Loosing the downstairs loo

[HiveBee]

I’m honestly not sure if you would describe our house as a family home to be deadly honest with you it’s a 2 bed terraced, it’s lovely, it’s going to have a beautiful upstairs bathroom. If I was going to stay here forever I would lose the downstairs toilet and make that into an additional space in the kitchen.

I think the truth is though it’s just not quite big enough for me and therefore I will sell it in three or four years time are probably be to a couple of first-time buyers, works with maybe 1 small child or BTL.

Hence my dilemma do I keep the downstairs toilet ?

I would get rid of the downstairs loo . In a small house what is the issue with going upstairs??
I would choose more living space and a view of the garden

Never lose a downstairs toilet. I would never consider a house without one. So many people expect one these days

@HiveBee DH is ex Building Control. Just to correct a couple of things that other posters have said...

1. You can remove a WC without needing BRegs (fitting one would require BRegs tho installation of a controlled fitting )
2. You can have a WC directly off a kitchen, providing it has its own wash hand basin and ventilation (either opening window or extractor fan).

I like the idea of having a bigger/longer kitchen and losing the loo. Don't forget you'll need BRegs to remove the load bearing wall - just submit a Building Notice before your builder begins work, it doesn't need any plans/calculations.

Another vote for keep the toilet.

Honestly I’m none the wiser 🤣🤣
has everybody looked at the photos before making their decision and casting their vote ?

Keep the downstairs WC. It's really good if you have guests or small children who need to go.

I don't like guests using my bathroom. Prefer they use the downstairs WC.

I would rather have a small kitchen and access to an extra toilet.

If you are definitely going to sell in a few years, do nothing. You won't add value by rearranging things or removing the loo.

If you might stay, I'd put the loo under the stairs and open up the back with a big window and seating area. But that is an expensive option.

I opened up the back of my terrace to the garden and ditched the utility room (awful corridor of doom). Also something most people would say don't do but I now have two living spaces and a lovely view. It has been a game changer.

A nice downstairs loo off a hall, great definitely keep it but there's no way I want to walk through the entire house, squeeze past someone in the kitchen and do my business while you are making dinner!

Realistically if you have mobility problems you aren't buying a terrace which probably also has a steep staircase and limited parking.

Why don't you shove something in front of the door to the downstairs loo for a couple of weeks and see if you miss it before deciding anything?

Definitely keep it.

My house footprint is almost identical to yours - 2 bed Victorian terrace. I only have an upstairs bathroom. I would lose the downstairs loo in a heartbeat to get a bigger kitchen.

People saying visitors and tradesmen will have to go upstairs....so? The occasional person going upstairs versus the everyday ease of a better kitchen. It's an easy win in my opinion from someone in basically the same house as you!

Don't lose the loo!

We've previously owned houses with at least two loos (a couple had four which was overkill 😳), so when we downsized to our current much smaller house with just one loo, one of the first things we said we'd do was add a cloakroom downstairs. The house was a real project (a repossession), needing loads of work and as we've been DIYing it, it's only now 4 years on we're finally getting to add that second loo! However, I'm so excited at the prospect and - even though we plan to sell at some point - think it's worth doing both for our own benefit and because it will attract a bigger buyer pool if the house has a downstairs loo.

Our house was built without any indoor facilities so the (upstairs) bathroom was originally a bedroom. We also intend to carve one of the bedrooms up to make a smaller bathroom and reinstate bedroom three.

I posted too soon!

I should add that ours isn't a Victorian terrace but a much older, detached 'cottage' with fairly large living spaces which I think justifies having both a downstairs loo and a third bedroom 😉 so I'm not suggesting every previously three bed should revert back to two.

Get rid of the wall si your kitchen incorporates the door to the outside. That will give you, what, 90cm of counter space on one side? The loo can stay at the end - definitely keep it.
What does that door near the stairs lead to? Storage? Can you remove it and extend storage under the stairs but be part of the kitchen?
As you will be moving soon either do nothing, stick the washing machine opposite the outer door, or remove wall and incorporate that space into the kitchen.

I would keep it - and I'm answering from the perspective of my old house which was 85k and I'm single
It's good for selling it on - visitors, people toilet training children etc

Also you think you won't need it and then you do! My upstairs toilet broke, and I couldn't get hold of a plumber. I broke my ankle and needed the downstairs toilet again. A year later I broke the second ankle..

But if I was in the market for a two bed, a two bed with a downstairs loo would be infinitely preferable and I'd pay more not to have to allow people upstairs.

My daughter has recently bought a house like this. The nicest terraced houses that she was interested in buying had the old downstairs bathroom moved upstairs and the kitchen extended into that space giving a view into the garden. Even better were the ones where French doors had been fitted in the end wall so you got the extra advantage of being able to open the house directly on to the garden. Losing the downstairs loo wasn’t an issue and although she is single there are plenty of young families living in the street that have the same configuration so obviously haven’t been put off buying by the lack of a downstairs loo.
I think people don’t realise how tiny the kitchens in this type of house are and the benefit of extra space in the kitchen outweighs the inconvenience of having to go upstairs to go to the loo. In your situation I would either leave the loo as it is and knock the wall down to give you a bit more space or go the whole way and take the loo out and extend the kitchen, put in French doors or a window over the sink and enjoy it while you live there. We have a loo off our kitchen, it’s not a problem. If anyone doesn’t like it they can use upstairs, but if I had to prioritise space the kitchen would win every time - you spend many more hours in thére than in the loo!

Definitely keep it

It isn't the inconvenience of going upstairs so much as the inconvenience of needing the loo when someone is in the bathroom.

I tend to run upstairs for the loo anyway even though we have a downstairs loo.

One of the things I hate about British houses is the lack of bathrooms/toilets, especially when the only toilet is in a main bathroom with the bath/shower. I would definitely keep it. Our last house in England had a downstairs loo and it was lovely not to have to keep going upstairs or worry about needing a wee when someone was showering.

I guess this is my point because that rarely happens. I mean there’s only two of us admittedly but I mean I’m of an age with a pelvic floor that means holding it isn’t really an option for that long but we just never had a problem with it ever. It’s definitely staying until the other side of Christmas so maybe I’ll just see how we survive when everybody’s back from uni.

I had this layout in my first house, also a two-bedroom terrace. The bathroom had already been moved upstairs when I bought it and the downstairs loo removed. The downstairs room was still there but converted into a study.

We also had the small lobby in-between as you have, but the door from the kitchen had been removed and the opening made into a squared off arch, as wide and high as possible. Maybe about 7 feet (high ceilings). This gave a really nice perspective when looking down the kitchen. We had either contrast paint or paper on what (in your house) would be the bathroom wall. This gave real depth to the sightlines. If we wanted, we could leave the study door open for a garden view through the largish window. Patio doors would have been a possibility.

The area opposite the back door had already been converted to a floor to ceiling fitted cupboard to tie in with kitchen. We adapted it for our fridge-freezer (plus huge top cupboard for rarely used stuff such as food mixer). But with plumbing, it could have held washing machine and tumble-dryer. Or if the back door was used, (ours wasn't often) , it would have made a great cupboard for coats and boots.

We didn't miss the downstairs loo as we'd never had it. I expect it had been capped and could have been reinstated if needed. Huge versatility in these houses. I'd adapt to what you want, but get an EA perspective/valuation if you're definitely selling in 3 years time - that will whizz by!

Given the picture of the kitchen and how much better it would be without it, definitely lose the loo! Millions of houses manage without a downstairs loo and still get sold on: a downstairs loo is a bonus feature suitable for properties big enough for one – see also driveways, utility rooms, spare rooms, etc – and your house isn’t. The kitchen space and view and flow will be so much more valuable: to you and plenty of buyers. Not all buyers are cut from the same cloth and want the same things: just ask any mumsnet “en suite or not?” thread!

I have a thread going at the moment asking if I should build an ensuite or a walk in wardrobe/dressing room in the large cupboard space attached to main bedroom in my new house. The result of the query is irrelevant. However the only reason we wanted to move out of our lovely 2 bed terrace was because there was no downstairs loo. If we could have added one somewhere we probably would not have bothered moving. KEEP YOUR LOO 😂

The first thing we did was to put a downstairs WC into our 3 bed cottage. I would not buy a house without one or the possibility of putting one in and there’s only 2 of us. I really dislike the idea of visitors/ tradespersons using the house bathroom.
My suggestion would be to keep the WC where it is and look at opening up the doorway wall between the kitchen and dining room to give an open feel. Also to put French windows in the dining room. A well planned small kitchen can work well.
You don’t mention if the dining and sitting rooms are open plan. If not you could block off the kitchen/ hall door, use the wall for units and the dining room door for access to both rooms.

It used to be that you couldn't remove a downstairs toilet under part M, which are the rules around accessibility. It's also why all houses built since about 2000, however small, have to have a downstairs toilet