Can we get dimensions for these areas?

It would also help to know where the bedroom and bathroom doors lead.

The master bed is 15 x 10.

The walkin is 5x8.

The master bath is 5x10.
The linen closet is 5x2.

Both the rooms lead into a hallway. There is no room to expand outside of the 3 rooms.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for your response,

Does it have to be a full master bath? Could it just be a toilet and sink? Can the linen closet be closed up in the hallway and the space be opened up in the now closet and used as a wall closet with a powder room on the other side?

Hope that makes sense. Just thinking that in a very small house sometimes 1 or 1.5 baths makes more sense than trying to fit in 2.

Would also suggest pocket doors.

edited for spelling

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 9:18

how about keep the master bath. then expand the linen closet to a 1/2 bath and connect it to the hallway.

you have a guest 1/2 bath and still keep most of the closet space.

I agree that your master dimensions don't lend themselves to a reach in closet.

I would consider just a half bath somewhere.

Where are the fixtures of the main bath currently located?

You are calling this the master bath, but yet you also say this is the only bath in the house. So this implies to me that this may be a 1 bedroom house?

I'm also thinking of incorporating the linen closet and doing a half bath and closet in the master closet area. Remove the door to the master bath to only have hallway access.

I'd move the back wall of the linen closet back to where the existing doors are located and then use the linen closet for a 1/2 bath.

How often do you have overnight guests?

Thank You for your responses everyone. We live in a 3 bedroom house with only 1 washroom on the main floor. We're a family of 4 with a baby on the way, so there is literally no other space to put in a washroom and we do desperately need one or upgrade to a bigger house.

To clarify, you have another bathroom on the upper floor? Or only 1 bathroom in the whole house? If you already have 2 full bathrooms in a small house I would leave it at that.

If your family is growing perhaps you should look at another house or adding on.

Perhaps this enhanced layout may help a little more.

We only have 1 washroom - it's a bungalow, so no upper floor.

The bath is attached to the Master bedroom, as well as to the rest of the house and having 1 bathroom for 4 people is challenging at the best of times.

How about stealing some space from the bedroom below the master, along the common wall, for a reach-in closet? You could leave that bedroom door where it is and start the closet 3' or so in, opening it into the master bedroom.

It would be better to take space from a kid's room than the master bedroom.

I still would like to know, where are the fixtures in the one and only bath, presently? (ie, where in that space is the toilet? tub? sink?)

What about converting the current walk in closet to a new master bath, stealing space from the bedroom adjacent to the master for some closet space, and maximizing your storage in furniture in the master (meaning a platform bed with drawers, perhaps an ikea armoire, etc)?

Thank You everyone - looks like the consensus here is to build a half bath or move.

Would extending the house by 60-100 sq ft be a completely economically unfeasible idea ?

What are your plans for this house? Live there forever? Moving in a few years?

I would not add on just a bathroom. Look at the whole house. Is that all this house needs to fit your needs now and in the near future?

The consensus before you posted the whole-house layout was to add a powder room, because you said you had no other space.

The consensus after you posted the whole-house layout was to pull closet space from the adjacent bedroom. :-)

Could we get a whole house plan? Maybe somebody would have another idea for adding a powder room.

I saw on one of those HGTV shows where they added bump outs to the exterior walls to add closet space. It was kinda like adding any windows, but it was closet space. Obviously you'd only want to do something like that to the back of your house.

If you are soon to be a family of 5, I think you need to add another bath with a shower. Maybe look at adding a master bath addition? It'd be good to see the whole house plan to evaluate if there is an innovative way to steal space for a bath. How long do you plan to live in the house? What are the houses like in your neighborhood?

Hi Appologies for the poor job on the floor plan but it should give you some insight into the rest of the floor. On the right hand side, there is a set of stairs leading to a basement that is rented out. Between Bedrooms 1 and 2 there is a pair of built in sliding door closets - one opens into room 1, the other into room 2.

We don't plan to live more than a year or two in this house.

I would just deal with it and start planning your move.

With only a year or 2 to live there, I would just live with your existing situation. Where I live it would easily cost $15-20K to add a bath, yet a half bath only adds $5k in value. Your better off to save that money and put it towards a bigger home that will better meet your families needs.

If you planned to stay for 5-10 years, then it would make sense to start some renovations- adding an additional bathroom, reclaiming basement space for your family.

Thank You All -

In terms of finances, I could add a very decent full washroom for 10k. The closet space would be extra.

For moving, I'd be looking for a minimum of $600k for a very slight upgrade. Reclaiming basement space is an option longer term.

The truth is we're literally living in this house for free, as my basement rental income offsets all of my mortgage. We're not short of living area - we just don't like the washroom situation and we're starting to get tight on storage.

I don't know if I should spend spend 600k to get one additional washroom specially given that it may not be the best of times to buy a house in Toronto.

Maybe you rent. I really don't know that, for 1 year, your return would be that great... *IF* I did anything, it would be to simply add a 1/2 bath by converting your linen and part of closet. You will still only have 1 tub/shower, but for little kids, that should be fine. What you'll miss is the closet/storage space. Do you have a garage?

I think your choices really are to buy/move and rent the up stairs, or move your renters out of your basement and live in it. But you have to decide which is better for your personal financial situation.

I dont know that I would change anything if you are moving that soon. If you decide to live in it longer term, I would at least add a half bath (but would think a full bath would be better) and come up with a plan to reclaim the basement as part of your house. If you ended up leaving the two bedrooms for your kids, and you dont have another shower, I dont know that I would want teenagers sharing my master shower as it would get to hectic, especially in the AM.

Move.

The truth is we're literally living in this house for free, as my basement rental income offsets all of my mortgage. We're not short of living area - we just don't like the washroom situation and we're starting to get tight on storage.

I would happily live in a 3 bedroom 1 bath house for free.

NUM, I hope you're saving the money you don't have to currently spend on rent or mortgage. It should be adding up each month and accruing interest. When I paid off my mortgage, I just diverted the old amount (less insurance and taxes, which I still have to pay) directly into savings. Not only is that money available if needed, but if I had to buy again (hopefully not), I'm already used to not having it.

I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel that didn't require moving anything. I consider myself frugal and yet costs quickly add up. Your options all seem like compromises or stop-gaps. Maybe consider where you hope to be in 2-5 years and plan accordingly. Good luck!

Thank You every one for the great great advice. You've certainly made us re-evaluate things.

We're going to give moving another look, before we decide to proceed with a washroom. If we do proceed with that, I'd probably be looking at stealing some space from the adjacent room.

Thanks,

Najam