Hi Marcus
As well as all the information provided by Helen, another issue is the
length of benches as recent ones are too short for people to lie down as an
alternative to sitting. For people who prefer to sit, maybe there could be
drop down armrests/grab rails to assist people in getting up, which could
be recessed into the design. There are usually wooden slats on the side.
Best wishes
Flick
At 11:49 21/06/2005 +0100, you wrote:
>Hi Helen
>
>Thanks for the input and know what you mean about the trickiness of
>retrofitting as I have been to look at an existing installation to get an
>initial impression of the issues. The threshold on the one I viewed was not
>as much a problem but this may be because they are positioned near to the
>pool side and the whole area is tanked. The issue of being left in the room
>since wheelchairs, crutches etc will be taken out of the room by an
>attendant is a concern I already had and the emergency call facility would
>help. As you say height of benching and transfer space is most certainly
>something that needs bringing in. Grab rails are another tricky item as
>where do you put them in a confined box so that they are useful but do not
>restrict the space?
>
>In the steam room the problem seems to be everything being white with poor
>visibility anyway because of all the steam - guess getting rid of the steam
>may not be a good solution though! But increasing tonal contrast may be a
>possibility if we can get material that does not wear out in these
>conditions too quickly.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Accessibuilt list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>helen
>Sent: 21 June 2005 11:26
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [ACCESSIBUILT] Accessible saunas and steam rooms
>
>
>Hi Marcus - the only time I got involved with something like this was to
>retro-fit improvements to an existing sauna (tricky!) which involved
>widening the door, lowering the vision panel, and installing portable timber
>ramped access either side over the threshold (as they are 'tanked' rooms!),
>increasing the circulation space, ensuring the bench for transferring to was
>the right height with an emergency/service call pull cord plus visual fire
>alarm etc. But metal gets hot in a sauna so wheelchair ideally needs to be
>removed following transfer and then called back when needed. The other
>option (if possible) is the purchase a chair to transfer with no metal parts
>- e.g. there are plastic wheelchairs on the market suitable for the sea and
>beach that can go in water. They look ridiculous but won't get hot!
>Unfortunately I have not seen reclining ones though. I have also worked more
>recently on Turkish steam rooms where the problem was the need to plunge
>into the cold bath quickly as part of the process. Discussions were held as
>to whether we should have a hoist for the cold plunge pool but there were
>concerns over other health and safety issues (heart attacks for one) and the
>need remove someone quickly so we opted for cold showers as an additional
>facility.
>
>Hope that helps.
>Best regards
>
>Helen Allen
>
>HADA Ltd
>79 Boyton Road
>London
>N8 7AE
>t/f: +44 (0) 20 8340 1990
>Mobile: 07766 815 554
>www.hada.co.uk <http://www.hada.co.uk>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Accessibuilt list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
>marcus ormerod
>Sent: 21 June 2005 11:05
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [ACCESSIBUILT] Accessible saunas and steam rooms
>
>
>Hi all
>
>I am undertaking a small research project on what would improve the
>accessibility of saunas and steam rooms. I wondered if anyone on the list
>had experience of this that they may be willing to share. The results of the
>research will be made available to those interested.
>
>The sauna type is a kit type being fitted into a public leisure centre - we
>hope to that what we find out may influence the product supplier in future
>work. The steam room is similarly fitted out with a kit of parts.
>
>Looking forward to some useful advice.
>
>Regards
>Marcus
>
>Marcus Ormerod MRICS NRAC Access Consultant
>SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Centre
>The University of Salford
>Bridgewater Building
>Salford, UK
>M7 1NU
>Tel +44 (0)161 295 5405
>Fax +44 (0)161 295 5011
>Minicom +44 (0)161 295 3194
>Web http://www.inclusive-design.it
>Email addresses
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>Best practice guide http://www.accesscode.info
>
>----------End of Message----------
>
>Run by SURFACE for more information on research, consultancy and the
>distance taught MSc. in Accessibility and Inclusive Design programme visit:
>
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>
>Archives for the Accessibuilt discussion list are located at
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/accessibuilt.html
>
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>
>Run by SURFACE for more information on research, consultancy and the
>distance taught MSc. in Accessibility and Inclusive Design programme visit:
>
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>
>Archives for the Accessibuilt discussion list are located at
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>
>Run by SURFACE for more information on research, consultancy and the
>distance taught MSc. in Accessibility and Inclusive Design programme visit:
>
>http://www.inclusive-design.it
>
>Archives for the Accessibuilt discussion list are located at
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Chair, MDPAG (Manchester Disabled People's Access Group)
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