Walk In Tubs & Roll In Showers in Oregon, Installed in a Day

Oregon homes and the bathrooms in them

Oregon has a lot of 1940s to 1970s ranch homes and Craftsman bungalows in Portland, Salem and Eugene, with the classic 60 by 30 inch tub alcove and 2 by 4 framing, plus a big stock of manufactured homes in Southern and Central Oregon where floors are set on piers and the plumbing runs under the home.

That matters because a walk in tub is chosen for the room as much as the bather. A standard 60 inch alcove takes the Hydro Dimensions 3060, Meditub 3060 or Ella Ultimate as a drop-in replacement, with factory extension panels closing any gap. A cramped bath with a 45 to 53 inch space takes the HD 2645 or Ella Mobile. A bathroom that will be used from a wheelchair is often better served by a Bestbath 60 x 30 roll in shower than by any tub, and we will say so on the first call.

Weather, water and skin

Nine wet months a year mean bathrooms stay damp, mold shows up in caulk lines, and grout gets slick. A one-piece Bestbath shower or a walk in tub with a waterproof wall system removes most of the grout and the maintenance that comes with it. In Bend and east of the Cascades the air is dry and hard water scales up faucets and jets; ask about the fast-fill faucet with a serviceable aerator.

Portland-area water from the Bull Run watershed is very soft, so fixtures last and you can skip a softener. Much of Central and Eastern Oregon is on wells or hard municipal water; a 50-gallon or tankless heater plus a scale-tolerant faucet is the right spec for a jetted tub there.

Permits and code in Oregon

Oregon adopts the Oregon Residential Specialty Code, based on the IRC. Replacing a tub in the same location is generally a like-for-like plumbing change; adding a dedicated circuit for jets or a heated seat needs an electrical permit from the Oregon Building Codes Division or your city. Portland, Salem, Eugene, Bend and Medford issue their own permits; most counties use the state ePermitting portal.

Either way, our crews pull what is required, install to the manufacturer's spec, and leave the paperwork with you. Our showers are ADA and ANSI A117.1 code-compliant models when that is what the job calls for, and every install is fill-tested with the door closed before we leave.

Paying for it in Oregon

Oregon Project Independence and the Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) Medicaid K Plan both fund home accessibility for eligible seniors; your local Area Agency on Aging (Multnomah County ADVSD, NorthWest Senior and Disability Services in Salem, Lane Council of Governments in Eugene) is the front door.

Veterans: the VA HISA grant pays up to $6,800 (service-connected) or $2,000 toward a walk in tub or roll in shower, filed through Portland VA Medical Center (Portland) or the Roseburg VA Health Care System. Build the itemized estimate the reviewer wants in four minutes with our planner. Everyone else: monthly financing, senior and veteran discounts on every order, and an itemized written price with no high-pressure sales pitch. Medicare rarely pays, and we say so up front.

Install day in Oregon, hour by hour

The crew arrives with the tub, the wall system and every fitting on the truck. Old tub out and hauled away, subfloor checked, drain and supplies roughed in, tub set dead level on its feet, connected, filled with the door closed for twenty minutes, walls and trim finished, then a walkthrough with the bather so the door latch, drain lever and controls are second nature before we leave. Full install-day guide →

Oregon by the numbers

One in five Oregonians will be 65 or older by 2030, and the state has one of the highest shares of older adults living alone in the West. Bathroom injuries send more than 230,000 Americans to the emergency room each year according to the CDC, and a large share happen climbing over a tub wall. A 3 to 7 inch threshold, a built-in seat and a grab bar are designed to reduce that risk when the tub is installed and used properly.