joeandrita

Bathroom renovation help - keep toilet separate or combine?

Rita
3 years ago

Hi everyone -


We've been starting to think about our main bathroom renovation. This is the existing plan I've drawn so you can see dimensions, window and door openings. We have a separate small toilet and bathroom with bath only really suitable for smaller children. We are are family of 5 and have another ensuite bathroom upstairs - this is our main downstairs bathroom and is used by the kids and guests.


My question is - would you keep the layout the same and just modernise or combine the two spaces and make the bathroom bigger?


Option 1 - Keep layout as is

  • means we would have a separate toilet for guests (which could be used if someone is in the bathroom).
  • in the new design we would include a small basin and a more compact toilet unit to maximise space, make it into a powder room.
  • change the inwards opening door to a pocket door in the toilet to again maximise space
  • in the bathroom, we would include a wall hung vanity and have a tiled shower base to increase the feeling of space
  • windows wouldn't need to be changed so it would be more cost effective for overall project - less building works, plumbing to stay in same location


Option 2 - Combine to a larger bathroom

  • would give us the opportunity to include a proper full sized bathtub
  • we would be able to use the awkward extra space that sits outside the toilet
  • would cost a lot more as would involve moving walls, changing plumbing, windows etc

I've been playing around in the Reece 3D planner and have come up with some design options.


We would love your ideas and thoughts on whether to combine or leave alone and just improve what's there to make it more functional.


thanks in advance :-)





Comments (16)

  • User
    3 years ago

    I would offer an Option 3 .


    I'm not a fan of pocket or sliding interior doors , so bear that in mind .


    Move the toilet door to the right , and have the door open outwards , right hinged . Use the more compact toilet , pointing towards the hall . Move the whole left hand wall . The 850 wide window would be fine where it is . So yes , a bit of building needed . Possibly take the wall 'halfway' between the existing position , and a straight line from the rest of your hallway , if that makes sense . That gives you some space to have a narrow wall mounted basin and cabinet .


    Your bathroom is then a bit bigger , the door can still open inwards , you can swing the bath around 90 degrees , have the bigger tiled shower , the vanity on the wall as you walk in , maybe even a seat or similar on the 'other' wall outside the shower .


    The bathroom will feel more spacious , plus with the toilet door more centred as you walk down the hall , that smaller 'dog-leg' at the end will also give a sense of space without being awkward .


    A cheaper version 4 would be leave the toilet and all walls as they are , spin the bath 90 degrees , have a shower probably 1200 x 1200 ( which isn't bad , plus assuming its glass and tiled , won't look too small ) , and a 1 metre or so vanity . Easier , cheaper , and still 80% of what you want , a few grand instead of $30k .

    Rita thanked User
  • Related Discussions

  • oklouise
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    it would help to understand the adjoining rooms can you post a plan of downstairs and where is the small kids' bathroom?

  • C P
    3 years ago

    I'd try and have one decent sized bath and one decent sized shower rather than 2 small baths and one small shower.

  • C P
    3 years ago

    in other words I'd probably remove the bath from this bathroom if you'vealready got one in another bathroom.

  • Rita
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Thanks all for your responses so far. I may not have been very clear, but we only have this bathroom downstairs, upstairs is a small ensuite for the master bedroom with shower only. This is the only bathroom with a bathtub and being a family home, we would like to keep it - for potential resale as well. Here is a copy of the downstairs floor plan - but the complication is, it is a split level home, so the laundry, and family/living rooms are a few steps down, so we cant take any more space from the laundry, which is a good size compared to the bathroom/toilet.


    I hadn't thought of the Option 3 as suggested above, but I'm a little confused about which wall to move to make the bathroom bigger?



  • User
    3 years ago

    Where the existing shower and bathroom door is now , move that wall 350-400mm to the right , including the door . Effectively turn the toilet 90 degrees ( you may need a lowline cistern as there is window there by the looks ) , and swing the toilet door outwards with the hinge on the right now ( left if sitting on the toilet haha ! ) .

  • Rita
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Yes I see what you mean, but with the toilet being so tight already it may make it hard to move with only 980 mm depth.

  • User
    3 years ago

    I just measured my toilet bowl , and it is 650 mm deep from the wall , I think you can get more compact than that too . 330 mm extra space isn't much , it's okay for me as a male haha , but if the toilet was around 500 mm , that would give around 500 mm more .


    I'd sooner that than being all in one room , as it is for 3 bedrooms plus guests , but that's just me .


    We must be getting spoilt these days haha -- when I was a kid , we had 1 bathroom , 1 seperate shower , and 1 toilet , and it worked for 6 people plus guests , but that's almost unacceptable these days ! I'm on my own , but still have 5 bedrooms , 4 showers , 4 toilets and a bath , as well as a spa .

  • oklouise
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    it' not the size of the toilet that matters, it's the size of the humans that need to use it ...allowing anything less than 80cm x 80cm for knee and elbow space, plus more for standing room plus extra for any swing doors and more space for a handbasins and with no other toilet on the ground floor the best option is a separate toilet and i would steal some space off the laundry to make a more comfortable powder room..and the different floor levels don't always prevent stealing some space off the laundry but what is the size of the laundry, including ceiling height at the wall closest to the back of the existing toilet and is the laundry ceiling flat or raked and how many steps are there between lowest floor and bathroom floor?

  • Rita
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I guess we could go a shower over bath on the existing vanity side - that way we could get a large bathtub in - its not ideal, I've always preferred a separate shower, but we could then potentially fit in a double vanity which would help the kids getting ready in the mornings.

  • User
    3 years ago

    The toilet size does matter -- a room say 1 metre square with a dining chair in it is able to be sat on by most people , but the same room with a wing-back lounge chair wouldn't .

  • Kate
    3 years ago

    Rita, get your builder to look at weather you can slide toilet back into laundry a bit. It depends on ceiling height a and if that could be adjusted. Easy enough to bring floor legal up.
    If you can I would give more space in bathroom with bath on side wall and wider vanity in line with shower under window. Another option is to add a toilet to the other end of laundry accessed from the upper hall, it would surprise me if you couldn’t do a full ceiling ht at the upper level there. Then do a full family bathroom as per your final option.

    Rita thanked Kate
  • Rita
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I never thought of that Kate - but you may be on to something! I like the idea of adding the toilet to the other end of laundry, accessed via the upper level. We used to have our ducted vacuum pipes through there, which we have now removed and it's also our laundry chute from upstairs. But I believe our sewerage pipes from the upstairs toilet do run through there as well so should be easy to connect. I'd actually forgo the laundry chute for a more functional downstairs bathroom/powder room. It all depends if we could raise the ceiling height in there, but people do put powder rooms under stairs and all sorts of spaces so it may work even if lower on one end. No idea what the expected costs would be though????


  • PRO
    User
    last year

    Whether to keep the toilet separate or combine it with the rest of the bathroom during a renovation depends on various factors. Combining the toilet and bathroom can help save space and create a more streamlined look. However, it may not be suitable for larger families or those who prefer more privacy. Additionally, combining the toilet and bathroom may make it difficult for multiple people to use the space simultaneously. Ultimately, the decision to combine or separate the toilet and bathroom depends on your personal preferences, lifestyle and the layout of your bathroom. renovators Sydney can help you weigh the pros and cons of each option and design a bathroom that meets your unique needs and preferences.

  • Kate
    last year

    Old post