Advice needed on where to place downstairs toilet!?

[LakeDistrictLover]

Hopefully completing on our first home next Wednesday... after a very long wait since January. Had lots of time to think about the design we would really love to add in a downstairs loo.

The red block is where we would like to put it. My only concerns is that it would make the hallway cramped and would be right next to where the kitchen table will be (red block with chairs marked out)....is that a bit grose? What does everyone think? Any ideas welcome :)

FYI we did think about putting in the current dining room, but we would want this is a play room (...and it is a lowered room down 2/3 steps)

Thinking about maybe getting an architect to help with this and other things but would rather save the money...

[Basillify]

Is there space under the stairs? Just about to complete on our new house with a very similar layout and the loo under the stairs is great. It's obviously quite small with just a loo and small sink but that's all we need downstairs and, most importantly, it's separated from all the other living space!

[WoolyMammoth55]

I don't think that red space will work. The hallway would be disastrously narrow.

If it doesn't fit under the stairs then I think you'll need to bite the bullet and get some professional advice on where it can go.

Good luck!

[Crylittlesister]

If you have a big enough space to do so, i would probably put it under the stairs rather than in the breakfast room. I think you are right that it would all be a bit cramped and if anyone who uses it does so during a meal, it may be rather grim for all concerned...

[pinkbalconyrailing]

howabout here in green?

[LakeDistrictLover]

There is space under the stairs, but basically between the entrance hall and breakfast room the floor is raised (1 step) so would have to do lowering of floor for there to be enough room for a toilet, which is a much bigger job so was trying to think of a way to avoid this.

(hope all goes well with your move @Basillify

[LakeDistrictLover]

@WoolyMammoth55

Agree about hallway being narrow, its just such a nice open space at the moment and don't want to ruin it...may have to give up on the idea all together... just dont like guests etc. having to go upstairs to use the bathroom...

And thank you :)

[Rollercoaster1920]

We are in a similar dilemma. Under stairs with a really narrow corridor is a bit rubbish, but could you move the dining room wall to widen the corridor? Really depends how much space you have under the stairs. Also you'll need to vent to the outside so where will that go?

[Rollercoaster1920]

Forgot to say, I prefer your first idea, but can you widen the hallway, move the hallway door down to the breakfast room, and have the loo door open from the hallway not breakfast room?

[MojoJojo71]

How about here in purple accessed via the pre-existing door from the hallway and then put in a door connecting dining room with breakfast room?

[bilbodog]

I like mojos idea!

[WoolyMammoth55]

Hi @LakeDistrictLover, I'm realising that I can probably add more value for you here than I have done - we're JUST in the middle of a refurb including adding a downstairs loo in a house that didn't have one.

BY FAR THE BIGGEST COST for us was digging the floor up to get the new soil waste pipe to connect to the sewer. (You could do a macerator/Saniflo loo but I've heard dreadful things about them!)

This work cost us over a grand and was only possible because we were moving out and doing a complete back-to-bricks refurb, so floors were already up and kitchen was already ripped out!

If I were you, I'd forget your floor plan and just work out where the loo is on the floor above, and where the soil pipe is. Most cost-effective will be to position your new WC directly underneath that. :)

(I'm just speaking from this experience, not an expert and realise that people do the under-stairs thing all the time, so feel free to correct me MNers if I'm totally wrong on this!)

[PigletJohn]

It must go near to the drains. If you look around you will find the soil pipe from the original bathroom. Often it is (was) built above the kitchen so there could be a single plumbing stack. In a terrace it may be at the front, to be closer to the sewer in the road. The position of your manhole covers will give clues. Rainwater drains will probably not be suitable.

You will need a cold-water supply for flushing, and hot for handwashing.

It is best to have it in a room with an external wall so your extractor fan can vents straight through without needing ducting.

Near the front door is handy for visitors or the windowcleaner.

Fit a substantial, solid door such as a fire door to muffle sound. Do not have it opening directly off a living room.

If you are tempted by a Saniflow, instead, buy a bucket and a spade to dig a pit in the back garden.

[senua]

Where you have put it seems fairly logical, with the caveat of it being near-enough to supply & waste plumbing.
Take the line of the dining room wall (the one with double doors to the garden) and carry it across to make that the new line of the breakfast room wall. It will create a beautifully symmetrical room, with the chimney centred. Put the door in that wall, not where it is at the moment. That will create a little corridor; put the access-to-loo door on that corridor (sliding or pocket). There will then be two doors between the loo and the kitchen table. If you are worried about the corridor being dark or cramped then put a half-glazed door on the breakfast room. In fact, do that anyway because it will then give you a continuous light-flow all the way through the house, from the front door to the kitchen window at the back.

Are you keeping the kitchen and the breakfast room separate, or have you thought of knocking through to make it one room? If you did that then you wouldn't mind losing that little corner so much.
Also, are you thinking of creating a courtyard surrounded by the kitchen and breakfast / play rooms. It could be a lovely seating or outdoor play area. If you harmonise your inside and outside decor then it effectively becomes an extra room.