Shower room with Utility Layout (in a Garage Conversion)

[morningbell]

Hi All,

We've started exploring the possibility of converting our single garage (9.1m x 2.9m at it's widest point) into a multi purpose room. As part of that, we'd like to have a shower room, which ideally would also house our Tumble Drier and Washing Machine (currently in the garage already).

Having measured up, the available floor space for a shower room/utility would be 2.6m long by 1.4 metres wide in the area.

The existing connections for the washing machine and also an outside tap are situated on the left hand long edge of the pictures i attach.

We're struggling to agree on a potential layout which houses a decent enough shower (800 x 800 minimum really), tumble dryer, washing machine, WC and Sink, and also potentially some storage in that space.

I attach 4 images of ideas we've come up with. Would really welcome some critique/feedback as we're pretty hopeless when it comes to this kind of stuff. Apologies for lack of consistency in images, the first 2 show the rest of the garage in context, the following 2 just the space earmarked for the shower room. The assumption is the Drier and Washing machine would be stacked in a purpose built cupboard and the door would be a sliding door on the right hand long edge.

Any feedback/ideas much appreciated.

Hi,

I think this might be the opposite of help but I'm not sure I'd want my toilet and shower in the same room as the utility stuff for a couple of reasons:

1. You can't tumble dry everything so need somewhere to dry that stuff, that means its better to have that in a dry environment not somewhere which could get moist from a shower
2. And this is probably me just being a bit silly but not sure I'd want my clean washing in with the loo smells.
3. Do you want to do the ironing in there as well? If so you'd probably not want to be doing that in a loo.

I do see it done but I'm just not sure I'd do it that way myself if I was starting with a blank slate. If I was you I'd create two separate areas and then go from there. Again, sorry if this hasn't really helped in any way!

your version 1 looks OK, but I would have a big sink (big enough to soak a wool jumper, for example).

and I'd possibly swap the storage and the WM/TD stack, so the person loading the WM isn't bumping into the loo. Pipework could run inside the bottom of the cupboard if needed.

In the attached pic, S = sink, W = WM/TD stack and C = cupboard.

@SollaSollew. Thanks for that. Air drying gets done in the conservatory so that's ok.

@parietal. Thank you. Main issue I had with version 1 was the lack of clearance between shower entry and the WC. Might not be so clear to see but it's only 35cm. Not sure if that is sufficient (hence the other layouts in the 2nd screenshot).

Personally I'd go for two separate rooms (for all the reasons PPs have given above). A small wetroom (so no enclosure needed, massively space saving and great for disabled guests) with shower, toilet and sink and then a utility room.

Converting a garage into a bathroom will most definitely need to comply with builing regulations. These are pretty demanding - walls, floors, ventilation, electrical, drainage etc:
www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/25/garage_conversion/2

In some areas, you might need planning permission, also.

I agree with previous poster that any room with a shower needs decent ventilation, and would not be a good place to try to dry clothes in.
Am not trying to be negative, but converting a garage can be quite a big undertaking.

Actually if you swapped the washing machine and cupboard (and had small double doors or open shelves rather than one single one) you could fit a utility sink in too.

This might also be useful:

www.cncbuildingcontrol.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CNCD-052-Garage-Conversion-Easy-Guide.pdf

I'm pretty sure you can get showers that open in the corner, not along one wall. then you don't need to worry so much about the clearance.

eg
www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/newark-corner-entry-shower-enclosure-with-pearlstone-tray

@peachgreen Thanks for the mock ups, certainly food for thought. If doing something like that I'd probably forego the cupboard and make the utility a bit smaller to elongate the wet room a bit. I know a wet room saves space but I reckon I'd still like a glass divider somewhere.

@scottishnames Yep, well aware of the need to insulate, damp proof etc. We know it's a big project and are prepared accordingly.

I have done a very rough drawing on my utility and shower room. Size is a lot bigger 2.5m X 4.35m but it gives a starting point. We have a circular shower and sliding doors, it is a good size. We do have a massive vanity sink unit which is a lot bigger than necessary.

It would be good to have the bathroom and utility separate, though I think it is quite a UK thing to do this. I measured my loo and with the actual loo (mine is approx 400mm) you would need at least 700mm of space which is a shame as this takes it up to 1.5m in width with the shower. For the washer I allowed 600mm X 700mm for pipes etc and it might be worth considering pocket doors as you won't loose any room space. You would need really good ventilation however you did it.

My bathroom drawing is to no scale whatsoever, the potential idea is more to scale, though my shower leaves a lot to be desired.

Apologies I wrote my figures down wrong Width is 2m not 2.5m. I do not have a 1.5m long vanity sink unit.

Consider housing the sink above the washer/tumble dryer, which would then allow you to have a bigger shower, which would solve the toilet clearance issue a bit as you would be able to have the entrance to the shower closer to the doorway with a longer shower or one with an entrance area

This unit pictured was in our main bathroom.

That unit is really lovely, the sink over the appliances is a really good idea.

Personally I don’t like stacked W/M and T/D, I would use the space over them for a hanging rack to dry other clothes.
A square/rectangular shower base will give you more space internally than a rounded edge base.

@StatisticallyChallenged The sink above the units is a great idea. We'd have enough room width at 1.4m to do something very similar, and as you say, the shower could therefore end up being much wider with the entrance over to the right.

By above the "units", I mean the appliances of course

I've just checked - that unit was in a 145cm space, and you'd have got away with a few cm less easily. You need a bit of a gap in the centre between the appliances for the sink pipes but we still had a good few cm either side of that pipe. The sink ends up being a bit taller than a standard bathroom sink but not problematically so, once it's all built in nobody ever guessed the appliances were there.

For us that was important because it was the main bathroom so we didn't want it to look like a utility room

Thanks @StatisticallyChallenged

I guess the issue with that layout would be the proximity of the WC to whichever appliance was adjacent.

With an 80cm width shower and assuming a 70cm deep boxed in appliance, there'd only be 40cm or so between the WC and the adjacent appliance.

My garage is split into 3 back end utility with a washer dryer and most importantly a window. Middle section shower room but not a wet room had this when we moved in but wasnt practical at all then the rest is garage space. It works well but is definitely better separate.

You'd have that issue with your existing plans anyway I think. In our case the units only added about 2cm (the thickness of the doors basically) to the front of the machines.

What is the layout like around the garage? Might help to come up with ideas if you had more of a floorplan as there might be a better solution.

What's the plan for the rest of the garage?