Where should we install a downstairs toilet? (floor plans included)

[Downstairstoilet]

We are in desperate need of a downstairs toilet but don’t have a huge budget so an extension won’t be possible. Our first thought was under the stairs but it doesn’t meet the height requirements.
Second thought was to take up part of the garage space (see picture two) but our long term plan is to knock through from the kitchen to utility/laundry room to create a larger kitchen/diner with bifold doors. So we’d already need to take the back section of the garage for that. Installing a toilet in front of this would mean the garage would no longer fit a car. This is our forever home and we have a driveway plus two spaces in front of our house so we never use the garage to store our car but I worry about devaluing the house long term.
Any other opinions would be greatly appreciated!

[princesssparklepants]

Do you have a plan for upstairs?

Just thinking if you could turn the stairs and fit one in the hall way

[user1492757084]

I would put toilet in laundry and put some of laundry outside against the same wall - built in stainless or dark wood with a BBQ sink/trough. This eliminates one door into loo and gives more wall space for kitchen The kitchen I would still have where first planned though maybe not quite as big. I love a window over the sink and access to outside through window. Does the garage door have to go into kitchen? Could it go out under stair? Could garage door be access to pantry (removable if need bigger garage)

[Downstairstoilet]

@user1492757084
could you do a little drawing on one of my floor plans as I can’t work out what you mean?

[MuchuseasaChocolateTeapot]

Lose the garage completely . Use half for your utility room/loo and then utilise the front half for a gym/study/guest room whatever?

[princesssparklepants]

If you turn the bottom 2/3 steps of the stairs into the hallway. You could fit a toilet here...

[Downstairstoilet]

I think we have a winner…

[GarageGalore]

From your drawing, your hallway looks a lot bigger than most of your other rooms. Where is north on the diagram?

[GarageGalore]

Also where your playroom and new kitchen are on the diagram, is there anything above them or are they single story?

[crackfoxy]

Loo in the garage access via the utility

[CellophaneFlower]

@Downstairstoilet

I think we have a winner…

I thought this was your original idea anyway, but you said knocking through was a plan for later on?

[Downstairstoilet]

@GarageGalore
floorplan isn’t to scale - hallway is standard sized- stairs on one side & coat and shoe storage on the other side plus small under stairs cupboard.
new kitchen is current utility which is single story extension on back of garage and playroom is a conservatory.

[whodafucisalice]

Looks great but instead of lootility would you consider a door into the garage and have WM and TD in garage. We did and it was a game changer, that and being able to access the garage from the house was brilliant.

[Downstairstoilet]

Kind of- this was the original plan but meant losing separate utility and having lots of doors to get into toilet/garage.
new plan is to square off the new kitchen in line with current dining room therefore creating a slightly longer hallway to access lootility (meaning only access to garage is at the front)
Kitchen plans are still in the future but we had to make the decision about where to install downstairs toilet as we didn’t want to have to move it again in a few years time.

[Downstairstoilet]

@whodafucisalice we currently have our chest freezer in the garage and I hate going in there in the winter as it’s so cold 🥶 we’ll just be using it for storage in the future so happy to have it separate from the house.

[Heronwatcher]

The only thing I don’t get from your plan is where you intend to dry your clothes? You’ve got great space downstairs but if you dry them in your utility on this plan there are 2 issues (a) no ventilation (both for a tumble dryer and for the damp from clothes) and (b) not much space for a hanging airer etc. And if you do dry them in the utility on this plan guests would have to walk past your underwear on a dryer to go to the loo. You might be happy drying on radiators in other rooms etc but this would put me off, in case you think you might need to sell. So I think if you could possibly get a separate utility room with a possibility of ventilation and which you don’t have to walk through that would be better.

[Heronwatcher]

Or if you can’t rejig, what about having the loo first, then the utility?

[Downstairstoilet]

@Heronwatcher
We currently have a heated airer in the living room or our bedroom plus a condenser tumble dryer for the winter. (Dehumidifier used when necessary) then use a washing line in the summer. We don’t use our current utility room to dry clothes as it’s where our fridge, microwave, toaster and back door is so anything big would get in the way.

[Heronwatcher]

That’s the thing really, if I was buying a house with a dedicated utility I’d want somewhere to dry clothes other than a heated airer in my living space. I had that in my last house and hated it. I know it’s personal preference but I think most people would prefer a dedicated drying space- we now have a ceiling clothes airer which pulls down and two wall airers. They also don’t use electricity but still dry super fast. Just something to consider.

[Downstairstoilet]

Our house simply isn’t big enough, unless we wanted to lose even more of the garage space. Everyone I know has an airer on the landing or radiator drying racks.

[GarageGalore]

Is the back of the house north facing?

[User174863988]

Our airer is in the dining room in front of the radiator, obviously if we had visitors to the dining room I would take it down but that is very rare so it is the best place for it, people put airers in all kinds of places

[Downstairstoilet]

It’s north east facing so if our budget will allow it we’d probably have a sky light in the roof of the new kitchen.

[Downstairstoilet]

@Downstairstoilet

It’s north east facing so if our budget will allow it we’d probably have a sky light in the roof of the new kitchen.

@GarageGalore

[GarageGalore]

Yes it's fairly typical on that age of house that the bigger rooms are south facing and smaller ones north facing. I'm not an expert but it might be worth considering getting experienced view on this because if it were me, I'm not sure I would want french doors and bi-folds on a north facing area and I'm not sure I would want the kitchen where you have put it which then opens that room up to extra external wall space and nothing upstairs that is going to benefit from the heat of the kitchen. I watch a lot of design/building programmes and rather than having a central table that cuts the flow, it seems quite popular to have banquet seating against a wall with a table and chairs in front to maximise seating/space. I would put the laundry back where it is now and incorporate toilet into that space. When I was doing my house I spent ages on Rightmove looking at similar properties on my road and seeing what they had done. Just my opinion, hope it doesn't offend.

[MaraScottie]

@Downstairstoilet

Our house simply isn’t big enough, unless we wanted to lose even more of the garage space. Everyone I know has an airer on the landing or radiator drying racks.

LOSE THE GARAGE!

Honestly, nobody ever parks their car in the garage. What's more important? How you live in your house every single day, or how some future person might want to park their car, especially as you're not intending to move anyway?

It's nuts.