Aging In Place - Fall Prevention - Bathtub Safety

Aging In Place

What is aging in place?

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), aging-in-place means remaining in one's home safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level. It means the pleasure of living in a familiar environment throughout one's maturing years, and the ability to enjoy the familiar daily rituals and the special events that enrich all our lives. It means the reassurance of being able to call a house a "home" for a lifetime.

Fall Injury Statistics


•Every 18 seconds, an older adult is treated in an emergency department for a fall, and every 35 minutes someone in this population dies as a result of their injuries.
•Falls are the leading cause of unintentional home injury deaths in the U.S. accounting for 33% of fatalities.
•Older adults experience an average of more than 4,700 fall-related deaths and 1.5 million nonfatal fall injuries each year.
•On average, 370 persons of all ages sustain bathtub/shower injuries daily, totally over 135,000 annually in the United States (Consumer Product Safety Commission)
•One in three adults 65 and older falls each year. By the time they reach 80 years or older that chance increases to one in two. (World Health Organization, 2002).
•Nearly 90% of older Americans want to stay in their current homes as they age.

How can Safeway help?

Safeway manufactures bath modification and accessibility products that help to prevent falls and that allow individuals to stay in their homes. The Safeway Tub DoorTM is a product and installation method designed to add a water-tight sealable door to an existing bathtub. Installation includes cutting and removing a section of the existing tub and custom fitting the resulting opening with the Safeway Tub DoorTM . The Safeway Tub DoorTM aids the senior, disabled individual and/or caregiver by removing their biggest barrier and providing easier access to the tub area. The Safeway Tub DoorTM can be installed for a fraction of the cost compared to tearing out and removing the existing bathtub to install more costly renovation options, such as a walk-in shower or walk-in bath.

Similar to the Safeway Tub DoorTM, the Safeway Step® also provides easier access into the bathtub area and does not require the removal of the existing bathtub. However, the Safeway Step® does not include a door and transforms the existing bathtub into a more accessible shower once installed.

Safeway's patented accessibility modifications are installed in just a few hours and help reduce the possibility of dangerous falls.

Safeway's accessibility products have been installed for personal homeowners, assisted living and other senior living residences, state and local social programs and hospitality properties throughout the US and abroad.

According to Chris Stafford, President of Safeway Safety Step, LLC, "We are excited at the rapid growth and acceptance of the Safeway line of bathtub modifications as a low cost alternative and Aging in Place solution for home and facility modifications. The Safeway Step® and Safeway Tub DoorTM will truly benefit a growing segment of our society to more easily enter and exit the bathtub area."

We at Coastal Refinishing perform walk-in bathtub conversions in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Wilmington, and Myrtle Beach.

Thank you to Safeway Step for providing this info.
Bathtub Safety Products

Only Bathtub Refinishing? What else do we do?

Most bathtub refinishers offer many services, here is a list of the major services we offer:

• Bathtub Refinishing


• Tile Refinishing


• Countertop Resurfacing


• Chip Repair


• Bathtub Inlays


• Grab Bar Installation


• Permanent Bathtub Mat


• Walk-in Bathtub Conversions

I'm going to explain each briefly, each explanation will follow with a blog entry.

Bathtub Refinishing - Your rusted, chipped, stained, dull, leaking, or outdated colored tub will be repaired and completely restored to a high-gloss finish which will last 5-10 years. Never hire a refinisher who acid etchs! Cheaper is not better. Cost is about $400-750.

Tile Refinishing - Is the easiest way to fix cracked, chipped, broken, or unattractively colored tiles. Also, dirty grout lines that won't come clean will be a thing of the past. Tiles will be fixed or replaced then re-grouted. A topcoat of your color choice will be sprayed over, covering the tiles and grout line with a durable, high gloss finish. Cost is about $350 up.

Countertop Resurfacing or Refinishing - Countertop Refinishing will take countertops with cuts, rips, burns, stains, and cracks to a new finish. These finishes look like Granite, Corion, or a speckle finish. Cost is about $15-30 sq/ft

Chip Repairs - Think of this as a color matched mini refinishing. These are done on any bath, kitchen, or appliance surface you can imagine. Also scratches in cultured marble and fiberglass tubs can be polished out completely without refinishing. The polishing service is usually done for builders who have damaged an installed fixture. Cost is about $100+

Bathtub or Shower Inlays - This is a repair done primarily in rental properties or for people on a shoe string budget. Here we can repair a cracked fixture or one with a hole by simply gluing down a thick fiberglass mat over the problem area. Cost is about $300 up.

Grab Bar Installation - Very simply we install a grab bar or rail to the wall around your bathtub or shower. Cost is about $75 + Cost of Bar ($75 up)

Permanent Bathtub Mat - Simply what it says, a permanent mat will be rolled onto the floor of your tub or shower to help prevent falls. This also is used to cover repairs to the bottom of your tub saving you the cost of a complete refinishing. Never us suction cupped mats! They will damage your tub! Cost is about $75-100

Walk-in Bathtub Conversions - Here the wall of your bathtub is cut off and either a step or a door is installed in its place. This will give easy access to people unable to safely step over the tub wall. We use the Safeway Step product. Cost is about $600-1800.

I have placed links to my website for you to read more.

Feel free to email me with any questions.

My business services Wilmington, Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill in North Carolina (NC) and Myrtle Beach South Carolina (SC).

Who I am, and How I know about Bathtub Refinishing.

In 2001, I was a salesman for a large corporation when I made the decision to get into the service industry. The only problem was I just didn't know which one. I went to a couple of franchise shows and that's where I found out about Miracle Method. I spent a couple months researching Bathtub Refinishing and the related services. Next thing I know I had bought a franchise and was running a successful bathtub refinishing business with my son. I soon found myself finding new products and services to offer my customers to help them. The only thing I didn't like about my new business was that I was still working for someone else, the franchise in this case. So when my franchise agreement was over I didn't renew. As my business grew I found myself making service calls hours away. That pushed me to have my son open and run the second office.



My Company Website: http://www.coastal-refinishing.com/

I service Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, and Wilmington North Carolina (NC) as well as Myrtle Beach South Carolina (SC).