Downstairs showers in houses where bedrooms are on the upper floors

[BarkingHat]

Off the back of a thread about number of loos you need in a house.

How useful is a downstairs shower? We possibly have room for one as we are remodelling downstairs and are going to put in a downstairs loo. But I just can't imagine where I'd be thinking ' thank Christ the shower is just there!' rather than up the stairs.

Is it about futureproofing? Would it appeal to families? We do have a dog but it's mostly just the two of us with visiting friends in normal times.

We have a shower on each floor of the house. Our downstairs one gets used by the DC when they have been in the garden, by guests who are sleeping on the sofabed in the playroom downstairs, by small boys who have accidents while visiting, by family members randomly (best shower in the house due to higher water pressure).

For those doing manual work or very dirty work, having a downstairs shower is fab.

Farmers, bin men, sewer workers, large animal vets etc can go straight in the shower from the back door, dump their clothes in to soak or in a separate washing machine in the garage and avoid making the house smell.

If you ever need a hip replacement, break a leg etc downstairs showers are invaluable.

I would definitely push for one

We have a downstairs bath/shower and only a toilet upstairs. It works fine and is handy when kids/DH get grubby outside and don't have to traipse upstairs.

We're in the process of buying a house with the reverse and actually - partly from a future proofing - I rather fancy having another shower room downstairs.

I would definitely put one in when refurbishing the downstairs.
Partly because our second living room is where overnight guests would sleep (we don't have a spare bedroom). Also as others have said, it future-proofs the house. Two showers are better than only one.

I would put an electric shower in I think, which would be a second source of hot water if the boiler failed. Again, it's about futureproofing.

We have a shower downstairs (and a bath and shower cubicle upstairs) I prefer the one downstairs.

I'd like one for the dog!

We have a downstairs shower room and an upstairs bathroom, we currently sleep downstairs too. It does mean that if we remain here into old age we will have the facilities to live downstairs if necessary. It’s also been handy whilst the children are/were at home.

Dp and nephew work in a factory and get filthy. I would love to have a shower in the downstairs loo, simply so they don’t leave dirty hand prints up the wall. Would also be helpful if you work shifts etc. I often leave for work at 5, so having a shower downstairs means I would be less likely to wake anyone up. Obviously take clothes downstairs and get ready down there etc.

If you have the space/money to do it, why not. Assuming your not compromising on anything to include it, then your not loosing out. An extra shower with multiple adults/teenagers etc always comes in handy especially on busy mornings.

Our downstairs shower is used a lot. Muddy children, shift working and jumping straight in if get caught in the rain. Ours is primarily used now by MIL as her bedroom is downstairs.

It's also great to have an extra when we're going anywhere when everyone is trying to get ready at the same time.

It would be nice to have but I wouldn't want the only one to be downstairs as in some houses

Farmers, bin men, sewer workers, large animal vets etc can go straight in the shower from the back door
Haha I initially read that as visiting farmers, etc, I thought blimey she's generous letting everyone user her shower!

Ex and I installed a downstairs loo and shower in our previous house, having to rehouse the boiler to do so. We couldn't really put a shower in the upstairs bathroom, as it had a slopey roof so no room. Didn't want to use up one of the bedrooms either. It worked well, don't remember it ever being a problem and it was nice to have a downstairs loo.

We have two downstairs but none upstairs. Our en-suite is a Victorian style with a cast iron bath so a shower would look odd there. It's ok most of the time, and handy for the dog, eg, but awkward if I want a shower and there's a workman in the house early.

Our only bathroom is 3 flights of stairs away from our bedrooms and it’s fine. Dressing gowns to go between the two, or take clothes to bathroom to get dressed straight after showering. We have DC age 4 and they’re fine with it too, usually head upstairs in a towel after their bath and get in to PJs in their room.

We have a shower in the downstairs loo. It's a hideous and tiny room and using the shower means soaking the toilet, toilet roll and towel (if we forget to remove the latter two before showering). BUT it's been really handy. Times when DH and I need to both shower at once, times when the upstairs shower has broken. And it makes cleaning the downstairs loo (wet room, technically) a piece of piss: you just spray with cleaner, wipe and then blast everything with hot water.

Also if our doggy dreams come true in the future, I'm guessing we will REALLY treasure having that shower when we've just come back from a walk and our canine child is covered in mud or has rolled in something unspeakable.

As I live a non-farming / mining etc life, I do not want to be traipsing through the house in my towel, or carrying clean and dirty clothes around the house. Personally I wouldn't bother.

Downstairs showers are often cramped, with no dry changing / getting dressed space. I'd rather have more storage.

We planned our downstairs shower room when doing our conversion. Bathroom upstairs with shower attachment but only used for proper baths and the odd hair wash. We all use the downstairs shower every morning and since getting a spaniel she gets her fair share too (dirty little madam). We are rural though and lots of muddy/sporty activity, wouldnt want to be without it.
Parents also have downstairs shower room at their house - handy as they are getting older, already had fractured limbs.

We have a wet room downstairs in an annexe because the previous owners' daughter was in a wheelchair. It's quite good in the morning because I can have a bath upstairs while DH is in the shower. He doesn't seem to mind traipsing up and downstairs in his dressing gown. The same could be achieved with a 2nd bathroom upstairs (or maybe just one really big one!)

It was brilliant when DD dislocated her knee, great when I slipped and buggered up my hip and back and it's been great when anybody has come to stay or both myself and DP have needed to get ready at the same time.

It's not a room for lounging around in, as it's extremely functional rather than pretty, but it's worth it.

We have 3 bedrooms upstairs, one (dd's)downstairs and the only proper shower we have is downstairs . The upstairs bathroom is the main bathroom but it just has a handheld shower head, not wall-mounted. We all use the downstairs shower every day and it's fine, but I don't know why the previous owners didn't have a proper shower fitted in the main bathroom. We definitely will when we get around to having the bathroom re-fitted.

4 years on MN and I might have just inspired my first thread

I only have a downstairs shower (and bathroom) and honestly it's not something I even think about. It's nice because any wet towels can be chucked straight in the wash rather than being left upstairs.

We had a downstairs loo, converted it and extended it to make a shower and toilet downstairs, handy if the upstairs shower/ bathroom is out of use, or the boiler goes wrong (it's an electric shower downstairs, mains water one upstairs) It doesn't get used often (tho it was used every day when we re modelled the upstairs bathroom) and when we had a major leak upstairs, so wouldn't be without it.

We use ours for guests, but also for storing the mop, cleaning muddy boots and generally as a mud cleaning area, especially on rainy days. Make sure there are no carpets between the back door and the shower though. Ours has and we need to change the layout somehow.