RETAILER PROFILE | AHM Installations Shower
display with grab handles and drop- down seat
need to do something now.” AHM supplies around 60 to 80 bath-
rooms a month, of which only around two are non-accessible. Nonetheless, it strives to make sure that its bathrooms do not look like a hospital.
As Julie puts it: “When we started, a drop-down seat was quite a basic thing. Now you can have some nice contemporary products, so there are ways of making the adaptations a lot more aesthetically pleasing.” But the underlying needs of the end user are the key driver. Getting the grab bar in the right place and height for the user or carer, asking if they can operate a toilet flush lever, whether they can step into a bath or get out once they are in.
Then there is the issue of showering and the dangers of scalding or thermal shock from exposure to cold water, especially if someone cannot jump out of the way. Simon says: “If they can get out of the way, you can put in a standard shower with a thermostatic control. If they can’t get out of the way, you are better off with a remote control to get it at the right temperature before they get in.”
Another issue that AHM has to deal with is when an elderly user cannot physically
climb the stairs to an
upstairs bathroom. That is why, as Charles points out,
their surveyors look at the whole house layout and not just the bathroom. He explains: “We teach them to find out how the customer is going to get to the bathroom. It may take them half- an-hour to get upstairs. So we might decide to put in an extra banister for
70
them or a stair lift.” Simon adds: “We have also con - verted plenty of garages into a bedroom and bathroom. We have our own qualified architect, Nathan, who works on all the bigger projects like adaptations of garages and utility rooms.”
Multigenerational As well as working with SSAFA, AHM also helps with advice on getting Disabled
Facilities Grant. It is also looking at offering finance but it is still trialling that option.
Asked whether AHM has noticed an uptick in business driven by the increase in multigenerational house- holds, Charles admits: “I don’t see it as as big a market as we thought it was going to be. If people want their elderly relatives living with them, normally they are annexed. But if you convert a bathroom specifically for an 80- to 90-year-old grandparent, you’re never going to get your starter family with a young baby in the same environment.” When AHM first set up in 1999, Simon admits the accessible sector was in its infancy and that products were in short supply.
He recalls that suitable non-slip trays of the right size were in short supply, so they had their own made. And they are still using it today. They also did their own wet-room panels, but now they only do the trays. Now of course there are many more products to choose from and AHM deals among others with Gainsborough, Mantaleda, Mira, Scudo, AKW, QX, Impey, Triton and Aqualisa.
As for the future, Simon says they
Walk-in baths always seem to capture browsers’ attention
are looking to plug the holes where they are not represented nationally, such as Scotland. He also believes accessible bathrooms will be a growing market.
“That isn’t going to stop in the years to come,” he tells me, “because we have this huge number of old folks coming through, who will require this kind of assistance over the next 20 years. There will be new areas that we are covering.”
Most AHM fitters are employed, but
the aim is to bring additional subcon- tractors on to the books under the guidance of the in-house training team. Charles also wants to reduce project lead times from the current three to four weeks to one or two weeks, because, as Simon puts it, “a lot of our customers are at their wits’ end and every extra day, every minute, without a bath is really hurting. That’s where we would love to be.”
• April 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
