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Tricky bathroom/futility room

63 replies

bastardkitty · 14/03/2018 18:10

Hiya, wondering if I can pick people's brains about this awkward room? I just can't crack it. It's a downstairs shower room which needs a total refit, but I'm wracking my brains as to how to fit in a washing machine and tumble dryer and still keep a shower. The door is really tight and can't be moved because of where it is in the kitchen. Would love to see if anyone can solve this conundrum.

Tricky bathroom/futility room
OP posts:
GreenTulips · 14/03/2018 19:00

Standard appliances are 60cm

So you have a door problem!

Could you have a narrow part of the door hinges to a wider part of the door - so it basically is narrow most of the time but could be used fully to remove the appliances?

Ask a cleaver carpenter to figure something out

KatyMac · 14/03/2018 19:06

would a sliding pocket door help?

bookgirl1982 · 14/03/2018 19:10

Previous poster had it right, sink next to door, then washer and dryer stacked where the sink is currently. Maybe have sink cupboard and washer housing built in same wood so it looks like fitted units.

Pandabear2018 · 14/03/2018 21:31

Washer and dryer along wall under window (so on outside wall so better for dryer). Compact 700x700mm quadrant shower in corner where current shower is (easy plumbing). Compact toilet next to it (350mm wide) (on outside wall so hopefully not too much hassle to get soil pipe to there and gives you lots of space in front of it). Tiniest wall-hung sink possible (365 wide x180 deep) next to door on the short wall to be out of way (hopefully not too hard to get pipes there, especially if it backs onto your kitchen?) Best I can manage! Good luck mulling over designs.

bastardkitty · 14/03/2018 22:20

Thanks everyone. I think there are a couple of workable options there. I know they won't look lovely but I think the functionality is the priority, plus it will give me more scope with the kitchen. Main options seem to be to put the shower to the right of the door wetroom style for occasional use with the wm/td at the end. Or wm/td where the sink is currently and bijou shower, toilet and sink beyond them. Pocket door might be a help too! Think I need to get some tape out and mark up some options Smile

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MacaroniPenguin · 14/03/2018 23:47

A quick google on Beko here gives some options for machines that are 60cm wide but the depth is less than you'd expect - it looks like 54 is the standard but they range from 60 down to 50 and even 41.5. The 41.5cm ones are smaller capacity unsurprisingly. If you had a 60cm wide but shallower machine you'd have a fighting chance at keeping the door a usable width. As a PP suggested, a sliding door is a good idea and might disguise any overlap, though 64cm is a narrow door anyway and you need to be able to get in and out so you can't impinge on it really.

In practice I wouldn't think you could completely abut the machine to the wall, but it might be worth a more detailed look at the backs of different machines IRL.

bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 06:37

Ah thank you. I did look at this before but they are more shallow than I found! I presume I would need to look at a condenser dryer, but I have no idea about the feasibility of plumbing a washing machine against the internal wall and how the waste water could exit, when there is a door between the appliance and the external wall. Is there a way to do this? It would mean I could stick with the current layout for the bathroom which would be brilliant. Thanks @MarconiPenguin

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solittletime · 15/03/2018 06:45

Would re-hanging the door to open outwards or the other way help?
Could you put corner shower by the door and d/w dryer where shower is now.
And get a smaller sink?

bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 06:50

The door currently opens outwards and it would make life easier if it opened inwards or was a sliding/pocket door. Yes I think the shower to the right of the door would be possible - would need to be a wet room but it would work.

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MacaroniPenguin · 15/03/2018 12:19

I'm no expert but plumbing is similar for washing machine and sink. Keeping everything on right hand and bottom walls would be cheaper. Internal bathrooms are pretty common, you don't need an external wall at all but that doesn't mean it would be cheap.

I know Brits are thought paranoid about mixing water and electricity but I'd be reluctant to put a washing machine in a wetroom if I could help it. They inevitably end up with water getting everywhere, especially if no space for a cubicle. Building regs will tell you what's ok or not though.

thecatsthecats · 15/03/2018 12:36

Shower stays where it is, toilet moved to facing off door wall, appliances stacked and boxed in next to shower? Dinky sink wherever's left tbh.

So you 'enter' at the door end of the shower, but the other end had 3 'walls'?

Ariela · 15/03/2018 13:32

Can you stack a dryer above the washer?

bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 13:34

That was my original plan, to put the w/d stacked up against a new shower wall and move the toilet and sink further along the outside wall towards the kitchen. I don't know how complicated/expensive it is to move the soil pipe but it surely can't be that much work to move it a metre or so.

OP posts:
bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 13:34

Yes stacking is definitely an option

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StatisticallyChallenged · 15/03/2018 13:41

We have ours (washer and dryer) side by side but underneath our bathroom sink in a built in unit. Would that possibly work where the sink is at the moment, coming along towards the door?

Tricky bathroom/futility room
Tricky bathroom/futility room
bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 13:53

Ah that's very neat. I like it. I will have to see how long the run would be. Could leave the shower and toilet where they are and then the unit with sink on top where the sink currently is. Did you need to leave room between the appliances for the sink waste?

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bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 13:54

It looks like there's a gap anyway. Did you use standard appliances? How wide is that whole unit please?

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fresh · 15/03/2018 13:55

Sorry to go on about this, but can I just say again that having the wmc and td at right angles to the long wall will not leave you enough room to comfortably get stuff in and out of them. Room is 118cm wide, appliances are 60cm deep (or 50 but it makes little difference). Try bending down in a space 58cm deep as if loading a machine - it's extremely awkward, which will get dull very quickly. So the wmc and td would be best with their backs to one of the short walls, either stacked next to the door or side by side at the other end.

Which is the most important function in this room, showering or laundry? Once you've decided that you can decide which function to compromise on. So if showering is more important you need to keep the shower where it is and then stack the wmc/td next to the door (facing down the length of the room, and considering where the waste and vent go - this might make the decision for you) and just accept that they might overlap the door by a couple of cm, but if laundry is more important then I'd put the wmc/td at the far end side by side and have the wetroom arrangement.

Bear in mind that in a wetroom spray will travel up to 1.5m, so you'll need to fully tile all walls close by, and make sure that there's a step at the door threshold to stop water leaking out into the kitchen.

I've done a lot of bathrooms and utility rooms over the years - bitter experience!

And, sorry to be dull again, but in a wetroom spray travels up to 1.5m. So if that's your solution then you'll need to fully tile the walls and find a way to stop water making its way under the kitchen door on its way to the shower drain. And bear in mind you'll need to tile the floor with a fall to a drain.

fresh · 15/03/2018 13:56

sorry, repeated myself about the spray in a wetroom!

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/03/2018 14:02

Without checking I think the whole unit is about 137cm. It could have been a bit smaller - there is wiggle room either side - and the sink pipes are in the middle. They're standard appliances too.

That's in our main upstairs bathroom btw - we did look at downstairs but there was no sensible space at all. Worth considering in case there's a space elsewhere you haven't considered.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/03/2018 14:03

OP, what's on the other side of the room? There's an external wall on the right, kitchen is to the top I'm guessing, but what runs down the left hand side?

bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 14:49

I know you're right about the lack of space in front of wm/td fresh but I think that might have to be the trade off. I debated getting rid of the shower but it's now a necessity to keep it. I appreciate you sharing your experience - thank you.

@StatisticallyChallenged the other wall adjoins the neighbours house and the little wall beside the door adjoins my kitchen.

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fresh · 15/03/2018 15:04

OK, fair enough then I have one final thought. Is it possible to move the door across, then you could stack the wm/td next to the outside wall (facing down the room) so the drainage/vent route would be easier. Then replace the loo with one which has an integrated basin like this www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/metro-combined-two-in-one-wash-basin-toilet-500mm-wide-x-300mm?campaign=googlebase&pagetype=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjuyUpszu2QIVRjPTCh2t3wFREAQYBCABEgKMy_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

You might have to live with a narrow doorway which might mean a bespoke door. And obviously if there's something crucial in the kitchen where the new door would go that makes it impossible. It's my last throw of the dice!!

bastardkitty · 15/03/2018 15:14

@fresh love your ingenuity! The door can't be moved. The run of kitchen units runs up to the short wall next to the door. The kitchen is also a challenge, hence I'm determined to get rid of the wm/td. The toilet basin combo is great. I will read back through all the posts and make sure I've grasped every option. Obviously I didn't even mention the radiator Grin

OP posts:
fresh · 15/03/2018 15:33

My work here is done Grin, before I start re-designing your kitchen as well...

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