Would you rather have a downstairs toilet or laundry room?

[hereismydog]

As above, we have a downstairs toilet that nobody has used in well over a year because the seat is broken and has proved impossible to replace due to its awkward shape and internal fixings.

We haven’t really missed it, so have been toying with the idea of turning it into an all-in-one laundry cupboard, as our washing machine and tumble dryer are in separate areas of the house, but we are worried about resale value if we completely scrap the toilet. There are two other toilets in the house, so we feel three is probably a bit excessive (3-bed house).

So, which would you rather have?

And yes, the stairs turn and go over the cupboard, and half of the current WC!

So the plan people really did completely forget to include the front door…it must have been even more unofficial for the previous owners!

We live in a Victorian cottage with a downstairs bathroom which is a godsend, particularly when my elderly mum comes to visit. Nowhere to put a utility room but I'd love one. We had a downstairs shower room in our old house, and we often talked about changing it into a lootility (such a great word!). Sadly we never had the funds, and then DH got made redundant so we had to sell the house anyway. We think that we have possibly got one more move in us, and I've said I'd love a porch or hallway (we go straight from the street into the living room), and also a utility room. I can dream!

Right now, as someone with three under 5’s, two of which are in nappies, I would say laundry room.

Future me who would have to share one loo with four (eventually) fully grown males would probably say downstairs loo.

If it's a family house, downstairs toilet.
DM says spent 10 years running upstairs with a child needing a wee! OK, I'm one of 4 children, but my point stays that a downstairs loo is vital with a small child if your main living sis e is downstairs.

Definitely downstairs loo.

@HotCrossBunplease

Here we go! I just realised somebody asked upthread what a Chokey was. It’s the torture cupboard from
Matilda, seen here replicated under my very own stairs.

Just realised how bloody grotty it looks in there. The brown staining across the drawer is residual packaging tape from when we moved house as I didn’t want the drawer to fall out

Go for the laundry room. A 3 bed house with 2 bathrooms isn’t going to miss a downstairs loo.
it’ll make your lives easier now and for years to come and if you cap off the waste pipe then it can always be reinstalled but I wouldn’t necessarily bother to do it when / if the time comes to sell. You can just make it clear on the particulars for buyers.

Thanks for the pic! Might be a stupid question but can’t you move the machine over to the left where the table is, so that at least you have direct access to its door?

Keep and repair the downstairs toilet and convert one of the upstairs toilets into a laundry.

Nope because there’s no way to feed the pipes through there as it backs onto the living room 😫

@crockofshite the upstairs toilets are in the main bathroom and the en-suite so I can’t really do that without significantly devaluing the house! Any buyer would surely choose an en-suite over a tiny downstairs toilet, I know I would.

What if you removed the current toilet and kept the toilet connector pipes, so when you do sell your house you can stick a new toilet in relatively easily, or the buyer can put one in easily too if they want to. And use the room for the washing machine and dryer. That way you’re not really devaluing the house as you can pop a toilet in again but you can use the room in the way it works best for you now. Especially given the fact that you can’t replace the seat so would likely need a whole new toilet anyway.

I posted earlier saying I would be doing exactly that! Just cap the pipe and replace the toilet if it’s looking like it might be difficult to sell.

We’re at least 5+ years off selling so just need to think about what works best for us rather than a buyer that doesn’t exist yet I suppose

Oh oops 😂 turns out I accidentally missed all of page 4 where that post was 😂

That washing machine setup will drive you even madder when you have a baby! I am 100% Team Laundry. I managed just fine with my son when he was toilet training and we had no downstairs loo.

Best of luck with the conversion and the baby!

Family house... for resale… downstairs loo !!! Obv attractive to parents of very small children

We re-did our downstairs a few years ago and architect said the plans wouldn't be approved if we removed a downstairs loo (and didn't put one in again downstairs). I.e. we were rearranging the space/knocking through etc downstairs and took out the loo, but could only do it if the plans included putting in a loo elsewhere on the ground floor.

I realise you don't need to submit any plans, but it might affect resale if the loo you have was put in according to the building regs which were applicable at the time and then you remove it.