GB General Contractors just finished remodeling a clients condo to make it wheelchair accessible. We poured a new wheelchair ramp that has a nice gradual and long approach. This allows the client to enter the condo without assistance of others. We also added a small ramp on the inside of the front door threshold so the client can roll over the threshold without any issues. ADA code requires the ramps to rise no more than 1" inch per linear foot of ramp. So if the landing of the ramp is 5" inches tall, the ramp needs to be 5' feet long, for every 1 linear foot the ramp will rise 1" inch.

On the front door we lowered the peep hole so the client could see his visitors. As you walk into the living room we lowered the AC thermostat so that he can see and easily adjust his air conditioner. We donated a portable microwave to sit on the kitchen counter to avoid reconfiguring the kitchen cabinets to allow access to the current microwave.

We didn't move any walls in the bathroom to create additional room, so we had to be careful how we moved things around to utilize as much room as possible. We installed a new 3'0" foot door that allowed access to the bathroom from the bedroom. We removed the existing 5' foot tub and knocked out some concrete in the floor to move the drain and to allow us to create a roll in wheelchair accessible shower. Our tile guy created a very nice tile shower with no threshold and sloped the tile back to the drain so the water would drain properly. Since there is no threshold, the client can easily roll into the shower with his wheelchair. We also created a bench with a 16" inch deep granite bench seat that allows our client to move himself easily from his wheelchair to the bench seat by using two grab bars we installed. To finish off the shower we installed a handheld shower head sprayer to give the client some convenience and comfort.

We removed the existing pedestal vanity and installed a ADA sink. We installed the bottom of the sink 27" from the floor to allow for the client to roll under the sink. We also installed hot water pipe protection sleeves that go over the water pipes, this protects the client from getting burned from the pipes when he rolls under the sink. We widened the clients existing closet door to a 3'0"door to allow for better access.

This project turned out really nice, we were able to make the condo wheelchair accessible while updating the look of things. By doing these changes we able to give some freedom and independence back to the client so he can enjoy life better.