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Original poster

Bathroom downstairs.. pros & cons?

24 replies

notanotherone28 · 19/09/2019 13:45

Found a lovely house for me, DP and DS.. but the bathroom is downstairs.

Is this a big no no? What are the pros and cons? It's put me off slightly as I've never lived in a house with a downstairs bathroom! 😬

OP posts:
Original poster
notanotherone28 · 19/09/2019 13:56

.

OP posts:
AwkwardPaws27 · 19/09/2019 14:03

It's annoying if you need the loo in the night / in a hurry.
If DH has friends over and I have a bath I have to walk through the kitchen and dining room in a towel (not too fussed by that tbh but some people might be).
We're dividing a double bedroom to create an upstairs shower room and a smaller bedroom.

Powerplant · 19/09/2019 14:04

Used to live in a cottage with a downstairs bathroom it was a real pain at night if you needed the loo. I personally wouldn’t buy a house with a downstairs bathroom again unless you have space to add one upstairs. They tend to be cheaper to buy though

jomaIone · 19/09/2019 14:08

We have just bought a house with a bathroom downstairs and a toilet upstairs. Hasn't really put me off as it's an otherwise perfect house. I wouldn't like to not have a toilet at least upstairs.

FinallyHere · 19/09/2019 14:35

Loo upstairs as a minimum.

We currently have a washing machine in upstairs en-suite. Would accept lots of other compromises in order to have bathroom upstairs.

wineymummy · 19/09/2019 14:39

Had only a downstairs bathroom for 3 years until we extended and managed to add an upstairs shower room.

Pros:

  • Kids in the bath next to the kitchen, I can keep an eye on them whilst tidying the kitchen/cooking my tea.
  • It meant a downstairs loo.
  • We could afford a three bed house instead of a two bed with upstairs bathroom.

Cons:

  • Middle of the night wees.
  • Walking around in a towel, past guests and living room window.

It was a pain but for me it wasn't a game changer and I'd live with it again for the right house. Before we extended we did consider adding a WC in a large cupboard upstairs.

statetrooperstacey · 19/09/2019 14:43

A downstairs bathroom is very good for small children I found. My old house had one off the kitchen and and I could have the bathroom door open while my toddler was in the bath and cook dinner/ breakfast at the same time. They can also get all filthy in the garden and straight in the bath before making the rest of the house a crap hole. Needing a wee in the night can be a bit of a pain but you get used to it. Saying that, I have an upstairs one now and I prefer it!

Original poster
notanotherone28 · 19/09/2019 15:10

Everything in this house is perfect, except the bathroom!

OP posts:
thewayoftheplatypus · 19/09/2019 18:33

Our first house had a downstairs bathroom where you had to pass through the kitchen to get to the loo.

We moved out because I was terrified of then pre-schooler DS messing with the oven/kitchen stuff when he went to the loo in the night. Going up and down the stairs all night when pregnant with DS2 was also a pain.

Pros were that it meant we had a downstairs loo in the daytime, which was handy for toilet training

Sugartits27 · 19/09/2019 18:35

Great when you're potty training! So easy to whip small children to the loo in the daytime. And at night potty's in bedrooms. Annoying for middle of the night wees as others have said. Not a deal breaker for me though.

TheBrockmans · 20/09/2019 08:26

Great for potty training. If you do need to use it in the night you can flush without waking everyone. If you have nosey visitors over you only need to keep downstairs tidy as they have no need to go upstairs. If you have elderly (day) visitors then all on one level. Admitted you also get those benefits if you have a downstairs and upstairs loo but if you can only afford one. It takes a little getting used to but actually there are loads of positives.

Negative is that some people won't entertain buying a property with a downstairs loo.

chickenyhead · 20/09/2019 08:31

I have always lived in houses with downstairs bathrooms. The only difficulty I have found in when DC are young tbh.

It can be scary going through the house on your own.

But otherwise we like it to be honest it is like living in a bungalow during the day lol

MarieG10 · 20/09/2019 14:03

It is a real blocker when selling. I wouldn't have a house with only one bathroom being downstairs

Joana27 · 25/07/2020 07:29

Sure, you can take the bathroom to the ground floor, but you have to find space and funds for it. However, pulling the installation and arranging a bathroom from scratch is not cheap. It is best to look at the arrangements on the Internet, e.g. here thehomeexpert.uk/offer/bathrooms/bathroom-design/. Then check the costs and decide on what is within your reach. ;-)

FreshfieldsGal · 25/07/2020 08:13

Our last house had a downstairs bathroom, it was a victorian terrace. We tried to put in an ensuite upstairs but couldn't as we only had space at the front of the house but the soil pipe was at the back, so we would've only been able to get a saniflo which have problems anyway.
It didn't really bother us that much, but when we came to sell it did put a lot of people off.
If the house is otherwise perfect then go for it op.

daisypond · 25/07/2020 08:18

It wouldn’t bother me. If there’s only one loo, I would rather it was downstairs than upstairs. If that means the bath is also downstairs, so be it. You spend most of your time downstairs and it would mean guests don’t have to traipse upstairs. I long for a downstairs loo.

bigbluebus · 25/07/2020 08:26

I was brought up in a house with a downstairs bathroom - and 5 of us living there. It was fine. However, when we were looking at houses 20 years ago we discounted a house because it had a downstairs bathroom as I would rather have an upstairs bathroom. My DS currently lives in a house with the bathroom downstairs on the back of the house which is fairly standard for his street of terraced houses and those in the surrounding area. I would say it depends where the house is and if it is the norm for that area.

LadyCurd · 25/07/2020 08:29

We have a bathroom downstairs. When we moved in we put a loo and sink in a cupboard on the landing. Waste drops straight through the floor and along the ground floor to join sewers which meant we got the fall we needed. Over time we nipped a bit off the main bedroom to create a plush 0.8m by 3m wetroom which is epic. And the length means the loo and sink area never gets wet unlike with other sized wet rooms. I wouldn’t buy a house without an upstairs loo but don’t mind the downstairs bathroom especially good with tiny ones so you can keep an eye on them in bath.

Roselilly36 · 25/07/2020 08:32

The last home we had only had a downstairs bathroom, it was a pain when I was pregnant and needed the loo, a lot in the night. Could be a reason why the property hasn’t sold, so think about re-sell, could a loo be put in above upstairs, loo, shower & sink. Could add value & resell potential as well as being comfortable for you to live in.

WombatChocolate · 25/07/2020 08:40

Agree that when it's time to re-sell, it will reduce the available buyers significantly and mean you need to accept a lower price.

Standard lay-outs always attract the most buyers.

Of course, if you get a bargain because of the downstairs bathroom and accept the orice will be lower when you sell, it can be okay...but that's just price...you still have to find a buyer. And as time goes on, just a downstairs bathroom will become more and more unusual and less attractive. I'd avoid if at all possible.

Silvercatowner · 25/07/2020 08:42

I'm afraid I wouldn't consider buying a house with a downstairs bathroom if it was the only loo.

BearFoxBear · 25/07/2020 08:45

I like having a downstairs bathroom as it's handy - we spend the majority of the time in the kitchen /garden /living room after all. Rarely get up in the night to pee. DS (6) does once a night, but practically sleep walks downstairs and up again by himself. It's no hassle.

Samster45 · 25/07/2020 08:51

We have a downstairs bathroom and upstairs toilet.

Pros

  • We can have a shower anytime any day and it won’t wake up my daughter upstairs
  • We can come straight in from the garden or messy play and not traipse things through the house
  • the dog can come straight in from a walk and get showered
  • daughter can play in there under supervision whilst I’m doing other things downstairs

Cons

  • resale is probably the only con. I love having the bathroom downstairs as it doesn’t disturb anyone especially when my husband works nights for nhs, he can come in and have a shower without waking anyone. It’s a godsend for the dog as well. I would reconsider if the only toilet was downstairs but it’s pretty easy to install a toilet as you don’t need much space. Other people have a problem with it but we lived in apartments before a house and I don’t see the issue with it
user1471530109 · 25/07/2020 15:32

This is an old thread! Did you buy it @notanotherone28?

My house has just a downstairs bathroom. But it's not at the rear of house through kitchen. It's at the bottom of stairs so not a massive deal. My main bugbear is it's right next to the front door!
I'm currently planning an extension to our a bathroom upstairs. There has definitely been a lot of pros to having it downstairs as others have already said.

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