Adding a new bathroom... Where to put it?

[Babiesandboardgames]

Hello
I have a dilemma about adding a new bathroom to our house. We are hoping to do this in order to sell it (there are loads of properties available in our area, very few have 2 bathrooms so we think this will give us an edge)
Current house
Has downstairs wc at front
Large kitchen, maybe 11ft by 11ft
Large l shaped lounge
Upstairs first floor
Decent sized bathroom, maybe 7ft by 8ft
Two double rooms around 8ft by 13ft
One small box room 7ft by 7ft
Second floor
Two very badly converted loft rooms (not bad floor space, but veluxes and very low ceiling, only suitable for storage or kiddie rooms)
If you were me, what would you do?
Option 1... Convert downstairs loo into wc and shower room (would be small but with a bit of carpentry and plumbing would be relatively easy to do. Plus current tiles and grout are a bit manky anyway)... This is my preferred option as is the cheapest, but maybe the hardest if someone were to buy the house?
Option 2: convert upstairs bathroom (quite a nice bathroom with a decent sized bath, good shower and good sink and toilet) into two smaller bathrooms, one with just a shower and one with a. Small bath, and use some of the double bedroom for space (my mum thinks is best but I think bathrooms would be too small and would make bedroom top small)
Option 3: convert loft into dormer room and add ensuite up there. This is most expensive but dhs preferred option as he thinks easy resale. I think would cost 10k more than just doing dormer on its own, whereas downstairs teeny bathroom with minimal tiles etc we got a quote for 4k.

Which option would you pick?

Thank you all :)

Floor plan needed (get your pencil out, OP

Can you provide a floor plan?
But based on what you’ve posted I’d want option 3 or nothing. I’d never use a downstairs shower except for washing a dog. 2 tiny bathrooms on the same floor with neither having a full size bath and a small 2nd bedroom would appeal even less and if I bought a house laid out that way then my top priority would be to put it back the way it was before. Unless I’m missing something, a floor plan would really help! Option 3 sounds great but I’d recommend doing your research and being sure that you could make your money back if you plan on selling up soon. You could look into getting planning permission for the dormer but not actually doing the work yourself.

Hello
Here is a floor plan, thank you for responding to me as mums and families are the biggest buyers in this area :)

We have a downstairs shower room and a large upstairs bathroom.

So useful when I had 3 teenagers here and my ds uses it now. I've used it myself and it's absolutely fine

My two boys have their bedrooms on the second floor. There was an enormous walk in cupboard in one of their rooms, so we turned it into a toilet/sink and made it into a Jack and Jill (added a door to the other boys bedroom). I think personally there should be a toilet on every floor.

Ps I would go option 3. If you have a decent sized bathroom on the first floor I wouldn't change it! Equally I wouldn't have a shower room downstairs unless you can avoid it.

Option 3 every time. Do you really need to do this to your house to sell it though?

Thank you guys :)
So downstairs shower is getting mixed reviews. What about having plumbing for washing machine in the wc room? So it's out of the kitchen and less noisy etc.. Is that weird?

For option 2 I take it you’re proposing to cut a chunk of the bedroom next to the bathroom to make 2 bathrooms? I definitely wouldn’t do this if the result will be a single bedroom. Even if you can still squeeze a double, the loft layout would presumably still be mess with the rooms only being suitable for small children or storage. So I still think fixing the loft would add the most appeal. I should add that we’re buying a house with planning permission for a loft conversion with double bedroom and bathroom and we’re happy to take on the work but having the plans all sorted was appealing to us. That is a pricey part of London though and we couldn’t quite stretch to the finished deal!

I'd say that anything other than option 3 isn't worth the money / hassle. £4k for a teeny bathroom is a LOT of money! Other than that just make sure your house is REALLY tidy for sale - smart paintwork, neutral colours, clean carpets, all odd jobs done, no surface-mounted sockets etc., and ensure you are financially proceedable too.

It took the previous owners ages to sell and looking at local houses, the ones the same price as what we paid are much nicer 😭

Bathroom on top floor or make the small bedroom into a bathroom (and laundry of floor is strong enough)

It's probably less the lack of second bathroom then and more the presence of a confused loft conversion then that's the problem. If you add an ensuite and sort out the 4th bedroom on the 2nd floor this will make the whole house make a lot more sense. Or just get planning permission sorted to do it. You need to decide whether the extra cash / quick sale are likely depending on what you do.

There should be toilet on every floor of the house.

Thank you all
We will do the dormer as planned then, or get planning permission for it and if we do a bathroom it will either be there or we won't bother :)

I would look at making the small bedroom into a bathroom.

I think the 3rd option would make the best house, however I wouldn't do the work just to sell. Do the work if it works for you to live there, or sell as it is and let the new owners choose what works for them.
I doubt you'd get enough extra money for your house to cover both money paid out and hassle of getting it done.

I'd make the downstairs WC so that it has a loo and space for Washing machine/dryer

The is spend the money on converting the loft properly

What @BackforGood said. I'm looking for a house right now and I wouldn't want 2 bathrooms. I can't stand cleaning one bathroom let alone 2. I've even discounted a house because the bathroom was too big. Such a waste of space. Only do it if it works for you.

@SecondStarFromTheRight

What *@BackforGood* said. I'm looking for a house right now and I wouldn't want 2 bathrooms. I can't stand cleaning one bathroom let alone 2. I've even discounted a house because the bathroom was too big. Such a waste of space. Only do it if it works for you.

Our house has a lovely big bathroom. Bath, shower, sink and toilet plus space for a big clothes aired, small bench, washing basket and tall shelf unit. We can then still get all 5 of us in there with room to spare. When the kids were babies/toddlers it was brilliant. We could all be in there (5 of us£ bathing kids/potty training/doing teeth/baby on changing mat on floor and made bath time so easy and hassle free (our precious place had the loo seperate from the bathroom and so baby had to go on floor in hall way at bath time etc and could only get one adult in the actual bathroom.

But now kids are preteen/tween/hurtling towards the teen years I dream of having 2 bathrooms and would take 2 smaller bathrooms instead of our 1 big one (we rent so not possible for us to do the work) as it’s a nightmare when everyone wants a shower. We also don’t have a downstairs loo so it’s the only toilet in the house! Wasn’t such a big deal when no-one minded about being seen naked but obviously now there are no longer toddlers privacy is more important!

What sort of price are you hoping to get for it?

I wouldn't do work just to sell either. You say your loft rooms are not well converted. Could you be opening a can of worms up there if you add a bathroom, which would be the best place for it? Building works have a nasty habit of escalating in price very quicky. Why put up with the mess of building works for someone else to benefit? How can you be sure you will get your money back, especially as it sounds as if your loft work is almost having to start from the beginning again?

Oh god don’t do the loft to sell. You’d be much better off redecorating the house to a high standard and then styling it to the max to make it look amazing. I am always amazed at how much more well styled houses go for, when the owners are going to be taking all their lovely belongings with them!

Is there Head height where the stairs reach the loft space?

You really only need a small space and it would link to the other bathrooms

I'd either convert the downstairs loo into a wet room or spruce up the loft and put a bathroom in there.

However, the loft will be more costly and take a lot more time. So it depends on your intentions. If your doing it to sell then absolutely no way, convert the downstairs bathroom. If your doing it to make it more practical for you, your family, and visitors then convert the loft

Option 3