Start with the bathroom you have. Many London homes were built decades ago, and their bathrooms are small, tucked upstairs, or sit above an unheated crawlspace. That shapes what's possible. A true roll-in, zero-threshold shower needs room for drainage below the floor, which is easier in a bungalow slab or a main-floor bath than in an older two-storey near Wortley Village. When the floor won't cooperate, a low-curb shower with a gentle lip gives most of the benefit and installs more cleanly. We lean toward roll-in when the layout allows, because it removes the step entirely and works whether your parent walks, uses a walker, or rolls in. The trade-off is a bigger renovation and a higher cost in London, so a low-curb model is the sensible fallback when budget or plumbing gets tight.
Prioritize an installer who does accessibility work regularly, not a general contractor who does it once a year. Ask about built-in seating that's rated for weight, grab bars anchored into blocking rather than tile alone, and anti-scald controls, which matter a lot for older skin and slower reaction times. Confirm the company is licensed and insured, and get the warranty on both the product and the labour in writing. Winter here means service calls can back up, so ask how fast they respond if a valve or door fails in January.
Our advice: pick the installer who visits the home before quoting, measures the space, and talks openly about what your bathroom can and can't take. A specialist may quote a longer timeline than a big-box crew, and that patience is the point. Get more than one assessment so you can compare approaches to the same room. On funding, installed accessible showers can qualify for the federal Home Accessibility Tax Credit, and Ontario's assistive-device supports or Veterans Affairs may help in some cases, so keep every receipt.
