to get rid of a downstairs loo?

[Babybrainx2]

Housey post - we live in a 3 storey house with bedroom (used as playroom), downstairs toilet and kitchen on the ground floor with a wide, long hallway between the rooms. Lounge, bathroom and 2nd bedroom (used as office) on the middle floor and 2 big bedrooms and another bathroom on the top floor.

babies are now toddlers/preschoolers so we are starting to socialise in the evenings again, having friends over and carrying food and drinks up and down stairs to the living room is becoming a pain.

I would like to make downstairs open plan, to have a big kitchen/living space but it would mean losing the downstairs toilet. DH thinks that will knock money off the house value and won't even consider it, especially as our youngest is not potty trained yet. AIBU for wanting to get rid of a convenient 3rd toilet?

Well our downstairs loo has been out of action for a week, awaiting a visit from a plumber. Can't believe how much I've missed it! (And we have 2 upstairs)

Why don't you close it off and see how you get on without using it for a couple of weeks?

I love my downstairs toilet. Can't do without it. If we ever move I think I will not consider a house without a downstairs toilet.

If you plan on living in the house long term then just do whatever suits your lifestyle best.
There are hundreds of properties snapped up every day up and down the country with no downstairs loo. It is not a necessity ( want - yes, need-not ) unless there is a disability that prevents accessing one a flight of stairs up.
I currently have a downstairs loo in your typical 3 bedroom Victorian terrace and plan on taking it out soon during kitchen refurb. It currently allows for only a small standard door for access to the garden, I want big double doors on that wall for the light and view. There is nowhere else to easily relocate it to and it certainly wouldn't be worth the cost ( nobody would pay THAT much extra for a downstairs loo ).

Plus, since it's effectively in the kitchen, I have banned my husband from ever using it anyway. I HATE my kitchen stinking like that.

So, the downstairs toilet in my house was more of a problem than a reason to buy the house. Equally, I don't think anyone would miss it once its gone ( can't imagine buyers going: hmmm...lovely kitchen, but how about we knock those double doors out and build a toilet there instead )

Not having a downstairs loo could be a deal breaker for some people, for lots of reasons.

I just think they're bloody handy! It's on my list of 'preferred haves' but it's not in the top three.

Right, I'm armed with a few floor plan ideas. Will put them to DH in the morning 😊 thanks all!

Apparently, open plan is on its way out. Broken plan is coming in. From what I can gather, broken plan is where different areas are divided by low walls or different floor levels, so for instance, the dining area would be 6 inches higher than the living area.

A lot of people would be put off buying if there's no downstairs loo, so you could well lose money, especially if you're on an estate with houses with the same layout, so people will see that the loo has gone.

Regarding macerator toilets, they often get blocked, and they're very noisy, so I wouldn't go down that route.

Keep the loo. Extend the kitchen.

Or you could get George Clarke in.

I agree with PP. just move the loo. I really do think it's essential.

What Motoko said.

I live in Australia, where single-storey houses were the norm for a long time so the lavatory/bathroom was always on the ground floor - in the back yard in workers' cottages. Anyhoo, the trend to two-storey houses still has a bathroom/shower/lavatory on the ground floor.

Yonks ago I read an an article that houses should be designed for all ages to live in, and a ground floor toilet would be a must. Not to derail the thread but as a consequence, when I had my kitchen renovated, I had the electrics chaps fit power outlets at several new points at ground level, in all the ground floor rooms, so that I can have side lights when I'm too rickety to get up the step ladder the change the fucking stupid downlighter bulbs.

My friend has done what Mini suggests. The bottom three steps are twisted so that they come out facing to the left on your diagram. She has also kept a small hallway.

Minis diagram amended

Having just spent a fortune putting in a downstairs loo - and seeing it as one major drawback when we did buy our house (and would have put us off buying others) - I'd totally endorse relocating. Feels crucial for all reasons others have mentioned - but especially for the elderly....

Totally understand wanting all your "living" space on one floor - so much easier day to day.

Totally agree with Breakfasts suggestion... and bit mystified by that being the only window you have? ? Do just confirm?? You said you had a garden? Doesn't that open off kitchen? Or am I being a bit dense here...

Could you put a utility room on the stair side of the kitchen and then a loo coming off the utility room under the stairs. That way it is hidden away but still accessible but maximising the space available.

Open plan won't work once your DC are teens anyway OP...

Would something like this work? Break the stairs in the middle to form an angle so you can fit the WC in the bottom right corner of the plan and have a small square-ish hall just at the front door rather than a long one down the middle.

You do have a lot of wasted space with thd hallway. I would definitely recommend reorganizing things so this space is included in the living space

The small extension thing might work, I know someone who had that done in a property where there was no downstairs toilet at all to adapt for a disabled occupant. Obviously depends what outdoor space you have plus asthetics.

You could also have a bigger one and make a utility/bootroom/toilet combo with access at both ends as a PP says v small extensions not price efficient.

Idon't get the window thing either. are you forgetting that the light from the kitchen will carry right through afterwards? Actually that window at the front is a help as you can then have a window from the bathroom instead of extractor fan. I woukd definitely do breakfast's plan

We have one but never use it, it's a storage cupboard for the vacuum and cleaning stuff. I'd never get rid of it though because it'll be useful in the future.

Breakfasts idea imo is best. I wouldn’t alter the stairs as that would be expensive

I'd investigate the cost of changing the stairs especially if planning to stay as cheaper than extension and provides more space keeping hall and toilet not in lounge or kitchen.

Not a single suggestion of leaving things as they are but installing some form of fancy dumb waiter from kitchen to upstairs...? 😄

I would never get rid of a downstairs loo. I would never buy a house that didn't have one, unless I was able to put one in before moving in. They are essential, especially with kids and on days when hurrying upstairs is just not that easy.

Open plan living sucks. You never get rid of the smell of cooking and the noise is terrible.

My friendstudent converted to open plan. There having difficulty selling now.