Future proofing the bathroom

Owners before us knocked seperate loo space into the bedroom and created a shower and sink ensuite, very useful especially when family stay.

Auntieflo

*Vickya*, those walk in baths must make you chilly, as you have to be in there and wait for the bath to fill surely?

Sorry AuntieFlo - crossed post

vickya

Googling I found this

www.bathingsolutions.co.uk/walk-in-baths/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhc-sBhCEARIsAOVwHuSda36UJlCP3PNLyj_jy4nn3iSWkJTk6HTpYKBdZcRk2FIHSaLjwZkaAubVEALw_wcB

So walk in bath. Perhaps it takes less room so there might be room for a separate shower

I would say beware of walk in baths. Do you not have to stay in them until they empty, meaning you are hanging around dripping until you can open the door?

Vickya, those walk in baths must make you chilly, as you have to be in there and wait for the bath to fill surely?

I agree with Pink Cosmos that moving the toilet would be expensive, you actually may not be physically able to move it to where you want because of the drainage requred. It's always much simpler to work around the toilet than to move it.

If you have a separate loo downstairs, I can't see making the bathroom/toilet upstairs into one room being an issue. If you are worried about the smell have a fan installed that comes on when you turn the light on, or one that comes on with a sensor when you go into the bathroom. I always have the bathroom window open at least a crack when the weather is less than freezing. I have odour neutralising spray in our downstairs loo.

When I was young and living with my parents, I used to spend hours in the bath. There was always someone hammering on the door wanting to go to the loo. We didn't have another loo in the house.

I love having a bath. I would only give it up when I couldn't physically get in and out of it.

As others have said, having a walk in shower and a bath would be better for re-sale than an OAP type wet room with just a shower. Especially in a family home.

Like Germanshepherdsmum I'd always have a vanity unit under the basin, ideally with drawer(s).
Personally I'd knock the two rooms together and have a good extractor fan on a timer close to the toilet. However if you want to maintain a distinct space for the toilet you could leave part of the side wall but open up a doorway, with a glass door separating the toilet from the bathroom, either a like a shower door that folds in two inwards or a sliding door in a "wall pocket" depending on how much space you have.
A free-standing bath looks nice very but the space required around it does take up room that could be better utilised if you have a more fitted look.
We've renovated our new flat and did put in a bath as I prefer it to a shower. However my husband likes showers so we've cut off part of the largest spare room to add one there, with a basin and a good extractor (there's already a separate loo on that floor). We have our washer and dryer in a cupboard at the other end, giving us more storage space elsewhere. Fortunately this could be done without much new plumbing as the main drain is below.

If it was me I would block off the toilet door and have a wet room type walk in shower in that corner. There is also space for a cupboard there too. Replace the old shower with a new toilet. Our toilet has been brought forward from the wall and a boiler cupboard made behind it. So you could also have a cupboard in that corner accessed from the side behind the door. Get the bath re- enamelled and keep it to use for as long as you can. Always useful for a new family to have a bath and shower. I’m sure a bathroom company could design this for you to fit shower, bath and storage with good ventilation too. Good luck!

OH was a “bath person” I converted him and he uses the wet room, when you are less able a shower with decent grab handles and a seat is far easier.
It’s up to you if you have the loo in the same room it’s often easier to have a separate loo and wash basin as long as you have space for wheelchair if needed.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202401/medium-496408-counter-top-sink.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202401/medium-67387-walk-in-shower.jpg

Doodledog

I am not an architect, and definitely not an artist , but this is a rough drawing. It is not to scale at all, but you can see the position of the doors and windows, as well as the plumbed in items.

These would be options that I would consider

Knock down the wall between the toilet and the bathroom. Block up the bathroom door. You could then have a walk in rectangular shower along the wall where the existing shower is and the old door was. The cost of this could be minimal as the shower plumbing is already there. Keep the bath where it is.

Have a vanity unit with the sink in it. This would be good for storage. You could even have one custom made to your specifications. If you had a counter top basin, that would give more storage underneath.

Depending on the width of the room - if you had the shower along the old door wall, you could incorporate some shelving or a cupboard at one end. A bit like this picture I found on the internet.

Moving the toilet would be costly as the sewage pipe would have to be moved.

I think this would be a cost effective option as you are not moving any of the plumbing

I have a friend who was an estate agent and now works in property renovation. She advised me NOT to get rid of my bath when I renovated the bathroom this year. This is as I live in a very 'family friendly' area and people with young children want baths! I also have an arthritic knee but find soaking in a hot bath does wonders for the pain. I do have a roomy new separate shower but on reflection am really glad I kept the bath.

Googling I found this

www.bathingsolutions.co.uk/walk-in-baths/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhc-sBhCEARIsAOVwHuSda36UJlCP3PNLyj_jy4nn3iSWkJTk6HTpYKBdZcRk2FIHSaLjwZkaAubVEALw_wcB

So walk in bath. Perhaps it takes less room so there might be room for a separate shower

We revamped - made separate wc and bathroom into 1 shower room and took our bath out and used the space to make the kitchen area bigger (we are in a bungalow)
At the time, my hot tub was working so I could have a good soak in that, however, the hot tub broke down and will cost too much to repair so I now sometimes wish that I still had a bath to soak in. Love my shower room though and the extra space I gained in the kitchen, so I think I am saying just imagine never having a bath again before you remove it.

It is, Taffy, thank you.

I’m sure you’re right, GSM, but honestly, after having people in doing the bedrooms and kitchen right up to Christmas, I just want a break from it all. Also, I made kitchen decisions too quickly, I think, so this time I’d like to let things mull over, and listen to as many thoughts on the matter as possible before asking for quotes. That way, I can ask for costs for what I want, rather than not really knowing what I want and going along with things. I’ll be happy if it is done in time for next Christmas, so ‘the summer’ is when I’d planned to start ringing round, with an idea of what I’m hoping to achieve more firmed up by then.

We have a shower over the bath, considered taking out the bath, but OH still enjoys a soak.
I have a chair which lifts me in and out of bath. It’s not as good but better than nothing. I was beginning to find it hard to step into the bath to use the shower so we had a carpenter to build two steps with grab rails so I can shower easily.
We are hoping this will suffice until OH can no longer use the bath.
Hope this is useful.

I wouldn’t leave it too long Doodledog - it takes an age to find a tradesman willing to quote, and yet another age for them to actually make a start. If you would like the work finished by next Christmas I would, in all seriousness, start firming up on your plans and finding a reputable tradesman within the next month.

We have a large walk in shower in the en suite with a single sheet of glass. The step is only about 2”. It’s brilliant and there is room for a stool etc should it be needed in the future. We have been here 4 1/2 years and neither of us has been in the bath. Only DGC and the dog!

Thanks Plunger. With a name like that you sound like an expert .

Sounds good, Babamaman. Anyone who plans to do anything in the bathroom is welcome, from a complete revamp to changing the loo-roll holder . Sharing ideas is always useful, I find. I’m not starting anything until summer though. Plans just now are simply to think about possibilities, and then I’ll look into finding companies and getting prices etc.

Do not get rid of the bath! Families with young children prefer a bath, you can bath more than one at the same time plus most ( ?) young children hate showers. If in any doubt ask a local estate agent. They should be quite happy to give advise We knocked loo into bathroom and haven't regretted it. We have a separate shower. We also have a downstairs loo.

Oooh wonderful initiative - my dream is to revamp my bathroom - would love a walk in shower etc- but so expensive - just sticking to shower over bath unit

We have a large broom cupboard next to the downstairs loo, and have often said we would convert that to a shower room by knocking through. For now, it’s more use as somewhere to keep old tins of paint and similar ’stuff’, so it’s not on the top of the future proofing list, but it’s definitely a possibility in a few years when other things have been done.

We kept a bath, although I don’t use it our grandchildren do. They still love a bubble bath as part of their bedtime routine. I wish I’d insisted on a wet room type shower, as recommended by GSM. I’d go for as much storage as possible

We did put in a wet room type walk in shower in the downstairs bathroom. So if ever I can’t use the stairs I can live downstairs. In reality, now the children no longer live here, the downstairs bathroom is the dog shower. They come into the house via the side door into the utility - they walk straight into the shower, where a special shower hose, fitted at labrador height waits to spray them clean.

I believe it might work well and most reasonably, if you leave the plumbing where it is. That said, with real measurements, perhaps try this on?

Close off the bathroom door. Draw a wall between the loo right wall and the bathroom lower right corner, have a new door installed in that new ~45 degree wall - if the impact on the bedroom would not be negative. Reverse the Loo door, it would then open against the far right wall and be the only door.

Tile the entire space (future proofing). Reverse the tub along the wall with the loo, drain and plumbing in same current place.

Bespoke cabinets and sink, built to fit where the sink plumbing exists and around the now empty corner (where the end of the tub was).

New larger shower space, where the shower plumbing exists.

Thanks for all your comments. I do prefer a bath to a shower, and as I bathe every night I don’t worry about grime . I have to be realistic about the practicalities though.

I do like the idea of blocking off the bathroom door - I was thinking more of losing the current door to the loo, but having the entrance at the bottom of the room would work better.