Should I knock though wc and bathroom, or keep separate?

[coronabeer]

Recently moved into a 1970s doer-upper and, tbh, am not sure whether I want to stay. Maybe I'll like it when it's "done" - who knows? As things stand, there seems like a real possibility that I might sell up as soon as the renovation is finished and hopefully make a bit of a profit.

Anyway, first big job is to sort the hideous bathroom. Got the typical old-fashioned layout of separate wc in room with no basin, then room next door with bath and washbasin. I had originally thought to knock into one large bathroom with bathtub, separate shower, washbasin and wc. But now I'm wondering if keeping two rooms might be bettert after all? The rooms are actually slightly larger than the average bathroom of this period, meaning I could manage to fit a basin in the wc, and put an additional toilet in the main bathroom if I went for a shower bath instead of separate walk-in shower and bathtub. Judging by my neighbours, if I were to sell in the next five years or so, it would most likely to be to a young family. I much prefer the idea of a separate bathtub and shower, but wondering whether an additional wc would be more attractive to a family with young children? So what would be better - larger, more luxurious bathroom or smaller, still nice, bathroom with combined bath and shower, but with a spare loo next door?

Do you have a loo downstairs? If so, I'd knock it into one big bathroom. If not, I'd keep a loo and basin separate as I grew up in a house like this and it was nice to not have to wait for people to get out of the shower so you could use the loo.

I think most people who buy family houses would prefer one larger bathroom. The only people I know who have kept the set up you describe with a separate toilet are my parents - in their 70s.

If you’ve another toilet elsewhere, definitely knock it through!

Space is definitely helpful with a young family at bathtime for changing etc; and for adults a separate shower better than shower over bath...

I would prioritise a separate shower over separate toilet.

Especially if you also have a downstairs toilet.

i'd knock them together. one proper size family bathroom (with some storage & a stool to sit on) is much better than 2 tiny bathrooms.

We had a house with this layout, it's the lack of basin in the loo that causes issues. If it's big enough for a corner basin, I'd say keep the separate loo, as it's handy if someone's in the bath. If there isn't room, knock them through; it saves tradesmen using the loo and not washing their hands not envy

A separate bath and shower are what most appeals. And a downstairs loo. We're about to knock the separate bathroom and toilet together in our older house in order to get a separate shower - DP can't easily have a shower as things stands as it's over the bath with restricted head height and he's tall. Also means you can go for different bath as you don't need to be able to stand up in it.

Definitely knock through if you have another toilet in the house. We have an upstairs on-suite and down separate toilet and separate bath/basin room.

We are mid way through extending the on-suite into a proper family bathroom (so the main bathroom is upstairs rather next to the kitchen). We are having to use the downstairs bath/shower while this is being done. There is nothing more annoying than needing the loo when you are already undressed to use the shower - Especially with young kids. The wasted space where the wall is also annoys me. If we were keeping the downstairs layout I would definitely be knocking them through into one big bathroom.

My friends have a 50s house with a separate loo but no wash basin!!! They didn’t knock through and I hate having to go into smith room to wash hands. No downstairs cloakroom! So knock through. No one looks for a separate loo now.

Smith??? Another room to wash my hands.

We actually put ours back to separate loo and bathroom. We had a downstairs loo, but it has been fab. We only have the one shower, so with two teens it's great having an upstairs loo available in the mornings when the shower is in constant use

What square footage do you have? Could you do a separate shower room with a loo and basin plus a small bathroom with a basin And loo if you can) if you have slightly more room, it might be possible.

I would take 2 smaller rooms (not a loo and separate bathroom) if it gave me a shower room and a bathroom.

We don't have a downstairs loo so we LOVE having a seperate loo/bathroom. I have a baby and a toddler so sometimes we have no warning if the toddler needs the loo, also I can have a bath with the baby crawling around without worrying he's going to touch the loo.

It depends on whether you have a downstairs loo. If you do, knock through. If you don't put a handbasin in the loo upstairs.

We have a loo downstairs, but the same separate loo/bathroom layout upstairs (and that is out wonky bathroom). I really like having the loo separate as anyone can use the loo while someone else is having a bath or shower. It works much better for us (two dc).

Knock through- we are in the process of doing the same. We have a downstairs WC but really need a family bathroom. I hate having a separate loo with no basin. I feel like I'm forever wiping down the handles!

Oh I would 100% keep them separate but put a washbasin in the toilet room, and a separate shower/bath in the main bathroom. I love having a separate loo - no disturbances while I'm in the bath

Do you have a floor plan or an idea of the size of the rooms? It's difficult to talk so abstractly.

A separate toilet would be a must for me (if it's the only toilet). I have a teen who can be in the shower for hours.

Separate every time! Especially as you can put a hand basin in.

There's nothing worse than being in the bath or shower and someone needing to come in and use the loo.

Separate if you don’t have downstairs one.

Waiting for someone to finish fannying about in the bathroom has made for some quite dark thoughts ...

We have that layout, but titchy rooms! And dithered about this. We kept as two separate rooms, put a basin into the WC so you could wash your hands without going into a different room. Have subsequently added a downstairs WC and shower so we now have 2 WC. Neighbour knocked them through and the layout just didn't work for me, and I prefer to have the WC well away from where we store toothbrushes . Also means that when DH retires for a lengthy stay on the loo, we could still use the bathroom.

I vote for seperate rooms if there's no other wc (like a cloakroom). Previous owners knocked our WC and bathroom together, the teenage years are hard going. Adding a handbasin is a good idea obviously.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm thinking maybe I didn't explain the options very well, so more simply put:

Option 1: knock through giving large bathroom with bath, separate shower, basin and toilet

Option 2: 2 rooms, both with a toilet. Medium sized bathroom with shower over bath, basin and toilet plus separate toilet next door with normal sized wash basin.

There is a possibility of adding a downstairs wc later, but the layout doesn't easily lend itself to this.

Thanks for any more thoughts. I was set on knocking through, but there are only 2 of us here most of the time and I wondered whether a hypothetical family with 2 children would rather have 2 toilets, even if that meant sacrificing the shower?

I think a family with kids will want two loos. We just redid ours to get two, and we only even have one kid.