Help planning a utility/downstairs loo room please

[SunnyUpNorth]

We have a very small downstairs toilet which also just about fits the washing machine and dryer in it. It desperately needs to be done up for lots of reasons.

It is off the kitchen, but has a small room between it and the kitchen where the now redundant back door is (there are now French doors out from the kitchen diner to the garden).

I know there are rules about needing to have two doors between a kitchen and toilet, but have been told that there are ways around this. Anyone know how?!

I would like to block up the old garden door and knock through the two small rooms to increase the space.

If we aren't allowed to do that then we will still need to do up both rooms as the toilet is broken, there is v old Lino, it needs re plastering etc.

But I don't know the first thing about where to start or how to plan it. I have a couple of local builders coming to give quotes soon so I will ask their advice but it would be good if I am vaguely clued up so I know what to ask them.

Also if anyone has any good tips for things that should be included/considered I would be grateful.

My thoughts so far:

1. Do I need to buy all things in advance such as tiles for the floor, toilet, sink etc?
   

1. The room is quite narrow and has a window so there are limited configurations. I was planning to have a unit built that would house the washing machine and dryer on top. Then I could either have a sink and counter top next to it, or just a sink and squeeze in a tall cupboard for stuff like brushes and ironing board. That would leave no counter space. I could always buy a small sink bit I think a big one is needed for a utility room.
   

1. On that note, any good utility sink suggestions?
   

1. Is wallpaper in a utility a bad idea due to condensation? I quite fancy tongue and groove stuff on the bottom half and then I saw nice paper for the top half. Do you need a skirting board with tongue and groove?
   

1. There is no radiator in there, it is freezing in the winter as in almost unusable. Apparently it would be tricky, although not impossible, to put a radiator in there but we would have to sacrifice one in the kitchen to do so according to the boiler guy who was here recently. Would an electric heater be a bad idea?
   

Any tips or suggestions would be gratefully received.

[Mar2010]

I'm not sure but I think I read somewhere round here that the 2 door rule no longer applies...? Still, couldn't you move the washer and dryer into the small room where the back door used to be? That way you've more space in the current toilet and you can still keep some space between the toilet and kitchen (just in case you ever need to sell as personally I'd be put off buying a house where the toilet opened straight onto the kitchen, but that's just me).

[TallulahBetty]

Pretty sure the 2-door thing doesn't apply anymore, at least not in domestic properties anyway. HOWEVER I wouldn't want a loo directly off the kitchen anyway.

[Lioninthesun]

Pinterest has some lovely ideas for small utility rooms pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=small%20utility%20room
I'd start by taking everything out and taking up lino. Do the floor first and work upwards.
The Bathstore has a clearance on atm with a sink and sideboard attached which I thought looked good but can't see the reviews for some reason www.bathstore.com/products/myroom-left-hand-1200-basin-and-top-2242.html
If you have a tumble with a condenser this should warm up the room considerably?

[Lioninthesun]

Would something like this help with space issues? www.plumbworld.co.uk/basin-wc-combination-units-17940-0000

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks all. I already have a Pinterest board going, and know what I like in terms of flooring, tiles etc. I just don't really know about the logistics of bringing it all together.

I don't like buying things in case I haven't considered something fundamental like drainage or calculate sizes incorrectly.

I personally don't mind the loo being off the kitchen as it is tucked in the corner at one end. It is already there, we never use the door between the loo and the door to the kitchen so it is effectively open off the kitchen now anyway. If we didn't have a loo there, there wouldn't be a downstairs loo and it is very handy to have.

Yes we do have a condenser dryer but it is not on all day every day so wouldn't be suitable as a heat source for the room.

I measured up, it isn't actually too small. The total room would be 6 foot wide by 9'8 long. Currently the wall dividing the two small rooms is 3'8 from the kitchen wall leaving the current utility at 6 foot square. With all the doors and a window it is just not a very usable space.

The suggestion about keeping the wall and moving the washing machine and tumble dryer is a good one and not actually one I had thought of. They would fit, but all the plumbing would have to be moved and it would block the way into the toilet room which I know would just annoy me in time.

I was looking more for advice on the order in which to do things and also any vital things I should include in a utility room. I have seen those threads about must-haves when planning a kitchen and wondered if there are equivalent laundry considerations.

[SquinkiesRule]

If you move the washer and dryer to where the door outside is at the moment, can you fit a utility room sink where the washer is now? Then maybe if there is room in the area where the washer dryer will be, add a broom cupboard, big enough for a mop and bucket, ironing board etc. Maybe one of those clothes line that pull out or up to dry things in winter.
I've decided to get a couple of clothes airers and a dehumidifier to get stuff dry in the damp cold this winter, we are hoping to put a lean too utility room on the back of the kitchen. So it will have, washer drier, big broom cupboard and a counter top for folding. No room for the sink I don't think.

[SquinkiesRule]

This is what I meant about a drying rack
www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10225645/

[Pannacotta]

I would get a butler type sink and have the storage for cleaning kit rather than counter space.
Don't buy the fittings until you have run your ideas past a good builder and made sure it all fits.
It might be worth going to a bathroom or kitchen place and getting them to do you a 3D plan, some will come and measure up first.
You could have an electric towel rail for heating.

I like T&G painted in a bold colour for a utility/loo but I would probably give the wallpaper a miss.

This migh twork perhaps?
pinterest.com/pin/179088522651639770/

[HarderToKidnap]

Yes get a drying rack. We bought a cheap hat rack from ikea suspended it from ceiling and dry our clothes on hangers. It could go above a counter. Personally wouldnt bother with a tall cupboard, ironing board can be hung on the wall behind the door, mop and bucket tucked in corner, it's easier to have these things out and then you can just grab and use rather than them all jangling about in a big cupboard. Tongue and groove is lovely but I can't envisage it without skirting and you don't want skirting in such a small room where lots of stuff will be pressed against the walls. IMO, anyway.

Get one of those plug in storage heaters for heat. Wy is it so cold in there, is it not part of the original house, is it a lean to type thing? Might be worth having the window double glazed if its only small.

[HarderToKidnap]

This is the rack, we hang clothes in it from the bars and then We've got feather duster, Hoover, broom etc hanging from the hooks. www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60099791/

[SunnyUpNorth]

squinkies there wouldn't be room in the small but for a cupboard too, just enough room to put the washer and dryer. I do have one of those laundry rails that you hang from the ceiling which I am hoping to put up if the head height isn't too low. But yes I like those pull out driers too, I have seen the wooden ones somewhere.

pannacotta I think you may be right about sacrificing counter space for a tall cupboard and an electric towel rail could work.

I have a similar cupboard pinned to my Pinterest but I am not sure about putting doors in front of the white goods. With it being a small room I think they could just get in the way.

[Alwayscheerful]

Building regulations now allow a bathroom or toilet to open straight off a kitchen but the room must have an extractor.

[Pannacotta]

But would a bucket and mop and ironing board on the wall look a bit scruffy in a downstairs loo?
I think the ironing board is prob a faff to get out of a cupboard but I think mop and bucket are better off hidden, or stored somewhere else?

NO need for doors to house white goods but the advantage is that they reduce noise and give more room for storage (ie you can create shelves for detergents etc). They are also easier to keep clean.

IS there anywhere else your appliances could go?

[Alwayscheerful]

Strip the room out, completely before the builders visit.

Yes to moving the washing machine and dryer as long as you are not restricting access. I find it helpful to have the dryer at eye level but you might miss having worktop.

Opening cupboard doors in restricted spaces is a nightmare, open shelving for storage with hooks underneath for hanging brooms,dustpan & brush, feather dusters etc works very well and looks great.

No to wallpaper, tongue and groove looks good and is practical but if space is restricted a flat wall will be better to work with.

Belfast sink is perfect for a utility room BUT they take up a lot of room, ikea and bathstore do smaller versions, do you want to soak large pans or oven racks or soak a small amount of washing? What sort of sink do you have in your kitchen? Do you already have a dishwasher?

A drying rack is a great idea.

[HarderToKidnap]

Ironing board will look fine. Poss mop looks a bit scruffy. Unless you hang the mop from a hook and put the bucket in a low cupboard when not in use. I'm not even going to mention poo spores floating around landing on all the cleaning stuff.

Your room is actually pretty big OP. Bigger than our bathroom which has everything you would expect and still feels spacious. I don't thing you'll have any problems getting everything in. Go to the ikea rom planner and have a fiddle or even as I once read on here, get some squared paper and cut everything out to scale and move stuff around.

[Lioninthesun]

Just a quick thought - if you ddon't use the door from the loo/kitchen, could you block it up and use that wall space? I may have the wrong idea there and not have the right plan in my head of your room....?

[PragmaticWench]

Not sure if anyone has suggested it but what about underfloor heating? May not be too expensive for a small area. If it is, do ignore me!

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks for the comments.

I think the main reason it is cold is due to the very draughty old door to the garden. I'm hoping when that is removed and bricked up it will help. When that is removed it will provide an extra corner which will be quite a decent space but I had kind of ear marked that for hanging coats, and also some floor space for putting up the clothes horse which I do try to use where possible instead of the dryer. I might be able to put a slim storage cupboard there for the ironing board and brushes etc, but then put coat hooks on the outside of that cupboard. I shall think about that.

alwayscheerful I don't think it would be very practical to strip the room out prior to getting quotes/planning it all as there is no way I would be able to survive without the washing machine for a few weeks from strip out to finish, and at the moment I am potty training my two year old so that room is being used alot!

It would be great to see it all stripped though to get a better idea of the final space.

[Pannacotta]

Sunny you don't need to strip the room out in order to plan alterations.
If you know the dimensions you can draw up plans or have them drawn up in 3D which will give you the best idea of how to arrange the space.

[RoseFlowerFairy]

I agree a plain flat wall will be best in this room. How much would underfloor heating cost in a room that size? It sounds like a good idea to me.

[theWookiesWife]

Hi I've just inboxed you an idea !

[SunnyUpNorth]

theWookieswife thanks for your message, I will reply later when I have a moment.

Yes, underfloor heating is an inspired idea! How much would that be?! We do actually have underfloor heating in our bathroom and kitchen/diner which we never use but it could be good in there.