News and insights on accessible bathrooms for homes and facilities.
In case you haven’t tuned in yet, the Best Bath Systems YouTube channel is up and running. We have a wide range of videos that cover the full line of safe and accessible showers and walk-in tubs for seniors and those with limited mobility. Watch bathtub and shower installation demonstrations, customer testimonials and informative pieces on independent living and aging in place for families.
You can find our ever-growing collection of videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/BestBathUSA
Bob St. Clair of First Service Industries and Luxury Bath & Kitchen Design Studio in Loves Park, IL was kind enough to pass this item along. As of April 22, 2010, the EPA requires that renovation, repair and painting contractors be certified in lead safety practices for work done in pre-1978 homes, schools and child care facilities that have lead based paint. The rule does not apply to minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or where less than 20 square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior.
Contractors have to become certified in lead safety practice (here is the application) and supply owners with this pamphlet: Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools (PDF). Additionally, renovators should:
You can learn all about the new rules and regulations at www.epa.gov.
An independent study conducted by RSMeans Company has determined that the installation of Best Bath Systems one-piece roll-in fiberglass shower surrounds takes significantly less time and money than ceramic tile and fiberglass mud set shower surrounds.
RSMeans, a division of Reed Construction Data, is a leading supplier of construction cost and materials pricing information. Developers, architects, engineers and contractors in North America rely on their products and services to project and control the cost of both new construction and renovation projects.
The 2009 study measured the average installation time and labor costs for seven Best Bath Systems one-piece shower surrounds in a continuing care retirement community in Massachusetts. Labor was based on the average wages in 30 major U.S. cities. They determined benchmark average costs of installation at:
Best Bath one-piece roll-in commercial shower surrounds are pre-leveled and require no additional mud set material. Designed for durability with a wood core, fiberglass and a gelcoat surface, they are ideally suited for the bathing needs of hospitals, independent living communities, university dormitories and condominiums where safety and accessibility are of the utmost concern.
Installing ceramic tile surrounds entails hanging cement backer boards, mixing and applying thin set mortar, laying tile, adding reinforced plywood bracing (hidden from view) for safety bars, grouting and grout sealing. Best Bath one-piece surrounds merely require adhesive to secure the unit. Comparing the two by installation time, ceramic surround installation averages 11.75 hours vs. 1.72 hours for the Best Bath surround.
Conventional fiberglass shower assemblies have a cavity that must be filled with a mud set to bond the unit into place. Installation time on average is 2.44 hours or 30% longer than Best Bath, plus the additional material and mixing cost.
Findings of the study revealed that the Best Bath surround installation resulted in a cleaner job site, reduced training costs and easier installation of safe bathing accessories such as shower grab bars and seats at a later date.
Read the complete report by clicking here.
When New York-based LAN Associates Architects and New Jersey-based Construction Technology Corporation discovered asbestos embedded in the 350 bathrooms of the 30 year old Asbury Tower, a 26-story senior living high-rise in Asbury Park, New Jersey, their remodel project was in danger of grinding to a halt.
After thorough evaluation of the Asbury Tower, traditional asbestos abatement options were considered. “We started looking at encapsulating the walls rather than bringing in an asbestos contractor to demo the bathrooms. We became aware of Best Bath Systems and their willingness to produce custom work and decided to call,” said project architect Vlad Potiyevsky, of LAN Architects.
Best Bath Systems was contracted to design, manufacture and deliver a custom accessible bath solution to effectively remodel, cover and seal the tower’s 350 bathrooms. It allowed architects and construction project managers to avoid costly asbestos removal, install a beautiful bathroom and put the remodel back on track.
The challenge for Best Bath was to design custom built pieces to fit each bathroom. Though they appeared as identical footprints on the construction floor plans, the 350 bathrooms were originally built in eight different design layouts, each with varied dimensions.
“We needed to be able to cover up the wainscot and around the door areas of the bathroom without disturbing the sheet rock and also take out the old bathtubs and put in a more accessible shower,” Cal Osborn of Best Bath explained. “We had to design for these different rooms a multi-piece, universal system; you can’t just bring in a one piece unit. So the floor needed to be separate from the shower pan and then all the wainscot and shower sections had to be custom built to fit together once they arrived at the job site.”
Best Bath manufactured over 7,000 shower surround system composite fiberglass pieces for the Asbury Tower remodel. Finish wall materials include gel coat surfaced fiberglass with encapsulated plywood. This standard Best Bath wall feature allows placement of accessories without additional modification. Because a harder surface was desired for the bathroom floor, a state of the art, sprayable solid surface was selected for the floors, giving the look and feel of granite and enabling the surface to withstand shoe traffic.
Best Bath helped construction managers meet critical construction timelines by offering unusually quick turnaround. Just six weeks after being contacted by LAN Associates, Best Bath manufactured and shipped a complete bathroom system for test fitting and resident feedback. “It’s not your typical construction vendor that is able to supply things so fast, especially when it’s made from scratch,” said Scott Harris, senior project manager at Construction Technology Corporation.
Best Bath Systems attributes the quick turnaround time to the very nature of the universal bath system. The interchangeability of the shower wall and floor components reduces tooling time dramatically. Osborn says Best Bath’s rapid production can also be credited to Best Bath’s custom-oriented production system, which is unique to the industry.
“Out of necessity, most manufacturers are production-oriented; Best Bath is a solution-oriented company. We’re set up to do custom work and we welcome creative custom ideas, we are able to adapt to custom challenges,” said Osborn.
This partnership kept the Asbury Tower remodel on budget and enabled them to meet their spring, 2009 completion date.
