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Original poster

Ensuite - uni style

36 replies

Poppiesway1 · 03/07/2019 21:30

Hi, having an extension on my 1930’s terrace soon. The current bathroom is upstairs in what was previously a bedroom (toilet was in the outhouse still in garden). The bathroom is being converted back to a bedroom and bathroom going downstairs into the extension. I had really wanted 2 toilets as the dc always seem to need to go at same time. The eldest ds who has previously lived in at uni for a week,
suggested putting a little ensuite in like he had in his halls. I said no to start with but im now coming round to the idea as the room is a good size and already has plumbing to the room.
Anyway.. my Q is.. has any fitted a small but practical ensuite into the corner of a room? Similar to the ones at Uni? Ive tried searching the web for ideas but cant seem to find something similar to a small ensuite / wet room style.
Any ideas or experience in this area?

(I was going to do a loft conversion but due to shape of roof / ceilings it was too much money due to specially made / shaped beam supports which would have been needed and not enough floor room remaining).

OP posts:
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JoJoSM2 · 03/07/2019 21:39

It could be useful as soon as it's planned well. Our current house had a square ensuite in the corner of a lovely room with a bay window. It completely ruined the room so we took it out.

I'm sure it'll be fine as long as it's well-planned, though.

JoJoSM2 · 03/07/2019 21:42

This sort of thing along one wall probably wouldn't make the bedroom odd.

Ensuite - uni style
JoJoSM2 · 03/07/2019 21:42

This

Ensuite - uni style
BubblesBuddy · 03/07/2019 22:10

Lots of new halls have toilet/shower pods. They are institutionalised and horrible. I wouldn’t have a bathroom downstairs either if the bedrooms are upstairs. I would rethink!

DustOffYourHighestHopes · 03/07/2019 22:13

What are you looking for? Surely it’s easy to source tiny shower, toilet and little sink. A builder can partition and create it.

If you want the pre fab ones like at uni or in cheap hotels, they are a bit grim i’ll be honest

DustOffYourHighestHopes · 03/07/2019 22:14

www.walkermodular.com/bathroom-pods/grp-bathroom-pods

MyOtherProfile · 03/07/2019 22:17

I would always add an en suite of possible. I'm a huge fan.

Not such a fan of downstairs bathrooms though.

Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 03/07/2019 22:31

I would have liked to keep bathroom upstairs but not feasible. im the only one in my block of terrace thats hung on to the upstairs bathroom still. Its currently only a 2bedroom and my ds share so really need the extra bedroom now. I cant afford to buy another bigger house and stay in the village, plus as the architects said a loft conversion wasnt feasible it had to be extend downstairs and put bathroom there. (We have a lot of people buy houses in the village as second homes and pricing the locals out of the village)

But the 2nd toilet is a must really!

I think it was the plastic type wet room he had but i wondered if there was a more modern type for a home. If not it will have to be built to spec in the corner. I have seen a nice little toilet with sink on top of the cistern so thats a possiblity being built around..

OP posts:
BackforGood · 03/07/2019 22:41

Is it possible to put the little shower room / toilet of the landing rather than off the bedroom ? So anyone can access it ? That would be SO much better than an en-suite if it were possible.

Wilma55 · 03/07/2019 22:45

Put the extra bedroom downstairs plus a cloakroom and keep bathroom upstairs

Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 03/07/2019 23:08

We did discuss the bedroom downstairs but due to the room size it wouldnt fit a bed / wardrobe etc in for 2 teenagers to use.
Unfortunatley the landing is very small.. literally door width and length.
Just a shame the roof slopes both front and back which makes loft converaion impossible or it would all have been ok. In my head id had my bedroom and ensuite planned out for years with a lovely window looking over the fields, im finally in a position to do it... Until the architect visited and put paid to that :(

Im unable to make extension bigger for bedroom due to 1 refusal on neighbour consultation however i do have planning permission from
Council, just not as big as we’d hoped it would be.

Rock and a hard place!

OP posts:
redastherose · 03/07/2019 23:16

What's the upstairs layout like? MN may be able to suggest best position.

MyOtherProfile · 04/07/2019 06:55

I don't really understand about the roof. I've seen lots of roof extensions where they kind of build out a bit to get past the sloping roof. Will see if I can attach a pic.

Ensuite - uni style
Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 04/07/2019 07:26

MyOtherProfile ill get ds to school and draw a picture :)
Where the roof slopes, the bedroom ceiling slopes, (so part of my bedroom
Ceiling in the actual roof). i have such high celings so from outside it looks like a normal roof, but because of the style that they built them on the inside the loft floor size is not as big as youd think. I was told special metal support beams (i cant remember what their called) would have to be made to fit shape / angle of house which would be ridiculously expensive and if i did have them the overall size of the loft space i would be left with would not be big enough for a double bed and no ensuite.

OP posts:
Fernie6491 · 04/07/2019 08:13

The trouble with a roof dormer iis that even if the roof is a pitched roof - it may be too low to stand up straight, even at its' highest point . This is the problem with ours - so my dream of a loft room can never be realised.
We'd have to walk with a stoop!

Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 04/07/2019 08:23

Pictures... 1; is my current layout. 2; is how I wanted the layout. Ive lived here for years and been dreaming up the loft conversion.. Sad

Ensuite - uni style
Ensuite - uni style
OP posts:
Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 04/07/2019 08:28

But due to shape of loft unable to do the big conversion id wanted.. and due to price of beams being made to fit roof it just wasnt practical, to house the smaller loft room as a bathroom.

We did draw plans for a 2 story extension and the current bathroom to be bedroom with ensuite being the extension, but that wasnt allowed either.

Ensuite - uni style
Ensuite - uni style
OP posts:
crumpet · 04/07/2019 08:34

An en-suite to one of my bedrooms is tiny - 80cm by about 2m 15 cm. it has a shower, loo and basin and works fine - mainly used by guests though

minniemoll · 04/07/2019 08:52

Can you not take a lump of the existing second bedroom to make a shower room which would be accessible by all bedrooms? That'd give you the large master and two evenly sized smaller rooms.

Ensuite - uni style
GreatestShowUnicorn · 04/07/2019 09:02

What's with the dead space here? Could it be made into a toilet? Especially if it only needs a toilet not a full bathroom. Otherwise you've created dead space.

Ensuite - uni style
JoJoSM2 · 04/07/2019 09:48

So you could get a dormer into the loft? Keeping the first floor bathroom and then putting a bedroom + ensuite in the loft would make the house lovely.

The option of moving the bathroom to the ground floor (unnecessarily) seems like a botch job in comparison.

Sirrah · 04/07/2019 09:48

Looks like that was the plan if they did a loft conversion, it's to allow access to the new stairs. The best option does seem to be putting a small shower room between the two current bedrooms.

Sirrah · 04/07/2019 09:54

OP, why would a new bedroom downstairs need to be big enough for two teenagers, I thought you were doing this so they wouldn't have to share?

Original poster
Poppiesway1 · 04/07/2019 11:11

greatestshowunicorn the dead space is actually the hallway that access to the stairs to the loft would have been.

jojosm2 unfortunately because of the shape of the beams which would need to be adapted to support the loft it wasn’t practical, the architect only got as far as preliminary drawings because of the roof shape. He did speak to structural people about it but the cost was far too much for the small space it would gain.

Sirrah sorry it was meant to say a teenager! Not 2. They do currently share and is driving me crackers! They’re 6 yrs apart so quite a difference in age for that stage of life!

minniemoll this is currently my room. Dc have the larger room. We did discuss having a small toilet room there but because of the fireplace it’s restrictive in terms of having furniture and the bed. A bed doesn’t fit width ways in the room because of the fireplace, so the bed is longways in the room with the bottom where the door way would be and headboard against external wall, enabling me to have a chest of draws and a small wardrobe in the alcoves.

It’s a working fireplace so can’t be taken out (did
discuss that and have a free standing wood burner for ex), and it’s also joint chimney breast with my neighbour whose against an extension (even though they have an extension themselves)

If only I could win the lottery! or property prices fall so I could stay in the village!!
A downstairs bathroom is the norm here though for these old terrace houses.

Thankyou all though. Those bathroom pods that Dustoffyourhighesthopes showed me were quite inspiring, and I could try and do something similar but not a fibreglass insert. This toilet system looks promising cloakroom toilet

OP posts:
BlueSkiesLies · 04/07/2019 11:13

Why can’t you have a dormer loft extension?! Al roofs slope front and back! That’s why people put in dormers.

Keeping 2 beds and bath on the middle floor, and putting in a master with en suite on the attic extension would be a million times better than extending downstairs and moving the bathroom there.

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