Abstract
The bathroom is a space where humans fulfil certain daily needs, but for the disabled, it can be the most difficult space to use and may even be a cause of accidents and a source of danger. Previous studies on the bathroom have mostly proposed an ideal model of bathroom, but the majority of disabled people live in small homes of about $50m^2$ in size. As their bathrooms are usually very small, and existing houses have various structural limitations, more research should be conducted on the remodeling of residential bathrooms. This study analyzed a number of remodeling items in bathrooms, all of which were listed in previous studies. Based on 17 cases of residential bathroom remodeling in the homes of disabled people residing in Incheon in 2009, this study analyzed several remodeling items required according to the subject's characteristics, such as a lifestyle, gender, and family composition; and proposed the following remodeling requirements and improvement measures for ambulatory-disabled persons and sedentary-disabled people. First, as ambulatory-disabled people have lower-limb impairments, they required bathroom remodeling designed to improve their mobility in the bathroom. These subjects desired the installation of grab bars, as well as the elimination of floor level differences, the installation of non-slip flooring, a counter-top, a sink stand, and a shower holder whose height can be adjusted. Second, sedentary-disabled people move around in a sitting or crawling position, so many of them asked to eliminate floor level differences and vertically-installed bathroom furnishings. Basically, both people with ambulatory disabilities and people with non-ambulatory impairments requested the elimination of floor level differences and the installation of non-slip flooring and grab bars for the toilet and bathtub. They also asked for the heights of sinks, faucets, mirrors, shower holders, and cabinets to be adjusted to suit their needs.