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All caregiver doors have a "fit range" that allows for adjustments during an installation. To determine which door to order, begin by measuring the width of your alcove shower opening (from wall to wall). Make sure the walls are finished so that the thicknesses of all materials are taken into account (drywall, tile backer, tile, acrylic or fiberglass coverings, etc.).

Next, in the Alcove Caregiver Door section of this website, see the "Available Models" page and select the model with a "fit range" that includes your measurement. If none of the models have a "fit range" that covers your needs you can consider the use of one or two extra-wide compensators. Every door comes with two compensators. Swapping an original compensator for an extra-wide compensator will change a caregiver door's "fit range" by 2". So, for example, if a caregiver door's "fit range" is originally ?59" to 60", replacing one original compensator with an extra-wide compensator changes the "fit range" to between 61" and 62". Switching out both original compensators for extra-wide compensators would make the "fit range" 63" to 64".

There is one exception to this general rule. Caregiver door model CD2960-WG includes extra-wide compensators as original equipment, therefore its "fit range" cannot be adjusted.

If you're still out of luck finding a caregiver door that will work in your shower, there is one more possible solution. You can easily install a strip of material between each wall and compensator to make up a gap of any size. For this purpose we recommend non-porous, solid surface products like Corian, Avonite, Swanstone, Cambria and the like (there are many brands). You could also use acrylic or fiberglass. Cut the material to the dimensions you need and mount the strips to the walls, then fasten the compensators against the strips. Using this method, the "fit range" of any caregiver door can be expanded or fine-tuned to meet most every need.

The manufacturer makes them only in white with gray trim accents.

The manufacturer makes many caregiver door sizes and configurations. ARC stocks only the models designed for alcove installations because they are the models that the US and Canadian markets have consistently required.

Compensators essentially make up the gap between the doors and the walls, giving you space to make fitting adjustments and achieve a finished appearance. Compensators are U-shaped channels, open on one long edge. Each door assembly's end fits into a compensator channel. With the doors removed, you have access into each channel to fasten the compensators to the walls. When you slip a door assembly into a compensator, you can fine-tune its position so that the door's gasket rests on the floor properly, so that it swings properly, so that it engages a mating door properly, and is plumb.

The manufacturer's limited warranty for defects is extended to the original "end-user" purchaser. When installed in a commercial setting, the warranty period is for 5 years from the original date of purchase. When installed in a residential setting, the warranty period is for 10 years from the original date of purchase. Please see the AKW warranty for details.

Like grab bars, shower seats must be installed properly to carry the load. Our Deluxe Shower Seats can support a user up to 560 pounds. To achieve that rating, however, wall blocking and fasteners must be stout and well suited to the application.

We recommend installing 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 wood blocking between studs. Make sure you install the blocking to suit the seat height setting for the intended user. If this isn't clear at the time studs are exposed, gain some flexibility by installing two tiers of blocking, one on top of the other, to give you more vertical range for the seat installation. By installing blocking in adjacent stud bays you gain flexibility on the horizontal axis, too.

You can notch studs for the blocking, or you can screw cleats to the studs and then screw blocking to the cleats. Either of these methods works well. Toe-nailing is not sufficient.

Be sure to use fasteners that fully penetrate the blocking. We suggest using #12 screws or ¼" diameter screws. And we always suggest the use of stainless steel screws in wet locations. The length of the screws will vary depending on the wall materials the screws have to penetrate through. You will have to determine this for each situation. In some cases screws may have to go through thin tile and fiber cement board, and in other cases there might be thicker tile or additional layers of underlayment.

Of course, if you're fastening your seat to a concrete wall or a cement block wall, use appropriate metal anchors.

When mounting a seat, you must be sure that the unit is level from front to back and side to side, and the legs must be perfectly plumb when the seat is in the down position. If legs are out of plumb there may be too much stress on them.

Our seats are usually installed in showers, and shower floors, as you know, are sloped. So it is often the case that one leg must be a bit longer than the other leg to compensate for the sloped floor.

When installing the seat's mounting bracket to the wall, be sure to level the seat with the non-fine-tuning foot resting on the floor. Once the bracket is fastened to the wall you can adjust the other foot so the chair seat is solidly contacting the floor. Be sure to tighten the nut firmly on the treaded rod above the fine-tuning foot (on the adjustable foot assembly). By tightening the nut you will prevent this foot from rotating. It's a good idea to check from time to time that this nut remains tight. If the nut isn't tight, the length of the leg may change over time and put undo stress on the product.

Those are retaining caps for the seat pad. Install the pad by pressing the pad's nipples into the holes in the molded plastic seat. Now take one of those caps and put the tip of the screw into the hole in the end of a nipple and turn it counterclockwise until the cap snugs up against the seat. Do not over tighten. Repeat this for all four nipples.

If you decide you don't want to use the seat pad, press these friction fit pieces into the four seat holes. These are just hole fillers that improve comfort on unpadded seats.

Most of our seats are available in models with or without a back. A back cannot be added to a seat that was originally made without a back. You'll have to order a new seat. Sorry.

A mild, non-abrasive soap and warm water are all it takes to clean a shower seat. We do recommend regular rinsing and cleaning of shower seats because there can be build up of soap, shampoo, and other stuff. Be sure to remove the pads so you can rinse both the back of each pad and the molded plastic seat and back thoroughly. Mildew or mold can grow between the pads and the molded plastic if not properly cleaned. Also, lack of cleaning can lead to lime scale buildup on the stainless steel frame and legs. Lime scale can look like rust, but it most definitely is not. It is superficial and needs to be removed or prevented. The high quality stainless steel used in Deluxe Shower Seats will not rust.

The manufacturer of our seats does not make an adaptor to change a U-shaped seat into a full seat. And trying to use a full seat pad on a U-shaped seat will not work--the retaining nipples are not in the same locations and there is no support for the pad in the cutout area of the seat, making this an awkward and potentially hazardous alteration.

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