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Original poster

sink in toilet? How important is it?

49 replies

april1st · 08/01/2013 14:05

How important is it to have at least a small sink in the toilet?

We saw this house we think it is sort of ok but there isn't a wc in the bothroom so the toilet is seperated from the bathroom.... yes .... ok. That isn't too much a problem but the major problem to me is that there isn't a sink in the toilet. The estate agency's plumber said the toilet is too small to fit in even the smallest sink. Should we just give up on this house?! And just hope the market will get busier in the next few weeks?

OP posts:
veryworried29 · 08/01/2013 14:08

Is the loo next to the bathroom? Most people get round this problem by knocking the two rooms together.

Personally I would rather have a separate toilet. The user might have to come in to the bathroom while I am bathing or showering to wash their hands, but that is way preferable to someone having to come in for a poo!

mistlethrush · 08/01/2013 14:10

We had this but fitted a small basin in quite happily... Although we did have to paint the room 'Bumblebee Yellow' to distract from the avocado loo that we couldn't afford to change Grin

DivineInspiration · 08/01/2013 14:13

If there's a main 'family' washbasin in the bathroom (or room for one), then something like this might be the ideal solution for the toilet: www.ukbathroomstore.co.uk/sanlamere-caroma-profile-combined-toilet-intergral-basin-p-150198.html?currency=GBP

Neat, practical and saves water to boot.

Original poster
april1st · 08/01/2013 14:14

Y...e...s! But the children or some people may just forget to wash their hands! Especially if the bath room is engaged some people may just finish their businesses then go without washing their hands. I feel sick even to think about it. sorry.

OP posts:
Wingedharpy · 08/01/2013 14:15

I have 2 friends who live in older houses and they both have this set up.
it doesn't seem to be a problem for them and when I have stayed over with one of them, I never found it a problem to be honest.
In both cases the loo was next door to the bathroom and so nipping next door to wash your hands wasn't too much hassle.
If the bathroom had been occupied after loo visit, there were other sinks in the house that I could use to wash my hands (one house has a small sink in one of the bedrooms - wouldn't be my choice but it was handy for teeth cleaning without blocking other's access to the bathroom).

veryworried29 · 08/01/2013 14:15

Oooo eeeeek at that loo with the basin on top. Don't like!!!

jennybeadle · 08/01/2013 14:16

Vital I'd say. I know loads of houses have a loo with no sink, but it makes me feel a little sick.

TravelinColour · 08/01/2013 14:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

veryworried29 · 08/01/2013 14:17

We have an outside loo with no sink but no one ever forgets to wash their hands here Confused.

GooseyLoosey · 08/01/2013 14:17

Could you deal with it by having one of those wall mounted alcohol hand rubs that you get in hospitals?

ImNotaPheasantPlucker · 08/01/2013 14:19

We have an 1950's ex-local authority house with the same toilet/bathroom set up as this. I wanted a wash basin fitting but it would have been really tight for space (the room is only a little bigger than a public loo, if you see what I mean).

To get round the lack of wash basin we put in a wall hanging anti-bac gel holder, a bit like the ones in hospital. (Bought from ebay and wasn't too expensive). That way there is no excuse for little ones to 'forget' to wash!

wewereherefirst · 08/01/2013 14:20

My mothers house has a separate loo and bathroom and we never had any problems with it, they were separated by a huge airing cupboard.

You just need to antibac the door handles a lot

dontwanttobefatandforty · 08/01/2013 14:22

we use anti bac gel also

Bumblequeen · 08/01/2013 14:23

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at poster's request.

RooneyMara · 08/01/2013 14:26

I think hold fire.

It is a problem for me, yes, but then I like to be able to wash my hands after using the loo and I teach my children to - it's much harder if there's not a sink right there.

Also when you're cleaning the loo/floor etc where do you rinse the cloth, where do you do anything needing fresh water - it's usually possible to fit in a very small sink. In fact I put in a corner one in our last house, above the height of the cistern, pipework was a bit tricky but it was fine. Only one tap was better than nothing.

I wouldn't take any notice of the plumber. There's always something you can do once you own the property.

RooneyMara · 08/01/2013 14:29

Oh God are people really using antibac gel; instead of washing their hands?

this is such a bad idea, sorry - there are loads of really nasty things it doesn't kill. Clostridium (superbug) as well as noro - just for starters.

It just kills all the less scary ones making it far easier for the nasties to populate. I know a fair bit about superbugs and I won't touch the stuff...most hospital staff know very little about it, though of course many do know, no offence to anyone intended.

You must always wash your hands properly with soap and hot water unless there's really no other alternative. For me antibac is for emergencies when you're stuck on a motorway or something and no old bottles of drinking water to use to rinse your hands.

Cantbelieveitsnotbutter · 08/01/2013 14:32

Mines like that. It's fine just anti bac the handles. As others have said not a massive problem and normally an eventual rejig will solve it.

cantspel · 08/01/2013 14:35

I grew up in a house with a separate loo and bathroom and now i own a house with the same set up. It is not a problem and everyone just washes their hands after in the bathroom which you have to pass to come back downstairs or to get to the bedrooms anyway.

PigletJohn · 08/01/2013 15:22

what are the dimensions of the WC, and is the door at the end opposite?

Deux · 08/01/2013 16:11

Can you hang the bathroom door so it opens out the way and then have a slim profile rectangular sink on the wall? You get really slim basins now.

MistyB · 08/01/2013 16:11

We live in Switzerland and two out of three loos in this house do not have a sink in the same room. Normal here though I did spend three years moaning about a similar situation in our last house and put a sink in the loo before we left. It cost £300 in total so not a huge amount but there was enough room.

wonkylegs · 08/01/2013 16:20

Even tiny loos can often fit a small basin in somewhere with a bit of clever design/planning but it may not always be obvious or easy. Ideal standard do a tiny basin that only projects 20cm from the wall.
Personally this set up (which is quite common) doesn't bother me but in my home we knocked through to create a larger family bathroom.

usualsuspect · 08/01/2013 16:21

We have a separate toilet with no sink, the bathroom is next door to it so it's not really a problem.

BehindLockNumberNine · 08/01/2013 20:26

We had this set up in our 1950's semi. For us there was only one answer and that was to knock the bathroom and the separate toilet together to create one bigger bathroom.
There was no way I could live with a toilet in a small room (barely bigger than a public toilet cubicle) without a sink.

The rest of the house was ticking a lot of boxes for us though, which is why we bought it anyway and knocked the bathroom walls through :-)