Bath and tile

Planning a bathroom that still works in 20 years: what to build in while the walls are open

When a bathroom gets updated, most of the planning goes into tile, the vanity and the color. Those matter. The other half of the plan is how the room will work for the people using it 10 or 20 years from now, and the best time to plan for that is while the walls are open.

Once the tile is up, adding solid backing for a grab bar means cutting into finished work. Before the backer board goes on, it's a small amount of carpentry and some plywood.

I'll mention a few accessibility standards below. They're written for public buildings. At home they're a well-tested starting point you can adjust to the person.

Last reviewed 19 October 2026

Start with the way in

A tub wall is the hardest part of most bathrooms to keep using. A shower with a low step-in, or no step at all, takes that away.

A curbless entry depends on how the floor is framed. Sometimes the floor can be recessed between the joists. The joists themselves shouldn't be notched or cut to make room without checking the framing first (the residential code covers this in IRC R502.8). I look under the floor before I recommend it, and if it changes the permit picture, I'll lay that out in writing.

For the glass, a fixed panel with an open entry is the most flexible choice. There's no track on the floor to step over and no door swinging into someone who's helping.

A seat you can stand up from

A fold-down seat lets you sit while you wash and folds away when you don't need it. Height matters. The 2010 ADA Standards put shower seats 17 to 19 inches off the floor (610.3), a good range to test against the person who'll use it.

The seat is only as strong as what it's screwed into. The same standards call for seats and grab bars to hold 250 pounds of force (610.4 and 609.8). That means solid blocking in the wall, set before the backer board goes up.

Grab bars where hands actually go

Two places matter most: the shower entry, where you step in and out, and the back wall. I set bars into solid blocking or framing. Glass panels and towel bars aren't built to hold a person, so they shouldn't stand in for a bar.

Pick a bar color that stands out against the tile. Eyesight changes, and a white bar on white tile is hard to find in a hurry.

A handheld you can reach sitting down

A handheld shower on a slide bar does a lot for little cost. Put the slide bar where it can be reached from the seat. Choose a handle with its own on and off, so you can pause the water without reaching for the valve, and a hose at least 60 inches long so someone else can help if needed.

Some slide bars are rated to work as grab bars. They cost more than a plain bar, and they give you one more solid handhold.

Put the valve near the entry, so you can turn the water on and set the temperature before stepping in. Massachusetts plumbing code requires the valve to keep the water at the outlet at or below 120°F.

A floor that grips when it's wet

Tile is rated for slip resistance. For a level floor that gets wet, look for a wet DCOF of 0.42 or higher (ANSI A137.1). The number is usually on the tile's spec sheet. On a shower floor, smaller tiles mean more grout lines, which give your feet more to grip.

Storage you can reach from the seat

Put the niche or shelf where you can reach it sitting down, roughly 15 to 48 inches off the floor (ADA 308). A niche set at standing height is out of reach from a seat.

Ready for later: small cost now, big cost later

These are the items I'd add to any bathroom while the walls are open, even if nobody needs them today.

3/4-inch plywood backing on every shower wall, behind the toilet and beside the vanity, about 24 to 48 inches off the floor. Then a bar can go almost anywhere later.
Backing for a vertical grab bar just outside the shower, where you step out.
A grab bar, or backing for one, by the toilet. A comfort-height toilet with a seat 17 to 19 inches high (ADA 604.4) makes standing up easier.
Offset hinges on the bathroom door. They swing the door clear of the opening and can add up to about 2 inches of clear width without touching the framing. Add a lever handle and a flush threshold at the new floor.
A vanity with drawers and D-shaped pulls, and a lever faucet. Drawers bring things to you, and levers work with a closed hand.
A towel bar or hook rated as a grab bar, within reach of the seat and the exit.
Color contrast on the bars, the toilet seat and the edge of the floor.
A plug-in motion night light on the way in from the bedroom.

Where to start

If you're planning a bathroom update in the next few years, start with who'll use the room and what's hard today: stepping in, standing up, reaching, seeing at night. Then decide what to build in now and what to leave ready for later.

On bigger bathroom projects we bring in experienced trades for the phases that need them, and I lead the job from the first visit to the final walkthrough. I can walk the room with you and anyone in the family who wants a say. You get the options and prices in writing before anything starts.