Spent $400 on a walk-in tub for my mom... totally worth it

My mom has been scared of taking showers because she almost fell last year. I finally got her a walk-in tub with a seat and grab bars installed last month. It cost about $400 with installation from a local plumber in Austin. She actually used it for the first time yesterday and called me crying happy tears. Has anyone else found a budget friendly way to make bathrooms safer for aging parents?

4 comments

4 Comments

jordan_henderson131d ago

Honestly I think the real hidden cost nobody talks about is the water heater. My neighbor installed one of those walk in tubs and it takes forever to fill up so the water runs cold halfway through. You gotta make sure your hot water tank is big enough or you're gonna be sitting there shivering. Another thing is the floor underneath. I helped my buddy install one and we found out his subfloor was rotted from a slow leak. Cost him another 300 bucks to fix that before he could even put the tub in. Not trying to scare you off cause $400 is a steal for what you got but check those two things first.

sammartinez1d ago

Oh man I gotta push back on this a little. Most modern water heaters can handle a walk in tub just fine if you space out your showers, and if you're really worried just crank the temp up a bit and mix in more cold water. Plus that subfloor thing is a total edge case, like yeah if your house has hidden rot you got bigger problems than just the tub install.

the_alice1d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you really think modern heaters can keep up with those things? You just changed my mind honestly.

julia_carter611d ago

Ngl Jordan you're right, the water heater thing almost got me too.