. A Tanbark Project Manager (not a salesperson) tapes the clearances on your existing floor, tells you honestly what fits, and writes an itemized estimate within 48 hours.
Piece 2 of 5
Curbless Done Right (and the Door Question)
A curbless, roll-in shower is the heart of most aging-in-place bathrooms. It's also where shortcuts hide. The difference between a curbless shower that stays dry for decades and one that fails in two years is invisible once the tile is on — so you have to specify it up front.
What makes a curbless shower actually work
- 1Continuous waterproofing membrane. The floor and wall membrane wrap as one system (e.g. a Schluter-Kerdi-style bonded membrane), not separate pieces relying on caulk at the corners.
- 2A single sloped plane to a linear drain set at the far wall, so water runs away from the dry bathroom — never a drain at the entry that pulls water toward the open room.
- 3A flush transition with no lip or track at the entry, so a wheelchair or walker rolls straight in and there's nothing to trip on.
- 4Slip-rated floor tile (DCOF 0.42 or higher) — a real product spec, different from a marketing 'slip-resistant' glaze.
Closed shower or open?
You can have a fully enclosed glass shower and keep it accessible: a 36-inch-plus glass door that swings OUTWARD never blocks the clear floor space inside, and the flush floor still lets someone roll in. An open, doorless roll-in is also fine. What you should avoid is a narrow inward-swinging door over a curb.
Pro tip
Ask any contractor to show you the waterproofing system by name and how the drain is positioned. If the answer is vague, that's your signal to keep interviewing.
Want this applied to your own bathroom?
Book a free in-home walk-through. A Tanbark Project Manager (not a salesperson) tapes the clearances on your existing floor, tells you honestly what fits, and writes an itemized estimate within 48 hours.
Piece 3 of 5
Grab-Bar Blocking: The Thing You Do Now or Regret Later
The most common regret we hear on accessible bathrooms isn't about the bars people installed — it's about the blocking they didn't. Once the walls are tiled, adding solid backing for a grab bar means tearing tile out. Done right, blocking is cheap insurance installed before anyone can see it.
Where to add blocking
- Both long walls of the shower and the entry wall, continuously, at grab-bar height — so a bar can be mounted anywhere later.
- Beside and behind the toilet for a side and rear grab bar.
- At the bench, so a future fold-down seat or vertical bar has solid backing.
- Plan bars rated to hold at least 250 lb of static load, mounted to the blocking with proper fasteners — not drywall anchors.
How we do it
We run continuous plywood blocking across the wet walls before tile on every accessibility job. Even if you only want one bar today, you (or the next owner) can add bars in any spot we blocked with zero tile patchwork.
Pro tip
Grab bars now come in finishes that match your faucet — brushed nickel, matte black, even integrated into towel bars and shelves. Accessible no longer means institutional.
Want this applied to your own bathroom?
Book a free in-home walk-through. A Tanbark Project Manager (not a salesperson) tapes the clearances on your existing floor, tells you honestly what fits, and writes an itemized estimate within 48 hours.
Piece 4 of 5
Fixtures & Controls That Are Easy on the Hands
Accessibility lives in the details you touch every day. These are the fixture choices that matter most, and they're worth specifying by category so your contractor quotes the right level of hardware rather than the cheapest builder-grade part.
- A thermostatic / anti-scald mixing valve with a temperature limit — protects skin that's slower to react to hot water.
- A handheld shower on a slide bar with a long (about 69-inch) hose, usable seated or standing.
- A comfort-height (chair-height) toilet — easier to sit down onto and stand up from.
- Lever or single-handle faucets, not knobs — operable with a closed fist or a forearm.
- A fold-down or solid bench inside the shower, with reachable niche storage so nothing requires bending or stretching.
Pro tip
Spec fixtures from lines a supplier actually stocks (we use Moen Home Care, Schluter, and similar through Ferguson) so parts stay easy to verify and re-order years down the road — not proprietary trim you can't replace.
None of this has to read as 'medical.' The right fixtures in a warm finish look like a high-end spa bath; the accessibility is invisible until the moment you need it.
Want this applied to your own bathroom?
Book a free in-home walk-through. A Tanbark Project Manager (not a salesperson) tapes the clearances on your existing floor, tells you honestly what fits, and writes an itemized estimate within 48 hours.
Piece 5 of 5
Lighting, Slip & the Small Safety Wins
After clearances and the shower, the highest-return decisions are about seeing clearly and not slipping. None of these are expensive — they're just easy to forget when you're focused on tile and vanities.
- Layered, bright, even lighting with no dark corners — plus a night-path light or motion light for safe trips after dark.
- Rocker light switches placed within reach of the door, and ideally a second control near the toilet or bench.
- Slip-rated flooring throughout the room (not just the shower), with small-format tile or texture in wet zones for more grout-line traction.
- Rounded counter and bench edges, and a curbless or low transition at the room entry too — not only at the shower.
- A clear, reachable spot for a phone or call button near the toilet and the shower seat.
How we do it
We treat an accessible bathroom as a whole-room safety system, not just a fancy shower. At the walk-through we flag the lighting, switch placement, and transitions most remodels miss — and write them into the scope so they're not value-engineered out later.
Want this applied to your own bathroom?
Book a free in-home walk-through. A Tanbark Project Manager (not a salesperson) tapes the clearances on your existing floor, tells you honestly what fits, and writes an itemized estimate within 48 hours.
You made it to the end
Print it. Share it. Plan with it.
This is the same checklist we use to plan accessible bathrooms with homeowners. If you want a Project Manager to bring it to your home — measure, tape the clearances, and write a real estimate within 48 hours — we're a form away.