Bed Assist Apparatus for Seniors

As folks get to a certain age - particularly those with physical issues - they may find getting in and out of bed a bit of a challenge.  My wife's Parkinson's is one example of that.

Per recommendation by her physical therapist I ordered the much highly rated commercially available contraption. I returned it once I put it together because I didn't believe in its stability, let alone the complicated way of its installation, particularly on a king size bed. 

So, I came up with my own version as a woodworking project. One significant difference is in the two support legs. I designed mine with feet - a prominent heel and extended feet, which adds to the stability. The horizontal platform - the tongue - inserts in between the bottom of the top mattress and the top base of the bed frame.

It is stable enough but  a nut and bolt (see next photo) secures it to the bed frame. The apparatus can be conveniently moved away when the need to change the bed sheets arises.

I did a rough sketch, changed the dimensions a few times to arrive at a truly customized version.  I actually revised it several times in my head as I figured the best, yet simple way, for constructing it - using screws all the way.

A friend had given me a while back some leftover wood flooring pieces -solid oak pieces with one side finished.

Tapering the feet (below).

I created the notches on the legs to which  matching notches on the feet will allow for a strong joint (using screws only)

Drilling the pocket holes for pocket screws

Below - shaping the heel of the feet

The short piece across and parallel to the "tongue" makes for a secure, precisely located as to act as a c-clamp to the bed frame.

The grab bar is commercially available.  I've used several in each of the bathrooms for my wife's use mainly.

Note below the t-bolt and knob and a backer board that acts like a washer behind the bed frame.

To make an accurate positioning of the apparatus, I drilled through to the bed frame using the hole I drilled earlier on the rail as shown below to accommodate a 5/16 inch bolt. A knob secures the attachment.

My wife can now hold on to the grab bar as she slowly gets up on the bed. It also allows her something to hold on to in getting up and out of the bed.

Landline Phone, Best Tip to Still Have It and Keep It

The days of the landline are fading like the way of the dinosaurs.  Smart phones have taken over. But what of the plight and needs of those of a certain age, or those wanting to keep what had been of service to them all through the years?  What about those simply unable physically or who lack the dexterity of the smart phone user?  What about those wanting to keep the way things have always been?  My wife who has Parkinson's is one of those who could no longer deal with palm-size gizmos?  What about those where hands free also means larger buttons to press and a speaker phone on a desk?

But then, to make matters worse, keeping the landline was made prohibitively expensive for the service providers and consumers because it is more expensive to maintain cables that go underground, through property lines, and into the homes and buildings.  Then the day of streaming technology made it worst for landline users as the focus shifted to erecting and maintaining cell phone towers

But there is hope, ironically, also by way of the cell phone towers!  Business has  ways of innovating but what followed are a number of providers who have hitched on a ride atop cell towers that apparently have the excess capacity and the willingness to share the air waves. At some cost, of course, but nominally for sure for this business model to work.

Consumer Cellular and  several others like Pure Talk, Ooma, etc., came to the rescue of the landline users.  What is even amazing is the ease and speed that this new technology  can be set up with "plug and play" simplicity.  One will have a phone setup in an hour after receiving the package.  What may take time is setting up the account's code, activating the new phone number and cellular hook up to the nearby cell tower. But from unpacking the box, setting up the home base and extensions to various locations in the home will take about an hour tops. Compare that to waiting for the technician to show up, hooking up your line to the cable outside, etc.

What has woodworking got to do with this?  Well..

first, the base receiver/router need to be by the window for optimum reception from the cell tower.  Below is the photo of the hurry up set up at  the window sill.  My wife will have none of that garish setup, particularly the wires dangling down.

So, when there was short break from the 95-100 degree Texas weather, I went to the work shop.  A friend had given me a few hardwood flooring material a while back. I dimensioned the width on the table saw.

Cut to proper length.

On the router table I created two parallel grooves to which the cable can be laid neatly behind.

I cut the base and top

Voila, a quick T-platform of the height that matched where the window sill is.

My wife is pleased that no messy wires are showing.

Home base with desk speaker phone and one handheld unit shown below are within my wife's reach when she is by her computer on her desk. The base is independent of and separate from internet or streaming network.

Three separate extensions work wirelessly.  The home base works as receiver for the cell tower signals and acts as a router to supply signals to the extensions.  In effect, one can have hand held phones that act like cell phones within the home, with base acting like a mini cell tower.  It is as simple as that.  And best of all, you'd be surprised at how cheap this set up can be. You are buying only the router/receiver and the appropriate charger. You can use the phones you had before - base and extensions - or you can purchase new ones of your choice.

To Bidet or not To Bidet, That is the Question

"To Bidet or not To Bidet, that is the Question" 

My apologies to William Shakespeare for  shamelessly misappropriating Hamlet's soliloquy. 

The French, known for words not too intuitively pronounceable by English speakers, or for that matter by a lot of other language speakers used to phonetic enunciations, have given us touché, hors d’œuvres, Écureuil  and most recently, "sous vide" for the kitchen.  But there is a word that goes back to  17th century France that is only catching on in North America and many parts of the west. The word is bidet, pronounce  /bəˈdā/. 

That is as far as I will get into the background.  I leave it to anyone so inclined to research it further.  There is plenty of material on the subject online that include origin, cultural, social, and even religious opinions and the rather delicate nuances related to it.

This is a DIY blog so this is for those willing to learn how to have a bidet become part of their household.

The bidet, like sous vide, is now gaining acceptance and recognition in the U.S. and England and much of the west.  A good part of the reason is the increasing number of an aging population who elect to stay put in their own homes as opposed to moving to assisted living residences.  The bidet provides  convenience and a lot less effort in maintaining personal hygiene. 

One brand's slogan on their box kind of says it best.

I intended initially to purchase one for the  master's bathroom because of my wife's Parkinson's. Then we realized, with her mobility limitations, where it would be a burden for her to have to go all the way to our room when she is in the living room, watching TV, for example or at the breakfast area or at her office/library. So, all bathrooms had to have bidet.  I purchased three different brands - the idea being that the fourth will depend on how they compare with each other on ease of installation and performance.

We are talking about "add on bidet", or after market, as opposed to fully integrated toilet units. It is mainly about replacing the old seat assembly of the existing toilet. Obviously, it is the best option for existing homes for it is not just a lot less costly it will take up a lot less time and hassle of removing the entire toilet and installing a new one. Most likely, that will require the services of a plumber.  As you will see, add-ons work flawlessly.

Note: An electrical outlet near the toilet seat is required (with GFCI - a circuit interrupter that a local code requires when outlets are installed near a water source).  Electricity will operate the retractable nozzle, water temperature and air dryer).

Instructions and installation will vary with each brand but basically similar in all.

1. Remove the old toilet seat assembly. (Make sure water is shut off and tank emptied by flushing).  Unhook hose. 

Clean well the surfaces where the old seat was.

2. Position the mounting plate that came with the unit, install with hardware included with the unit.

I just happen to have this woodworking gizmo to make the spacing easy but any  tape measure will work, obviously.

Below shows, for this brand, where the sensor is located.  The tape can be removed after installation. The bidet will not work if there is no one sitting on the seat, to preclude water from spraying unnecessarily.

3. Install the assembly. Slide it in until you hear the click.  Removing it is just as easy by pressing on a button on the side then move the seat forward.

4. Connect the water hose (instruction with unit explains it). Open valve and check for leaks.  Plug the electrical cord.

A wireless remote will control all the functions. Three basic functions can be activated manually with buttons on the side of the unit, specially useful if the remote batteries fail.

Below was the second unit that shows the power cord and water connection.

Typically, a screw driver   and wrench are all that will be needed with the entire chore.  Sometimes, as in the second installation, the hardest part was actually in removing the old seat. 

Other conveniences include a night light and clock with the remote.

Bottom Line: That one slogan is not only true but that is something that Southeast Asia, after adopting it from the French (via the old French Indochina), had taken it to heart in their hygiene regimen, albeit without  the sophistication and convenience of modern bidets.  In the west, temperature control is definitely a must in the winter time. Savings in toilet paper is not trivial (for those saviors of the forest among us).

It can definitely be a DIY project. The add-on bidet clearly has an advantage over the integrated version due to the lower cost, adaptation to existing toilets and for ease of installation and maintenance.

My recommendations : 1). Bio Bidet BB 2000

                                      2). Smart Bidet SB 3000

Climbing Plants Climbing Elegantly?

Most varieties of ivy love to climb but this one featured here is not an ivy. It is, however, a prolific grower like an ivy,  which from  a single plant I was able to propagate several now into various planters.  More importantly, this is also an able air cleaner and oxygen producer indoors.  Often, a thin stalk or wooden stake will do the trick to keep climbers straight up. For this project I used 3/8 inch clear plastic rods (from online sellers) for near invisibility.

With a caliper I measured the diameter of the non-draining planter.

To make the proper width I glued up two narrow work pieces

I drilled a hole on one, cut the pieces to dimensioned squares and ran the edges at the router table. Drilled two 3/8 hones at two corners, later.

Glued the two pieces later 

Two 10-inch rods needed to be joined. From scrap plastic tubing (black) I cut two pieces to serve as union joint.  

AC glue (crazy glue) made the joinery strong.

Holes at the two corners will receive the the two rods, secured with AC glue.

A thin narrower center rod is where paper clips attached the two side rods.

Below is where the first single plant was planted and where several others were propagated from.