Accessible bathrooms in Houston

21%⁵ of homes in the city were built between 1950 and 1969. Most homes in Houston's Glenbrook Valley Historic District are one-story, single-family houses built on concrete slabs.⁹ In a slab house, a shower with no curb means saw-cutting the concrete so the floor can slope to a lowered drain, which is work to plan for, not a surprise to discover.

Slab-on-ground foundations became common in the early 1950s, and light houses on slabs over expansive soil are more exposed to damage when the soil's moisture changes.¹⁰ If the slab is cracked or the bathroom floor is out of level, fix the foundation first. Houston treats repairing fractures in a slab or stabilizing a house that has moved as foundation repair, and for a slab-on-grade foundation the repair plans must come from a Texas-licensed engineer and show where the supports go.¹¹

Newer two-story houses in the suburbs raise a different question: whether the main bath is upstairs. A ground-floor bathroom addition cost $55,873¹ in Houston in the 2025 report, so ask the company to price that against a stair lift.

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.¹² The CDC says falling once doubles an older adult's chances of falling again.¹² The CDC's home fall-prevention checklist recommends grab bars in and beside the tub and next to the toilet, and a non-slip surface on tub and shower floors.¹³

Cost vs. Value's universal-design bath job removes the tub for a curbless, tiled walk-in shower with an adjustable showerhead, fold-out seat, thermostatic mixing valve and glass door, puts in a comfort-height toilet with a bidet-type seat, and rearranges storage so it can be reached from a seated position.¹⁴ The National Institute on Aging suggests non-skid surfaces wherever a floor can get wet and a light left on in the bathroom at night.¹⁵ With the walls open, solid blocking behind the tile costs little and lets bars go up anywhere later.

If you have fallen, the NIA notes, your doctor might suggest that an occupational therapist, physical therapist or nurse visit your home to assess its safety and advise you about changes.¹⁵ A therapist's notes on which side the person transfers from and what equipment they use give the company a far clearer brief than a product list. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.¹⁶

The City of Houston's Single-Family Home Repair Program helps low- and moderate-income homeowners in the city make repairs needed to protect their life, health and safety, and gives consideration to seniors over 62, families with children under 18 and people with disabilities.¹⁷ To be potentially eligible for the City of Houston Home Repair Program, you own the home and live in it as your primary residence, your city property taxes are current or on an approved plan, your income is at or below 80 percent of area median income, and the home is outside the floodway.¹⁷ The City of Houston's Home Repair Program page says the program has exhausted its funding and is not reviewing additional applicant files; people already on the list stay on it and will be notified when funding returns.¹⁷

Outside the city, the county runs its own program. Harris County's Home Repair Program addresses health and safety hazards in homes owned and occupied by very low- to low-income residents, and the homeowner must be 62 or older or have a disability.¹⁸ Harris County's Home Repair Program page says it is currently accepting applications only for health and safety projects involving septic systems and water wells.¹⁸

Texas's Amy Young Barrier Removal Program gives one-time grants of up to $22,500 for accessibility modifications and hazard removal in homes of households that include a person with a disability and earn no more than 80 percent of area median family income; renters and homeowners both qualify, and applications go through local nonprofit and government administrators.¹⁹ The Harris County Area Agency on Aging, part of the Houston Health Department, coordinates supporting services for adults 60 or older and their caregivers, including benefits counseling, caregiver support and information and referral to community resources.²⁰ Veterans have another route: The VA's Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) benefit pays for medically necessary changes to a veteran's or servicemember's primary residence, including use of essential bathroom facilities such as roll-in showers and lowering sinks and counters.²¹ Ask any program whether it must approve the work before it starts.

Call the number on this page and you reach, on a recorded line, one independent company that handles accessible bathroom remodels in the Houston area. Tell them who will use the room and what is getting in the way, and settle the price with them.

That company pays us for the call. You don't, and we never phone or text you afterward. How we make money

Look up the trades on the job before work begins. TDLR's License Data Search lists active licenses only and can be searched by license type, license number, name or business name, city, county or ZIP code.²² The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners' public license search looks up plumbers by name, by name and license type, by license number, or by city or county.²³ If you signed at your kitchen table, know your right to cancel: Under Texas law, a purchase of goods or services over $25 that is personally solicited and agreed to somewhere other than the seller's place of business can be canceled until midnight of the third business day after signing, and the seller must hand over a contract or receipt with a bold cancellation notice.²⁴ Check a Texas license