Safety & Regulation
Accessibility Feature; Security & Tenant Safety Feature
and the next occupants require a more traditional bathroom layout. Even in sheltered housing, or other accommodation designed for older
people, standard wetroom solutions do not always work. Not all older people want showers, either because they are not used to them, or because they enjoy alleviating their aches and pains by soaking in a warm bath. ‘Personalisation’ is a common buzzword but it is expensive to deliver in practice. So, what can housing providers do to provide both value-for-money and flexible solutions to keep all tenants happy? It’s clearly a big challenge that urgently needs to be addressed. To help build greater flexibility into housing stock, AKW has been working
with many social housing providers to overcome this issue with their ‘bathroom for life’ option. This solution is a conventional bathroom layout that includes a bath; however the difference is that the bath can be very quickly and easily adapted to become a level access wetroom showering area (and back again if required). The bath effectively becomes more like a piece of furniture, so it is possible for landlords to keep it in place for families or remove it for older people or those with disabilities, as required. This type of alternative solution minimises any adaptation costs for a housing
provider by reducing the amount of building work needed. It also reduces disruption to tenants. Once installed, it takes approximately half a day to either install a bath or take the bath out and return it to a wet room, making it easy for new residents moving into a property, as they can have the choice of a bath or shower depending on their needs or preference. Typically, the price difference between a Bathroom for Life installation and a traditional bathroom refurbishment or new build is £500. Although there is increasing pressure on housing stock to become
even more accessible, manufacturers are working hard to help social landlords provide ‘real-world’ solutions. Thanks to these companies, many housing providers are saving time and building long-term flexibility into their housing stock.
Stuart Reynolds is head of product and marketing at AKW
PORTHOLES
LOUVRES
POWER TRANSFER UNITS
LOCKS AND CYLINDERS SPECIALIST ARCHITECTURAL
HARDWARE SUPPLIERS TO THE DOOR OPENINGS INDUSTRY
FLUSH BOLTS VISION FRAMES
FINGER PROTECTION
DOOR STAYS
PANIC HARDWARE
ACOUSTIC SEALS
ZERO SEAL SYSTEMS LTD UNITS 43-45 LADFORD COVERT SEIGHFORD STAFFORD ST18 9QG TEL - 01785 282910 E-MAIL -
SALES@ZEROPLUS.CO.UK WWW.ZEROPLUS.CO.UK
44 | HMM June/July 2019 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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