Charlene Broadnax
Owner and lead plumber
Charlene runs the visits and signs the plans. She writes the price down before any work and answers the phone herself when she can.
Aging-in-place bathrooms · Scranton, PA
A bathroom that keeps up with you
Comfort-height toilets, walk-in showers and solid wood behind the wall for grab bars. We plan the work with an occupational therapist, and most installs take one day.
Your visit plan
Visit, plan, install: three steps, and you decide at each one
Nothing starts until the plan is on paper and you have read it.
01The visit
Charlene comes to the house, with Moira when the person using the bathroom wants a therapist's view. We watch how you get in, sit down and stand up, then measure the toilet, the tub and the walls behind them.
Plan on about an hour
Nothing to move or clear first
A family member can join by phone
02The plan
You get the plan in writing: what changes, where each bar and block of wood goes, which fixtures, what it costs and what is not included. Take it to your family or your therapist before you decide.
One page and a sketch
The price is written before any work
No decision needed at the kitchen table
03The install
Most installs are finished in a day, because the fixtures are on site before we start and the wall work and the plumbing happen together. A shower conversion can take longer, and the plan says how many days.
Floors and hallway covered
A walk-through with you at the end
Every bar checked by hand before we leave
Call, or text a photo
(570) 555-0100
A person answers Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Text the same hours at (570) 555-0101. If a call is hard, text and we will call you.
What we change
Six jobs that make a bathroom easier to use
Plumbing and the wall work behind it. We don't do electrical, doorways or flooring; if one of them is the real problem, we say so and help you find the right person.
Comfort-height toilets
A toilet with the seat 17 to 19 inches from the floor makes sitting down and standing up easier on the knees and hips. We reset or replace the toilet and check the flange underneath it, so it sits solid.
See the detailsTaller or wall-hung bowls
Flange and floor checked on every toilet
Walk-in showers
A low or no curb, an opening wide enough for a walker, and a floor that slopes to the drain. Add a bench if you want to sit.
See the detailsLow-threshold or curbless
Built-in bench or fold-down seat
Grab-bar blocking
A grab bar is only as strong as what it is screwed into. We open the wall, add solid blocking behind it, then set each bar where you reach, not where a chart says.
See the detailsBlocking added inside the wall
Bars placed with your therapist's marks
Hand showers and slide bars
A hand shower on a rail lets you sit and wash, and raise or lower the head for whoever is using it.
See the detailsRail heights set for you
Hose long enough to reach a bench
Lever faucets and steady valves
Lever handles you can work with a wrist or a forearm, and shower valves that keep the water from turning hot or cold when it is used elsewhere in the house.
See the detailsLevers at the sink and the tub
Pressure-balancing shower valves
Tub-to-shower conversions
Take out a tub with a high wall and put in a low-entry shower in the same space. The plan says how many days the tile and plumbing take.
See the detailsUsually the same alcove
Tile or solid wall panels
Who comes to the door
Three people you will meet
We are seven in all. These three are on most visits and at the end of every install.
Eugene Hopkins
Installation lead
Eugene does the wall work: blocking, backing boards and bars. He sets each bar where the plan says and checks it by hand before he leaves.
Moira Farrell
Occupational therapy partner
Moira has her own practice. She joins visits when the person using the bathroom wants a therapist's eye on how they move, and she writes down what she sees.
Small bathrooms
A small bathroom is workable
Many of the houses we visit are older doubles and rowhouses with a bathroom you can touch both walls of.
A small room puts the toilet, the sink and a bar within reach of each other. We plan around the room you have: a wall-hung toilet gives back floor, a corner seat fits where a bench won't, and a hand shower works from a chair.
What small rooms usually get
Shower seats sized for narrow stalls
A bar beside the toilet, on blocking
We tell you if a doorway is the real problem
What families say
Notes from the people we visited
“The tub wall was too high for my mother. Charlene and the therapist watched her get in and out, then drew the plan on one page. The shower has a bench and a bar at the right height, and it was done in a day.”
Stella R.Daughter of a client, Dunmore
“I only wanted the toilet raised. Eugene found that the wall behind it was hollow, told me, and added blocking for a bar for later. The price on the plan was the price I paid.”
Otto N.Homeowner, Green Ridge
“When a therapist recommends grab bars, I send the family here. They send the plan to the therapist too, and they call before they come.”
Sonia G.Care coordinator, home-health agency
Sample reviews.
Questions we hear first
Before you call
Do you work with my therapist?
Yes. Give us your therapist's name, with your permission, and we send the plan to them as well. If you don't have one, Moira can join the visit.
Will a grab bar hold my weight?
A bar is only as strong as what it is fastened to. We fasten to blocking or studs, never only to tile, and check each bar by hand before we leave. We don't state a weight rating; the bar's maker does.
What is blocking?
Solid wood inside the wall, behind the tile, where a bar will go. It is added while the wall is open, and it also lets you add a bar later.
Can insurance or Medicare pay?
Rules differ by plan and program, and they change. We can't tell you what yours covers. We give you an itemized plan to send to them, and we don't bill them.
Where we visit
Lackawanna County and the edge of the Wyoming Valley
We come to you, and we keep to a short drive so the same people can come back for adjustments. If your town isn't here, call and ask.
Lackawanna County
- Scranton
- Dunmore
- Clarks Summit
- Clarks Green
- Dickson City
- Olyphant
- Throop
- Taylor
- Moosic
- Old Forge
- Archbald
- Jessup
Luzerne County
- Pittston
- Kingston
- Wilkes-Barre
We don't work in Monroe, Wayne or Susquehanna counties. If you live there, ask your therapist or the home-health agency for a plumber close to you.
ZIP codes: 18503, 18504, 18505, 18507, 18508, 18509, 18510, 18512, 18517, 18518, 18519, 18411, 18447, 18403, 18434, 18640, 18702, 18704
Ask for a visit
Tell us about the bathroom
A few short questions. We call you back the next weekday to set up a visit. If it's easier, call or text.
Call us(570) 555-0100
Text us(570) 555-0101
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- By appointment