To think husband is wrong about extension? Combined utility and downstairs toilet?

[chihsro]

So we are finally having our plans drawn up to extend downstairs (it’s taken years). We are extending the kitchen to have a seating area too that overlooks the garden and we also wanted a separate utility and pantry.

Now DH thinks we should sack off the pantry and have a bigger combined utility room with a toilet.

(We currently have a very small downstairs toilet but he wants to turn this into a storage cupboard)

I don’t like the idea of washing my clothes next to poo particles (even if I cleaned it twice a day!)

We have this arrangement too - it’s great.

I got a lovely new ensuite last year and now my toothbrush lives in a drawer.

I do think having your washing machine in a bathroom is quite a practical idea tbh. My DC is currently living in Italy and that's where the washing machine is in the apartment.

Mind you I was more bamboozled when it was explained to me that, in order to use the shower, you have to run the bidet until the water is hot, then turn on the WHB tap until that runs hot, but you have to leave the latter to run whilst having a shower... it was all a little too much hard work!

It’s practical absolutely, we are moving house and probably going for one with a loo-tility. I’m just used to such an intensely loud washing machine that I can’t imagine being stuck in there doing your business, but I have a bowel disease.

Provided you keep the loo clean and put the lid down before flushing, I can't imagine the laundry would be contaminated. Surely if it is, so are the clothes you are wearing when you go in the bathroom?

I think she's saying that in her husband's plan, there won't be a door. Washing machine and loo etc all in one space.

Do you want guests looking at your drying smalls? I'd insist on keeping the loo you have; use the extra space in the utility room for whatever would have gone in the storage cupboard.

No. We built a wall between the cloakroom and utility. Utility has an external door though! I just think my laundry room functions better as a separate room. We have a lot of storage in there and don’t find everything can be put into a cupboard. We hand wash in a big sink and have our wine fridge in there. It’s very much a separate use from a cloakroom. Plus my cloakroom is beautiful. It’s got its own style!

We have a downstairs loo surrounded by the laundry room (so you can be locked in the loo while someone else puts washing/drying on), and an upstairs bathroom without a loo (the loo’s next door to the bathroom) so no teeth brushing next to a loo, either.
The house was designed in the 1950’s!

@Anyotherdude Our friend’s house has a separate loo upstairs. The basin to wash hands is in the bathroom next door. It’s totally unhygienic and like a public loo with handwashing elsewhere. Yes, it was a 50s thing. I’d remove the wall.

Why on earth mess around with the soil stack and moving a toilet just to create a cupboard for storage when you could store whatever it is in the new utility? A downstairs loo doesn’t have to be spacious.

definitely separate the loo from everything else and put a good fan in.

our downstairs wc is off the utility room. It’s the preferred loo for having a poo for 3 out of 4 people who live here. We dry our laundry in our utility room through the winter. I definitely wouldn’t want to be doing that in a room that smells of poo at least 3 times a day!

Surely is easy enough to put up a partition? A very lightweight sliding frosted one or similar?

While I don't have a problem with the toilet in the utility for poo reasons. I do think it might be more practical to be able to access the washing machine/laundry room while someone is using the loo.

What a strange thing to worry about. I grew up in a house with a utility/downstairs loo - it was merely a useful, functional room making the most of the space available. Presumably you close the toilet lid when you flush? And you don't leave your clothes in the utility room for days? I honestly can't see the problem.

Just thought to add - the utility room was in no way big enough to dry clothes, you could open the washing machine while on the loo. I probably wouldn't want to leave clothes drying next to a toilet, although I doubt it would actually cause any problems or smells.

Ah, but with modern plumbing, you can overcome this problem with a bit of lateral thinking - low frame wall-hung loo, with basin on the shelf at the back… also encourages putting the lid down before flushing - win-win!
No need for toothbrushes in the same room, as the bathroom does, indeed, have a hand basin.
Also, nobody’s waiting for the loo when someone is having a shower!

I would want a pantry designed with shelves which can be easily rearranged to maximise storage. I just have kitchen cupboards and always seem to end up buying a bottle or something which is too big to fit. I generally find smaller rooms easier to keep tidy. If we had a big multipurpose room it would just become a dumping ground (much like our conservatory is)!

@Anyotherdude Thats not possible at our friends house. The loo room is very narrow and leaning over the whole loo would be difficult and there’s a window where you might put a shelf basin. It’s way easier to remove the stud wall. They haven’t bothered but it’s a horrible design,

We do have a large hand wash sink in the laundry room and a decent basin for washing hands in the cloakroom. It’s just best to have two sinks and keep them separate.

Just put a separate door on the toilet area like everyone else does.

If it’s going to be your forever home having a toilet you can manoeuvre in could be a godsend when you’re older. Could you access your current one with a stick/walking frame etc? As you get less mobile the space you need to do anything increases and having room to turn in the downstairs loo is a bigger deal than you’d think!

I hope there's no germaphobes on this thread
😅

Team pantry here! Surely you can find somewhere else for storage 😵‍💫

Also I wouldn't mind having the washing machine and dryer in with the loo, but I wouldn't want my hanging drying and folding space in there too because Sod's law my boys would stink it out it the most inconvenient moment. 😆

We have a loo-tility with:

toilet
sink (kitchen sink sized)
cupboards to store towels/bed linen
cupboards to store cleaning bits and cycling stuff
washing machine and dryer
my husband’s laundry basket
We also hang our coats in this room.

Love this room and my favourite. It’s not massive and has no windows but nice and quiet. Used to be our kitchen before we extended.

Me too, but for some reason while I’ve got no issue with a washing machine and dryer in a big bathroom, the “loo-tility” rooms I’ve seen are generally tiny, with the washing machine crammed up against the toilet. Literally door opens onto floor directly in front of the toilet in some cases, you could put a wash on whilst sitting on the toilet. It doesn’t look clean, any men who splash are going to pee literally on your washing machine.

Washing machine a meter away from the toilet, fine. It’s this sort of thing that I don’t think looks good.

What do you mean like everyone else does? They clearly don’t.

I've got a "pootility" room. It's great. Also got a freezer in there. I don't change my sheets enough either

My parents had a look separate from the bathroom so nowhere to wash hands

I've had gastroenteritis twice in my life....I'm 61

Kids had it once each they're 29/31

Not sure after being on Mumsnet how I survived!

We have a downstairs wet room/toilet/utility and I absolutely love it. The washing machine etc is in a cupboard so you can’t even see it and it’s so convenient to come in from a muddy walk, rinse off and chuck your clothes straight in the wash!