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deegw

Add 1/2 bath to this plan?

deegw
11 years ago

This is an existing home but so many of you are good at tweaking plans that I thought I'd post here.

Right now our downstairs guest bath is in the farthest corner of the house almost completely opposite of the entertaining area. I'd love to figure out a way to squeak out a 1/2 bath from the two closets and laundry room area. To make it worth while, the entry door will need to be near the foyer.

You can't see the full plan here, but the entertaining area is an 18 by 30 room to the right of the kitchen.

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Here is a close up of the hall, laundry and closet area.

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Thanks for looking.

Comments (7)

  • kirkhall
    11 years ago

    Are you willing to lose your utility sink? If so, it is a real easy insertion.

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    How deep is the closet that is next to the washer/dryer? Have you thought of making it deeper and utilizing it as a 1/2 bath? That would allow you to keep the coat closet and the sink/counter space in the laundry--they would just be shorter.

  • deegw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Both closets are two feet deep.

    Are you suggesting that the entrance to the bath go through the family room closet or opposite the basement door or through the hall closet?

    Depending on the configuration, I probably won't miss the utility sink too much.

  • deegw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Bumping up, hoping to get some specific suggestions. Would moving the wall between the front closet and laundry room leave enough room for a bath? Keep in mind there is a window in the laundry room that limits how far we can expand the closet.

    Thank you for looking.

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    You've got 2 closets and a laundry room to work with to make this 1/2 bath happen. Luckily there is plenty of space to create what you desire and in numerous configurations. Here are the ones I see:

    Using the hall/foyer closet--
    You could bump the back wall of foyer/hall closet back 1' and have enough space for a long 1/2 bath with the sink on one side of the door and the toilet on the other opposite the sink with entry off the hall/foyer. The drawbacks I see with this option are that you lose the hall/foyer closet completely & you lose all ability for a counter on that wall on the laundry side. The window trim may just barely fit.

    Using the other closet that faces the family room--you could go 1 of 3 ways:

    1) Extend the family room closet current back wall into the hall closet & the counter space where the utility sink is and place the toilet there in that space, then the sink backs up to the washer and the entry door goes on the hallway side. You enter looking at the sink with toilet to your right. With this configuration, you could technically still have 12" or so available on the laundry room side to put in tall storage where the sink currently is if you limit the toilet width to 3' which is pretty roomy. If you prefer the door on the family room side, you could do that and I would flip the sink & toilet so you're not staring at a toilet through the doorway. This option also allows you to keep counter space in the laundry. No interference with the window and you still get to keep a decent sized hall/foyer closet too.

    2)Extend the back wall of the family room closet into the laundry and hall closet 3'. The sky is the limit on your toilet/sink/entry door arrangement. You keep some counter space in the laundry and no interference with the window, still a decent sized hall/foyer closet. However, you do lose the sink in the laundry and you lose the option of having the 12" deep tall storage in the laundry.

    3) Extend the wall behind the washer and dryer into the laundry room 3', extend the back wall of the family room closet in 1' so now they're even leaving a 3' deep space on the family room side. The utility sink goes away and you just have counter space in the laundry. Then install a long 1/2 bath on the family room side with the sink & toilet opposite on another and you enter it off the family room. You should still have space left on the end for a decent sized closet that would back up to the washer/dryer area, you keep a decent sized hall/foyer closet, you still have counter space in the laundry, & no window interference. However, you lose the option for the 12" deep tall storage in the laundry and you lose the sink.

    My design program is down right now, but if I can get it going, I'll draw it up for you. Hopefully the descriptions above give you enough of an idea of what I'm talking about.

    Hope this helps!

  • pps7
    11 years ago

    I would not put the entrance thought the family room. Put it though the hall.

    Combine the hall closet and the 2' space in the laundry room. This will get you plumbing too. with 4' x6'8" you should have plenty of room.

  • bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
    11 years ago

    Here is a design that uses up the family room closet and a little over half of the foyer closet for the powder room BUT it only steals a tiny bit of space from your laundry room space so you get to keep your laundry sink and a reasonably deep counter for folding clothes. And you get to keep a small foyer closet. I also like that it positions the powder room door so that you can't see into the powder room from the kitchen, family room, or foyer.

    Note that codes generally require 15" of space from center-line of toilet to any wall or other fixture. This design would give you 16" so, while small, it should be within code.

    The alcove that the sink fits into is 24" wide, so a 22" wide pedestal sink should just fit. I "eased" the corner next to the sink so that when someone is sitting on the toilet, they have a bit more of a view of the sink which will make the entire space feel wider. Then, I "eased the corner by the toilet to match just because I think that having matching angles makes both rooms look better. In my area, code will allow the wall by the toilet water supply tank to be closer than 15 inches so long as you have 15 inches where the seat part is. Code in your area might require that the 15 inch distance be maintained the entire length of the toilet - so you should check.

    I drew a 24" wide out-swinging door (mainly because you had one I could "borrow" in my cut-and-paste efforts) but I think you could probably go up to 28" out-swinging door. I know that many people will tell you that no door in a home should ever be less than 32" wide and that 36" is better. But we lived in a home for 25 years where the doors to all of our bathrooms and closets were just 24" wide. For a guest powder-room that isn't wheel chair accessible anyway, a 24" wide door WILL work just fine. If anyone is on crutches and can't navigate a 24 or 28 inch wide opening without bumping their knuckles, they can just use a different bathroom. LOL!

    With the door to the basement stairs right across the hall, you might want to think about using a pocket door on the powder room however, you should avoid an in-swinging door for safety reasons. (Reason: If someone passes out while on the toilet, their body lying on the floor would make it very difficult to open an inswinging door to help them.) However, before you decide a pocket door would be perfect, bear in mind that the "pocket" that a pocket door fit into when opened, remains a hollow pocket when the door is closed. That means that with a pocket door you would have nothing but two sheets of wallboard between any noises created in the bathroom and anyone standing in the hallway by the foyer.