Would you install a Saniflo bathroom??

[Pannacotta]

Is it possible to use saniflo pipework and still have a stylish shower room?

We were all set, after months of planning the fittings, to have a shower room put in next to our bedroom, at the front of the house, but an experienced bathroom fitter has said he thinks it isnt feasible. He didnt think the soil pipe and other pipework would fit on the front of the house (too close to the stonework around the door).

So we either bin the shower room or we use saniflo pipework and raise the shower tray etc, not ideal IMO.

The only other option is to put a second bathroom next to the existing one, but this is down a level from the bedrooms.

We do need another bathroom, there are currently 6 bedrooms and only 1 small bathroom. This would reduce to 5 beds with the new shower room. I'm thinking in terms of family life/morning rush, but also re-sale value.

Any advice would be great. TIA

If that was the only option then , yes, rather than have only one bathroom between six bedrooms (but I might ask for another opinion first).

My in-laws have saniflo and I don't notice any real difference except you have to be extremely vigilant about what is put in the loo - even a stray cotton bud could block it. I would be very nervous about having one if I thought my children were too young or feckless to take care of it.

And be careful with "the killer poo".

My parents have one installed. We have not spent a penny in it for the last 10 years....

We've had about 7 builders round and only 2 quotes, one which was nearly 6K just to put in pipework and fittings, though it seems the builder thought it was possible. Am not convinced he checked the measurements and drain situation properly though, on reflection.

We did have a saniflo in our previous house, in the main bathroom and it was ok actually, but it was for the loo only, not the shower and we had two other loos as well.
I gather that we'd need to raise the shower tray quie high to work with a saniflo, which could look awful...
(we were wanting a frameless type enclosure)

Some of the pump/macerators are more robust than others - our shower room previously had one called a Piranhamatic (or something linked to Piranha anyway...) which could handle sanitary products, cotton buds etc without any problem.

If you don't like the look of what they're suggesting, do you have enough height to have a flse floor put in? Then you'd have a step up into the bathroom but then everything would be "normal" inside the room itself.

Oh dear - very sorry to hear that.

I think the false floor idea is good - or could you make a feature of the raised shower cubicle by using clever lighting underneath just along the edge, so it looked as though it was floating?

If you look at the bathroom section here, it might give you some ideas?

www.johncullenlighting.co.uk/index.php?pageID=6&moduleID=2

I would pay the extra and install a standard shower room.We have a saniflo [admittedly over 10 years old].Dcs are always blocking it ,breaking it and it smells.I agree with 6 bedrooms you need more bathrooms.But surely the size of the house and the value would support spending that much.We have 6 bedrooms and we have 2 bathrooms upstairs [one ensuite with the saniflo],one on the top floor and a newly installed shower room on the ground floor.Alternatively could you do a ground floor one?[they are really useful for kids].

We were given the option of a saniflo in our newbuild, due to a builders cock up.

We did not have to in the end, as we rearranged what wall to put the toilet on. Can you change the plans?

teta its not the money, we will spend that if its what it will cost.
What worries me more is that a very experienced bathroom fitter thought that it wasn't possible to use standard pipework, without having a messy job lot of pipes on the front of the house (we're in a conservation area so need to keep things neat and discreet as possible).
Will check out your link Grendel but raising the floor doesnt address the soil pipe issue.

Quint the house is mid Victorian so we are trying to adapt it to suit us - which is harder than I thought...

How many rooms between your proposed bathroom and outside wall? Can you run the pipes under the floor to the side wall and break into the drains there? Depends which way your joists run though.

There is one room between the proposed shower room and outside wall and the joists do run the right way to take the pipes sideways and out, but there is a flat roof extension which juts out under that room which would complicate the pipe run.

Also we have just had the room decorated and the floor sanded (the only room in the house which is done!) so would be a shame to bash it around.

And teta, re downstairs option, we do in fact have a downstairs shower room, but I havent counted it, partly as it feels a wrong place to have a bathroom - it is opposite the front door at the end of the hall. Also because it needs a complete re-fit as the shower unit leaks badly, and I'm not sure it's worth doing.

Whatever system you have will run under the floorboards won't it? I know it's a shame if you've just finished that room but it's kind of inevitable.

I'd start to look into the different type of macerator and pumped systems out there - see if there are any really robust ones that will make it less of a risk having it done.

We have a macerator in our basement shower room for the loo and shower. The shower tray isn't any higher than in a normal bathroom. The macerator/pump is a Grundfos (Solofit I think) rather than Saniflo.

It's a pity you can't go to the side easily.

I think though, based on some of your other posts, you may regret the saniflo option in the long run?

I know it will be painful but I would bash out the room you've already had done if it means you can have the pipework you want and have a reliable permanent solution.

I asked friends about saniflo and not one spoke well of it. In fact many said that they just didn't use that bathroom as a consequence. Those who didn't mind, it was where the bathroom was attached to a spare room so wasn't often used.

We are having a bathroom at the front of the house so have been through similar scenarios but can go out the side through one room. Also didn't want soil stack at the front of the house.

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas.
If we put in a macerator we can run the pipes through the loft or along the landing to soil pipe at the back, no need to go through newly decorated room.
I agree a saniflo system isnt ideal, though will look at the options, will check out Grundfors too, thanks.

How about our other option, ie new shower room on lower first floor?
We have two small rooms off the lower landing, one is a bathroom, the other was to be a spare room. This could be converted to a shower room, all the plumbing is there, but it is a lower level than the bedrooms (there is currently a loo but no bathroom on the same fllor as the bedrooms).

I can post a floor plan if that would make more sense?

Shoudl add too that we have spent a lot on architects fees but neither of those we used coudl suggest anything much.

I would not have a macerating toilet on the top floor. Where would the service hatch for it go? Would you be able to carry it out to clean it easily, if necessary? Or would you rinse it off in the shower?

Also check the warranty, for how long do they guarantee the work.

When it seemed like we needed to install a saniflo, I negotiated a deal with the plumbing firm which included a 15 year warranty, parts and labour (standard is 2 years), top notch additional bathroom products to the value of 5k, including steam showers, wall hung Villeroy and boch toilets, bespoke glass shower doors, etc, due to their cock up.

I might install one as a third toilet, but not as a second....

It woudl be hard to carry it outside, it could be cleaned in the shower.
We do have three loos already! One downstairs, one on lower landing in the bathroom and one on the top floor where the bedrooms are, so the saniflo wouldnt get much use, woudl be for me and DH really.
But I knwo they are not ideal and am worried about the noise too.

You get used to the noise.
If it is only for you and your dh, and you can agree to only do number ones, I would be less concerned.

Ooh, I do love a floorplan, post away.

Ok, I'll load and post back once its done.
This one will get your creative juices flowing lala, its a right shambles!!

Photo up, hope its clear, was hard to get a non blurry close up.

It is pretty blurry - are you planning to put the showeroom in the room in the middle of the front of the house which has a pointer to it?

OK, assuming that that is where you want the shower room to go (and it does look like the best option if you can get the pipework to fit), I would consider building a new partition wall along the back room (there seems to be some sort of column or remains of a chimney breast there, about a metre or so in) and then knock through to what appears to be existing loo at the back.

I would also investigate using the small, double cupboard space (?) in between the bedrooms on the left to create an ensuite (I don't like them but others rave about them).

Room at front definitely is best option though.

Pannacotta i know what you mean about messy pipes.I have had my bathroom reconfigured at the side of my house and the pipes mean i can't build my utility extension with a pitched roof - it will have to be flat which means new architectural drawings and calculations sadly .Trying to remodel a victorian house must be really difficult [mine is 1904 and is bad enough!].Do you have any more plumbers who can come round and take a look?.Sometimes they don't want to take the most difficult option.Best of luck whatever you decide

no way. They are noisy, they stink and they are a total nightmare. We spent a lot of money having our shower room redone this year and took out the saniflow system. Bathroom is on front of house so couldn't put new soil pip down the front of the house. Soil pipe goes under our bedroom floor and down the side of the house. There must be another way.....