Apparently it has gotten around that I am not one of the tallest any more with my 1,38 m in the wheelchair.
This
of an outside company is a real hit…
So somebody actually thought ahead, or it was a hobbit 
Please note as well the perceived 12 kg
With the whole weight in my neck I am always hoping that my titanium vertebra is not breaking…
Translator BL
A massive deficit with wheelchairs is the missing park distance control which is nowadays part of the standard equipment of most of the cars.
You don’t believe what can be struck (and make it crash) with the anti-tipper at the back of the wheelchair.
According to the latest findings, out of safety reasons drawers should be shut before making a 180° twist with the wheelchair as an unhinging with the wheelchair rucksack is definitely within the realms of reality.
Rather silly if one has already put on his jacket and the wheelchair taxi is waiting outside.
Translator BL
With a height of 2,38 m, width of 1.5 m and depth of 60 cm really a lot fits into a bedroom closet.
(Back in time I transported it as construction kit in my VW Golf 2).
I have quite a couple of shirts.
The bad thing with this closet is that I can’t reach up there anyway with my 1,38 m sitting in the wheelchair. With this depth I don’t see much either what is hidden in there. The attempt to get something out of the closet from behind probably results in an involuntary wheelchair-floor-transfer.
Down in the closet it’s not better either.
With the usual shelves a pile of 15 shirts remains for selection in the end. These fall out of the closet, or you have to rely on your assistant’s taste.
(I don’t like “pink T-shirts”).
The Swedish plywood constructors offer with their
drawers in the closet.
Now everything is within reach even from a wheelchair and you can also reach the shirts in the back of the closet which are usually inaccessible.
Beware of the polar bear!
(He is watching over me since my accident 2007).
Translator BL
You should take your time with the selection of the adapted washing basin.
In my opinion, a height adjustable luxury basin is not necessary if the wheelchair user is not a child.
Basically you should be able to agree with your partner on the mounting height, as long as the partner is not Dirk Nowitzki!
The wheelchair has to fit even with passenger underneath the washing basin.
Better remind your plumber!
Stupidly most of the washing basins are not large enough so that you are standing with the feet against the wall, and you still have to bend forward over the very expensive special washing basin.
Great!!
I consider it as advantage if the washing basin has little “wings” on the right and left side, so that the storage space is substantially larger and better to reach.
Lots of bits and pieces fit in here.
A downward foldable wall mirror is not needed by anybody.
(see older blogpost).
The mounting height of the disabled toilet is according to my information at approx. 40 cm. This really has a reasonable cause.
Above 40 cm it is not possible to drive with a shower commode chair without reconstruction over the toilet. I would like to meet the plumber who knows that.
Even in designated wheelchair hotels the toilet height can be different in each room. Everybody does what he wants.
What is interesting is that some health insurances cover either the costs for a shower commode chair, or for holding bars next to the toilet.
Thus relatively fit wheelers use the shower chair for the shower and are then obliged to use it for the daily “sitting” even though they could swing onto the toilet lid if they had the money for holding bars. The bars are shockingly expensive, I have some low priced producers in my data base.
If you need a rubber ring for the toilet seat, of course you have free choice for the mounting height.
By coincidence I got two holding bars out of stainless steel for 21 € in Ebay. The value of the material is already significantly higher. The bars don’t only look good, they are also doing well as towel rail.
An acquaintance of mine doesn’t care at all.
He is taking a shower with his “normal” wheelchair. His cushion never gets wet. He probably has one, but doesn’t sit on it even during the day.
To be continued.
Click on tag “Bath Reconstruction” to read the other blogposts of the series.
Translator BL
As already reported, plumbers were not particularly interested to competently reconstruct my accessible bathroom for realistic prices.
In the end I found a company in which the son of the boss is sitting in a wheelchair as well so they knew what a fresh wheelchair driver needs in his bathroom.
I am regularly on rehabilitation fairs and know quite some technical aids for the bathroom, but my ergonomically formed
is quite special and actually belongs into the museum of modern art.
The company Hewi builds undoubtedly high quality bathroom equipment.
A price of 46 € for a bath tub handhold is quite heavy while it is in the meantime even mounted to my balcony wall as fly-net holder.
A price of 441,00 € excl. VAT for a
for which you need a mounting kit of 25 € I consider a little bit exaggerated because it is not even working automatically. I just mean the white bar!
With my 1,38 m size in the wheelchair I can use the 2 m high shower holder now as gym bar.
To be continued!
Click on tag “Bath Reconstruction” to read the other blogposts of the series.
Translator BL
I wish you a Merry Christmas and always a barrier-free life!
Currently we have a snow drift, I am snowed in, so what.
I am glad that everything is prepared for the Christmas dinner!
The new bathroom was planned so that an accessible, on grade shower basin should be embedded on the window side.
A size of 120 cm x 120 cm is standard (top left).
Due to the wall breakthrough a new bathtub could be set on the right side, virtually in the home office. Then a little bit washing basin, connection for the washing machine, disabled toilet, and the bathroom was actually almost done.
OK, a new wall had to be built on the right, plaster, some tiles, colour and a sliding door were necessary due to the broadening of the door case.
Sounds rather simple, so let’s take a start!
In TV shows accessible bathrooms are built in 45 minutes broadcasting time…
It’s not “going” that fast!
Usually bathrooms suitable for disabled are on the ground floor, which basically makes sense because stairs are natural obstacles for us wheelchair users.
Additionally the siphon of the accessible shower can be banished with a breakthrough to the basement ceiling, where nobody would bother except for a couple of rats.
In the first floor the shower drain thing is a bit more difficult.
I don’t have any more problems, but there it was, the challenge!
Because I have neighbours living underneath, a colourful siphon on their bathroom ceiling was out of question.
Even with the most even drain you need at least
The concrete underlay was removed until the bottom plate. My bathroom floor didn’t give more than 8 cm depth for the installation of the shower basin.
The floor had to be lifted, but then it wouldn’t be on the same level as the corridor any more.
What now:
A stair at the door to enter the “accessible bathroom” was a serious suggestion, but not for me.
To pump the waste water upwards because of the missing 4 cm I thought would be too complex.
The floor slightly ascends by 4 cm from door to shower which has the funny effect that I am rolling away with my wheelchair in my own bathroom.
A pedestrian doesn’t note the difference.
As long as I don’t splatter too much with the water while showering it won’t run into the corridor!
I should have explicitly mention that to my friend who stayed overnight before he went into the bathroom. 
To be continued!
Click on tag “Bath Reconstruction” to read the other blogposts of the series.
Translator BL
After more than 2 years I have calmed down a little bit and I am writing about my legendary
People with high blood pressure should save themselves to rebuild a small bathroom into a wash plant suitable for wheelchair drivers and build a new house instead.
This is “going” faster.
Already at the time when I was still in hospital I was taken home by the transport service, then heaved to the first floor to surprisingly find out at a living space inspection that my bathroom was not suitable for someone in a wheelchair.
This fact didn’t remain concealed even to me, in spite of considerable medication abuse upfront.
Now it was official, my bathroom was too small!
My wife took pictures and filled various questionnaires about the number of stairs in front of the house, the width of doors in the flat, etc. etc. etc….
This information was filed somewhere unregarded. Oh well…
Because addresses of construction companies and suitable plumbers in Germany apparently are subject to the highest level of secrecy obligation everything was left with me again.
An acquaintance who is architect had the idea to “push” the wall on the right 1,20 meter to the side, then everything should fit in…
Therefore the inflatable guest bed in the home office had to give way.
Thanks again from this side.
After more than 2 years I am still waiting for promised offers from plumbers. They don’t want to make money, others therefore more.
I like quotations like that:
Reconstruction bathroom mere 17.000 € with the details:
Demounting of bathroom furniture 60 €.
This was a 50 cm wall cupboard.
All extra work will be invoiced separately.
A picture was hanging on the wall.
When I tried to call our property management regarding the move of the wall on extension 59 I heard the voice mail text that due to absence I should call the colleague on extension 67 for the next two and a half weeks. There I heard the voice mail text that I should consult his substitute under extension 59 for the next two weeks.
If it was a load-bearing wall or not which we intended to move probably would have to be eventually clarified by the Federal Constitutional Court.
The non-working employee in charge of the property management (extension 59) insisted that no wall might be torn down without his assessment.
He didn’t make in within 3 months to walk the 250 meters from his office to my bathroom, not to mention an on-site inspection of the property within a year.
Because I wanted to leave the hospital one time I decided by agreement with the advisory board, wall down, H-beam in, regardless of costs.
Click on tag “Bath Reconstruction” to read other blogposts of the series.
Translator BL
Als ich noch “Fußie” war, bin ich je nach Dienst um 04:30 Uhr aufgestanden. Das es zu dieser Zeit recht dunkel ist, wenn man ums Bett geht und zuvor die Nachttischlampe ausgeschaltet hat, ist klar. Mein Schienbein hat sich hierbei in regelmäßigen Abständen mit der Ecke des herausragenden Bettrahmenbalkens angelegt und verloren.
Aus diesem Grund hatte ich mir seinerzeit ein batteriebetriebenes
angeschafft, das ich quasi als Bettunterbeleuchtung verwendet habe. Diese Teile sind mittlerweile recht günstig und im Baumarkt, oder zeitweise beim Discounter für unter 10 € zu erwerben.
Jetzt habe die LED-Lampe auf meinem Nachttisch stehen. Da muss ich nur mal mit der Hand winken, damit das Licht angeht.
Dies ist genial, da ich durch die Lähmung der Beine / Hüfte wortwörtlich wie ein Maikäfer auf dem Rücken liege und nicht ohne größte Schwierigkeiten an den Schalter der normalen Nachttischlampe komme. Am Boden in der Wohnung machen die Teile auch Sinn, da muss man beim Durchrollern von Zimmer zu Zimmer nicht immer alle Lichter Ein- und Ausschalten.
Mit Akkus bestückt “geht” mir ca. 3 Monate lang Nachts ein Licht auf!
对不起，此内容只适用于Deutsch。
Wheelchair users and their bathroom equipment is an endless subject!
The mounting height of the bath mirror can lead to the move-out of the partner if no agreement is found.
To avoid these discussions, usually cost-efficient (ho, ho, ho)
movable mirrors
are recommended. How are you supposed to see anything without binoculars in such a thing when it is skillfully mounted under the ceiling, and who moves it if needed?
My tip is a, mounted to hobbit size, a telescopic round
Make-up Mirror
made by the
Swedish meatballers.
Model: FRÄCK 5,99€
The mirror of my wall cupboard is with its height just suitable for eyebrow shaping.
Now I can finally see if my nurse is botching with the shaving.
Translator BL
As self-confessed hobbit with 1,38 m total height forehead top sitting in the wheelchair you have to confess every now and then that the upward reach is a little limited.
My well-tried
suddenly have a perceived height of 2,10 m after my accident.
If you aren’t a friend of the fishing sport then taking down the keys turns out to be a bit tedious and can be dangerous.
The usage of safety glasses and helmet is mandatory.
The
Yellow North European Furniture Elks
are offering a
magnet holder for kitchen knives,
which I have declared as
Watch out, there are two types.
One of the holders just succeeds to prevent a paper clip from falling down. 
Translator BL
In winter or rainy weather, almost all pedestrians take off their shoes in front of their door and sneak in socks over the laminate.
I absolutely appreciate that this makes sense when you have estimated 2 kg snow on the soles of your shoes
and you don’t like to go sledging in your flat.
You won’t believe how much snow or rain water can stick to a wheelchair.
Even the wiping of the wheelchair tyres with discarded towels is rather difficult if you are not a Paralympian or contortionist.
To counteract the spring tide in your flat
I have purchased a carpet as it is usually lying e.g. at the entrance of department stores and positioned it outside of my door in the staircase.
These carpets absorb up to 6 liters of water per m².
With its size of 230 cm x 120 cm my
could actually absorb more than 16 liters rain water.
Before I roll into the flat I am doing two laps on the carpet in the staircase, and the wheelchair tyres are clean and dry.
Up to now the maximum “filling capacity” was not reached yet.
Translator BL
It is always a little difficult to switch on and off electric devices sitting in a wheelchair.
There are always missing the commonly known 2 cm.
Not 1 cm, or 5 cm?
There are always 2 cm.
I have the theory that this results from mass inertia, momentum and black holes.
Here is the solution:
A remote-controlled Christmas Tree lighting is quite nice.
Radio coverage allegedly until 25 m. (Probably only at full moon on April 1st).
You can get regularly special offers for a pack of 4!
(15 €, not much more.)
If you buy the pack of 4 twice from the same manufacturer, you should change the radio frequency with the little DIP switches, (in German) also known as
.
It might happen otherwise that the toilet light is switched on together with the coffee machine.
Well, maybe not so bad after all… let’s think about it again…
It is not complicated to change the switches.
Every quadriplegic who manages it should get a piece of cake or two from his occupational therapist.
Serious safety instruction:
Please always consider the max. switching power, around 1000 watt.
Never connect an electric heater, around 2000 watt!!!
The switches get hot and might start burning.
I have experimentally connected an electric heater, the electrical socket didn’t survive!!!
Should there be any difficulties with playing the keys (setting the switches) I am at your disposal as professional ”piano tutor” .
Have fun with the piano lesson.
Translator BL
I received this photo a couple of days ago.
Look closely,
the plumber didn’t have 2,5 per mill blood alcohol level and mounted the clamp incorrectly.
With this hose clamp you can easily regulate the thermostat.
Great idea!!!
Security advice:
If possible you should upgrade it with a child safety feature in form of a cork.
A wrong grasp could end painfully.
Translator BL
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