Many people in Metro Vancouver want to stay in the home they already know as they get older. The bathroom is usually the room that decides whether they can. It has hard, wet floors, a tub or shower to step into, and hot water, and a few changes made during a renovation can make it safer for decades. In this post we walk you through the features that matter most, the BC rules that apply to them, and the order in which to plan them.
The guidance here comes from two main sources. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) publishes a guide called Renovating for Accessibility: Bathrooms. The Province publishes an illustrative design guide for the adaptable dwelling rules in the BC Building Code 2024.
What the BC Building Code Says About Adaptable Homes
The BC Building Code 2024 added rules for "adaptable dwelling units". The Province's bulletin B24-09-R2 explains the idea: a home is built with some accessible features now, and the parts that are hard to change later, such as walls and plumbing, are placed so that the home can be adapted in the future.
Those full rules apply only to single-storey apartments reached from a shared, accessible interior corridor.
One rule reaches further. The Province's design guide lists detached houses, semi-detached houses, secondary suites and townhouses as homes where grab bar reinforcement is required in at least one bathroom, even though the other adaptable rules do not apply. The guide also recommends grab bar reinforcement in all homes. These rules apply to new construction under the BC Building Code 2024. The Province's code page notes that the BC Codes do not apply in the City of Vancouver, which has its own building bylaw, so ask the City what applies there.
In a renovation of an existing house, most of what follows is your choice. The code's adaptable apartment is still a useful model, because it shows which measurements the Province chose.
The Features That Matter Most
Grab Bar Backing in the Walls
Backing is solid wood behind the wall finish that a grab bar screws into. It is cheap while the walls are open and hard to add once they are tiled. CMHC suggests 19 mm (3/4 inch) plywood on all bathroom walls, floor to ceiling, so grab bars, handrails and even a ceiling lift can be added where they are needed later.
The Province's guide shows the reinforcement zones for the adaptable bathroom beside the toilet and in the shower. CMHC's guide cites CSA Standard B651, which requires grab bars to provide support of at least 133 kg. Beside the toilet, CMHC suggests a grab bar 305 mm (12 inches) above the seat that extends at least 455 mm (18 inches) in front of it. At a bathtub, it recommends a vertical grab bar of at least 1,220 mm (48 inches) just inside the tub enclosure.
A Curbless Shower
A curbless shower has no step at its edge, so a person can walk or roll straight in. CMHC calls the custom-built, curbless, wheel-in shower the design that suits the most people, and says it should be at least 1,525 by 1,525 mm (60 by 60 inches). It suggests:
- a floor that slopes to the drain, with the drain placed to the side where people will not stand or roll on it;
- a linear trench drain, which lets the floor slope evenly in one direction;
- shower controls no higher than 1,220 mm (48 inches);
- a handheld shower on a hose at least 1,525 mm (60 inches) long;
- slip-resistant flooring.
A curbless shower usually needs the floor under it to be lower than the rest of the room. CMHC notes that this framing, and full plywood backing, are more difficult and more expensive to do in a renovation than in new construction. Your builder should look at the floor joists before the design is final.
Door Widths
In an adaptable apartment, the code asks for a clear width of at least 850 mm, with the door open, at every doorway on the path from the entrance to the adaptable bathroom and bedroom. Clear width is the open space between the door and the frame, which is less than the width of the door itself. When you replace a bathroom door and frame, 850 mm is a sound target.
The Toilet and Vanity
The Province's guide places the centre of the toilet 460 to 480 mm from the side wall in an adaptable bathroom, with a clear space at least 900 mm wide beside it for transfer. CMHC suggests 455 to 485 mm (18 to 19 inches) from the wall, so that grab bars stay within reach. For the sink, CMHC suggests knee space 760 mm high, 785 mm wide and 610 mm deep for a person in a wheelchair, and protection from hot pipes under the sink.
Lever Handles and Controls
CMHC recommends a levered door handle that opens without gripping or twisting, and a faucet controlled by a single lever or a motion sensor. The Province's guide accepts ordinary knobs in an adaptable apartment, because hardware can be changed later. In your own renovation you can choose levers now.
The adaptable rules place switches and outlets that people use often between 400 mm and 1,200 mm above the floor.
Safe Water Temperature
The Province's bulletin P24-01 says the BC Plumbing Code 2024 is the National Plumbing Code of Canada 2020 used together with the BC Building Code. Article 2.2.10.7 of that code requires water to shower heads and bathtubs to be controlled by an automatic compensating valve, a valve that keeps the temperature steady when pressure changes. The water discharging from a shower head or into a bathtub must not exceed 49 degrees Celsius, and in healthcare facilities and seniors' residences it must not exceed 43 degrees.
The code's own note explains why. At 49 degrees, a scald burn takes nearly 10 minutes on an adult but only 2 minutes on an older adult, whose skin is thinner. If an older person lives in the home, ask your plumber about setting the valve lower than the maximum.
Lighting
CMHC's list of low and no cost modifications suggests task lighting, light switches in a contrasting colour, a night light to help prevent falls, and a motion detector for people who have trouble using a switch. A renovation is the time to add a circuit for a motion sensor or a low night light near the floor.
Planning the Work in Order
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Assess Who Will Use the Room
List the needs of the people in the home today and in the next years: balance, grip, a walker or a wheelchair. An occupational therapist can help with this step.
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Check the Floor and Walls
Open the floor to see whether the joists allow a curbless shower. Decide where the backing goes before any wall is closed.
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Permits
Moving the shower drain or the toilet changes the plumbing. Burnaby's trade permit page, for example, says any change to a plumbing system in a house or duplex needs a plumbing permit. New light fixtures and switches need an electrical permit under Technical Safety BC's homeowner electrical permit rules. Our guide to kitchen renovation permits explains who issues each permit in each city.
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Rough-In and Backing
Plumbing, the new valve, wiring and wall backing all go in before the walls close, and the rough-in inspections happen at this point.
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Waterproofing, Tile and Fixtures
The shower floor is sloped, waterproofed and tiled, then fixtures, grab bars and lighting are installed.
Practical Tips
Add Backing to Every Wall. It costs little while the studs are open and saves tearing out tile later.
Choose a Handheld Shower on a Bar. It works for a person standing or sitting.
Pick Slip-Resistant Tile. CMHC stresses a non-slip floor, most of all when it is wet.
Plan for a Helper. CMHC suggests leaving space for a person who gives care in the bathroom.
Think About the Whole Path. A safe bathroom helps most when the hallway and bedroom door on the way to it are wide enough too.
How Costar Handles a Bathroom Renovation
Costar's process page describes five stages: design and planning, pre-construction, construction, handover and warranty. By Costar's own account, during construction the client reviews details such as flooring, plumbing, electrical and lighting, while Costar supervises the trades and arranges the rough-ins and the city inspections. For an aging in place bathroom, that review is when the backing locations, the shower valve and the grab bar positions are confirmed.
Our bathroom renovation service covers work across Metro Vancouver. Costar's project gallery lists the Kitsilano Townhouse Renovation in Vancouver as a home renovation and staging project. If you are planning for several generations under one roof, our post on the generational multiplex looks at another way families stay close.
A bathroom planned for the years ahead is safer for everyone who uses it today. Bring your plans to a one-hour consultation and we will go through them with you. Tell us about your project today.
Related on this site: Bathroom renovations in Metro Vancouver · Our five-stage process · Book a one-hour project consultation
