Best Practices in the Design of Toileting and Bathing Facilities for Assisted Transfers

4.21.4 Grab Bars.

ADAAG specifies grab bars on the three walls of a roll-in shower stall, 33"-36" above the floor. The plans reviewed offered little insight as to placement of grab bars in showers. In fact, information about grab bars tended to be contradictory. On the one hand, transfers are typically only made into shower chairs outside the shower and with a caregiver’s assistance. As a result, grab bars in the shower may not be necessary and their placements can be a deterrent to the required maneuvering room needed by caregivers. On the other hand, grab bars provided according to ADAAG are insufficient for independent use of the shower. As a result, more bars, particularly vertical ones, and in different configurations than specified in ADAAG were often installed. However, the location and orientation of grab bars were dependent on the type and size of shower provided.