Tall people, toilet under sloped ceiling

[LoftyLou]

I have a quandary about placement of our toilet in our under-eaves shower room.

The toilet is definitely going under the sloped ceiling, with velux window (there is nowhere else, and piping is already in), it is just a question of how far in or out from the dwarf wall we go.

The builders want to put the toilet in where the dwarf wall has been built, but then someone of 6 foot 2 or above would bash their head on the top ridge of the velux. They are saying that this would not happen as people naturally step forward getting off the loo. I acknowledge this, but they would have to step forward a lot (a foot) to avoid the low ridge.

I don’t know if they are just looking to avoid creating the extra work of putting a fake wall between the toilet and dwarf wall, or concerned about the aesthetics of moving the toilet out.

If it was just a sloped ceiling I probably wouldn’t mind but it’s the fact that there is decent head height under the glass of the velux itself (well about 6’4”), and then at the top of the window the roof ridge comes down lower with a sharp angle. So someone could stand up and then unsuspectingly bash their head into the point of the ridge.

I can see us having to stick some rubber to the ridge above the velux for the once-a-year occasion when a tall person stays over.

Alternatively we would move the toilet further out into the room by a foot or two. This would not look good, as the toilet would be right by the door and close to the shower, but I think it would be safer and worth it.

Has anyone had a toilet installed under a velux and regretted it, or do tall people just get used to being cautious in situations like a pokey toilet?

(I have already bought the longest toilet I could find within reason).

Would appreciate any experiences or thoughts, thanks.

My parents have this, minus the Velux but they have artex . The builders are right. People step forwards when they get up from the loo. The only thing to bear in mind is men will need to sit.

We built a false wall in the loft bathrooms. The builders said they had never had problems with toilets under the veluxes, but we made up a model of the ceiling in a different bathroom of what it would be like to get off the toilet, and it was very awkward for DH who is quite tall, and even for me I found it a bit cramped. I think we ended up building the wall in about 50cm, and it works really well.

Can you buy lower toilets these days so not so easy to bang ones head?

Thanks for your comments. The sitting down height is something I had assumed would be ok. I am not at home right now to check but will do this.

A model is a really good idea. We also need to borrow a tall person and get him to pose getting on and off the loo, and stop in various positions for measurements. Any volunteers? 😝 (Actually think I will ask a neighbour to do this).

This how we did it for our ensuite, DH is well over 6 ft so it was a pertinent question. Although people that tall do get used to watching their head so I would not worry too much about occasional guests.

We basically built a false wall to about 4feet high and then created a further shelf to allow the sink to come forward but conceal the loo cistern (and lots of other plumbing). The head room for a person standing at the sink or loo is therefore over 6 foot. Our shower was quite well back so there was still standing space in front of the loo. We drew it out and then got DH to stand in the room and chalked the correct position on the floor I think.

Can the velux window be set higher up or is it already built?

Having stayed recently in a holiday cottage where the loo was under the eaves, my DH (who is very tall) complained endlessly. It was fine for me but I wasn't standing up and hitting my head. He had the same problem with the way the shower was fitted over the bath.

We have one. Just check a typical sized gent of around 5'10 could have a pee standing without banging head.

Notmenono thanks for the picture, it’s good to see what it could look like - yours looks great! Our sink is on the other wall just next to shower so you will have to squeeze past the shower and toilet to get to it.

The veluxes are already fitted. They are almost as high as the apex of the roof, but I think they could probably be an inch or two higher and wish I had asked them to put them at the highest possible point. I had intended to do this, but the holes for the windows happened so fast, before we had access to have a look at what was built (first few days after scaffolding went up). Then it seemed like it wasn’t worth mentioning given it was only a couple of inches, now I am just going to moan about it forever more.

Thanks OCsock, it does seem a bit unfair to tall people to design a space that doesn’t suit them. I’m surprised building control don’t seem to have any rules about the space over a toilet.

We’ve got an integrated toilet and cupboard a bit like this pic but without the sink.
The fitter had to project it into the room more than the depth of the unit to allow for pipes behind and for the steep ceiling slope. He put in larger side panels to hide the area behind and a piece of worktop on the top. It worked out really well and no problems with tall people using the toilet. The cupboard is really useful too for storing cleaning products etc.

Thanks Mama. Hmm we’ve already bought a close-coupled back to wall toilet but I suppose it could be worth changing.

Builders and my DH remain in denial that there will be any issue. I’ve put a chair up there and there is definitely enough sitting up height, it’s just the standing up into the ridge at the top of the velux that is the issue.

I asked the plasterer to make the ridge slightly curved instead of a sharp (beaded) 90 degrees (so cracking your head on it might not be as impactful) but that seemed to be like asking for the moon, so we are stuck with the sharp angle.

My old house had a bathroom like notme’s with the slope coming behind the toilet.
DH is 6ft 4. It was never a problem.

The best thing was that it meant that he and his equally tall mates would all sit to wee.