If you have a small bathroom, you probably have to put a lot more thought into using your space than most people. Decisions about where to store those extra towels and toiletries or where to hang up that new medicine cabinet can take some serious forethought and planning to pull it off. If your mobility has declined and you know you need to upgrade to a walk-in bathtub, you might be worried about how you’ll fit that into your small bathroom. Here are some tips that might help.
Standard Tub Cutouts
You must know walk-in tubs are built to fit into the same space as a standard tub. So, if you already have a tub in your bathroom, the odds are good that you can fit a walk-in tub into that same space. This can take a bit of the worry off your shoulders, but you should still keep reading for some additional helpful tips.
Inward-Swinging Doors
The door on a walk-in tub should also be of some concern to those with smaller bathrooms. These tubs can have doors that either swings out from the tub or swing inside the tub. If you have a small bathroom, you want an inward-swinging door. That way, you don’t have to give added thought to leaving enough room for the tub door to open freely without bumping into walls, cabinets, or other fixtures in your small bathroom.
The one exception to this is if you use a wheelchair, an outward-swinging door is more accessible for wheelchair users. However, if that is the case, your small bathroom probably isn’t accessible enough for you to easily navigate your wheelchair in it, and it may be a good idea to find a space with a larger, more accessible bathroom.
Making More Room
Perhaps you only have a shower stall in your small bathroom, so you don’t have a standard tub cutout to fit it into. This might require you to make some extra room to fit a walk-in tub. You might consider removing some cabinetry and countertop space to allow more space for the tub, or you could increase the size of the bathroom with some remodeling. This is a much bigger project, and you’ll want to consult with a contractor to determine your options.
Room for Installation
When installing a walk-in bathtub, especially in a small bathroom, you need to think about more than just the amount of space it will take up after installation. It would help if you also considered whether or not there’s enough space to get the tub into the bathroom in the first place. Bringing the tub in might require you to take apart certain fixtures or remove doors from their hinges. It’s a good idea to have an installer consult with you to determine the simplest, most effective way to make room for your new tub.
