Separate loo and bathroom? Location of downstairs loo.

[LadybirdsEverywhere]

My parents have a four bedroom house that they are about to extend. They are currently disagreeing on a couple of things and I wondered if I might canvass opinion on what would make the house attractive to buyers in the future. I have two questions:

1. They currently have a separate loo and bathroom - should they knock this into one room? (There will be a downstairs loo.)

2. Where should the downstairs loo go? Off the hall (dad worried about people hearing him tinkle) or off the utility room (mum worried about people going through kitchen and foody areas as this is not a nice thing to know while you're cooking and about visitors then going through the utility room where all their washing will be, including smalls on the clothes horse)?

Any comments would be helpful. Thanks!

I may be strange but I had out bathroom/toilet converted back into separate rooms when we moved in. And the downstairs toilet is off the utility room which is off the kitchen....
As the kids have got older I am really glad we have two toilets without having to disrupt anyone using the bathroom - and I can only see this becoming more of a benefit as the lure of the shower becomes stronger
Don't have any problem with the downstairs loo either.

We are having a separate shower room and leaving the loo in the bathroom (which will only have the ENORMOUS bath in it). We're also sticking a downstairs loo in. My builder wants it off the utility room. I want it off the hall. That's just because I want to be able to lock the kids out of the utility though, although I wouldn't want anyone traipsing through my laundry to go to the lav either.

I'm not sure who is going to win this argument. Possibly the person with the cheque book.

I would consider a toilet separate from the bathroom in a family home to be a bonus - I certainly wouldn't be knocking it through.
Downstairs cloakroom should be off the hall in an ideal way. That was it's accessible for guests, unlike if you have to go through the kitchen to the utility area, that then becomes private family territory IMO (although can be dead handy if you have young dcs who play out in the garden a lot).

I sold my house last year. It had a downstairs toilet and wash basin off the hall and next to the kitchen, so you just walked through the hall to get to it but if someone was noisy (lol) in the toilet and you were in the kitchen you'd hear it. I never saw it as a problem but it was convenient having it. Upstairs it had a separate toilet without a wash basin and then a bathroom. Practically every potential buyer planned to knock down the wall between the toilet and bathroom and make it one room. It was a very small bathroom so perhaps that's why. I was surprised as I thought a separate toilet was an advantage though not particularly necessary in our house as it had a second toilet. Some people think it's unhygienic because you have to leave the room before washing your hands and some people think a toilet in the bathroom is more unhygienic (poo germs on your toothbrushes?) I prefer separate toilets whether there's a second loo or not and ideally I'd like any separate loo to have a wash basin too.

As your mum doesn't want the downstairs toilet to be somewhere where guests have to walk through the utility area then it seems to make sense to have it off the hall. But I would have thought off the utility room was more sensible. Tell your dad he can always use the upstairs loo when visitors are there if he's feeling uncomfortable about it. I would imagine most potential buyers would just view it as a useful second toilet in either of those locations.

We don't have a downstairs loo, but upstairs the bathroom is separate from the toilet and we're intending to keep it that way. No-one has to endure any lingering odours when they're trying to clean teeth.

This is quite interesting. Thanks for your replies.

SignoraStronza - appropriate name for talking about toilets

I personally would prefer a loo off the hall and an all-in-one bathroom upstairs if I were buying a house.

I like the idea of loo separate from family bathroom but only if the latter is still a good size and the former has a wash basin.

Downstairs I wouldn't feel that strongly either way but have a slight preference for off the hall. If, due to the run of the soil pipe one was a much easier, ie cheaper, option then that would swing it for me.

I would think the downstairs toilet would be fine in either place.

When my parents had an extension a few years ago they wanted the toilet to be of the utility room, but there was only an archway (not a door) between the kitchen and the utility. Apparently new housing regulations state that there has to be at least 2 doors between a kitchen and a toilet, so they also had to replace the archway with a door. Might be completely irrelevant to you but thought I'd mention it just incase!

I think the 2 door rule has now been dropped MrsGSR.

Well, to me, separate loo and bathroom is weird. But to DH, it's normal. This is due to our respective parents' houses' layouts. Therefore I think there'll be people who prefer one and others who prefer the other, however I personally wouldn't let this dictate whether I bought a house or not.

Regarding the downstairs loo, my parents' is off the utility room which is off the kitchen, seems fine to me. I would find it weird being directly off the kitchen tho.

It depends on your visitors, if they are nosey then don't give them opportunity. Your df can wee upstairs if you have visitors, save his face.

all in one and off the hall.
that's my vote

I'd definitely prefer downstairs loo off the hall but tats because I cinstantly have piles of kaundry / washing onthe go so wouldnt want anyone walking through the utility to get to a loo.

I think the general expectation of family buyers is a good sized family bathroom. If you have that, and a separate loo , thats probably ideal. We currently have separate loo and bsthroom, and grew up in a similar house - both 1930s semis, but here we are planning to knock them together as bathroom alone is quite small. Incorporating the toilet into it will make it a better space.

Sorry typing on tablet

Think there is something inherently wrong with having a dump in the same room that you are trying to get clean in.

We are about to knock our separate loo/bathroom into one (just bought the house)
I hate it being separate, I feel like I'm peeing in a cupboard and also I have nowhere to sit when supervising DS in the bath (obviously with the lid closed).
We have a downstairs loo and will have another one so no shortages.
I'd personally prefer a downstairs loo off the hallway. Ours mainly gets used by guests or children so it's good to have an easy & direct route.
I still tend to go upstairs when I want to use a loo.

we have a downstairs toilet which we have opening off the hall. we made it that way but the only other option was off the porch or the kitchen so hall it was.

upstairs we have a separate toilet with a sink and then a bathroom with a bath and sink but no loo.

Personally I like the toilet being separate but I think it is important to have a sink in the separate toilet, not so keen if it doesn't have one but I do still like the loo separate.

my house when growing up had a normal bathroom with everything in it as has virtually everywhere I have ever lived but our 1930s house now is separate and I like it.