Removing an en suite

[Giantdog]

I purchased a house around 3 years ago and am slowly working through it on a pathetic budget.

In one of the bedrooms there’s the world’s smallest en suite. It has no windows, an electric shower and mould. It makes it very hard to put furniture into the bedroom because of the way it’s positioned. At the moment the bed is against the bathroom door and it’s never used. As a result it smells of drain!

I thought about removing it altogether and turning it into a walk in wardrobe.

We have 2 bathrooms already, one upstairs and one down. Is this likely to devalue the house by much? How much do en suites add to house value typically?

I could renovate it but there’s literally a bathroom across from the room so it seems a waste of money! Any thoughts?

I would sort out but keep the ensuite because they are essential to many people. Just don't use the shower if it's not your thing. Many en suites don't have windows, but you need to have an extractor fan and decorate and use lighting to compensate

None of our bathrooms have windows btw, town house with 3!

While keeping the ensuite is debatable if you get rid and the layout allows a sink can be really handy in a bedroom - all the plumbing is there after all.

Okay so what about if we just had a toilet and a sink and no shower? Would that work to keep value but make it useful? The bedrooms all lead into a small corridor to which the bathroom is central so nobody has far to make it.

If it helps, the house has 0 storage. One under the stairs cupboard and a hard to access loft. No garage, if that changes anything.

All of the bedrooms are good sized doubles. I could pinch a bit to make the bathroom bigger but would prefer more space in the bedroom.

My children don’t care as they are too young. I don’t think DS even realises there’s anything behind the door 😄

It smells of drains when you go in, is this usually just because it’s never used so the water is sitting in the cistern? I estimate the whole thing is very old, it’s various shades of green and navy with bizarre tiles on walls and ceiling.

Can it be reworked with the plumbing 'disabled' as it were so it could easily be set up again in the future and down now the room rejigged into being a wardrobe space?

If all the bedrooms are good sized doubles, can you not use a bit to make the ensuite bigger to include a loo and basin? You don’t need a huge amount of space. Just make sure you can access the shower cubicle easily. I think one loo and bathroom upstairs with 4 decent bedrooms in a family house isn’t enough. How will you eventually manage in the mornings?

Also, your shower is attached to drains. It should have a seal to prevent drain smells coming back up into the shower area. When a shower isn’t used, the seals don’t always work. They dry out. You need to flush it through with water.

One family bathroom with 4 bedrooms is not enough for a family house these days. So take an extra piece of space for the shower room. You can then add wardrobes along the rest of the wall for storage. If the room is a good size, it still will be after the changes.

No sink is foul! Many en suites have no windows. This can be fine if they are of reasonable size with good ventilation but that isn’t the picture you are presenting.

At its current-sounding size this en suite does not sound like a great asset to your house. A nice loo and sink with proper ventilation would be a neutral for me. Either a walk in closet or an enlarged en suite would be a positive.

Get rid of en suite and change to a walk in wardrobe. One less bathroom to clean and will sav3 yourself a lot of money.

If make ensure a lot of queuing for the bathroom! Even with one downstairs! A cupboard with a shower in it won’t make a walk in wardrobe. Enlargement is needed somewhere!

If you want to maximise value I’d keep the ensuite, borrow a bit of room from the bedroom but have it open onto the master, or if there’s room a door for each bedroom. It’s an outside wall so you should be able to ventilate properly. Bathroom downstairs is inconvenient and one isn’t enough for 4 bedrooms really

This is the 3rd bathroom, so we would have two left 🙂

Lots to think about thankyou! I think I’ll need to start pricing some options up. I really don’t want another shower in there, I already have two and cleaning a third makes me want to cry!

If it was to be a toilet it probably make sense to leave it where it is, if I move the doorway into the mater then that room is surrounded by toilets…the main bathroom is literally a step outside of the masters door!

Enlarging it would be a nightmare. Both rooms have huge bay windows which lie either side. It would either have to block windows and light (going into the room) or I would have to move windows and I don’t have the budget for that. Due to the shape of the master it couldn’t extend the other way as it would block the doorway which can’t be moved either!

I would take it out if you already have 2 bathrooms

you talk of a drain smell. Are you accessing the bathroom at all to flush the toilet every so often? Although very small risk in domestic properties, there’s a risk of legionella if you don’t have some regular flushing of toilet. Small small risk but there all the same

I think, in terms of trying to preserve retail value I'd try to retain the ensuite, as only one bathroom on a floor with 4 bedrooms will probably not be so desirable for future buyers with 2/3 kids or stepchildren staying.

But you might not be interested in this aspect if you see this as a very long term house for yourself and really (think honestly here) don't consider that bathroom time will be an issue with older children / adults.

You can get toilet/sink combos which are space saving and should allow you to have a shower as well. Or triangular corner sinks. I wouldn't add to expenses by messing around with extending room if you can help it, it doesn't sound viable with your layout.

https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/metro-combined-two-in-one-wash-basin-toilet-500mm-wide-x-300mm

Resale value not retail value

Thankyou! Those toilets look interesting.

I think it’s a choice between a wardrobe and a toilet/small bathroom.

No, I never flush it! A wardrobe blocks the door and it’s full of junk. It stinks! I’ll have to do something sooner rather than later then 😳

Hi again —

A small bathroom (same size?) would include a sink, I assume? It sounds like it would be very small indeed.

I can’t speak for the teenage perspective but when we were house hunting I found those incredibly small en suites, with no place to store anything but a toothbrush and a loo brush (for those few of us who use the latter) to be a drawback rather than a feature. So I am at odds with your DH on this.

When we extended we made our existing bathroom internal with no outside walls as we built a room off of its old back wall. We put a velux in and now it has loads of light and ventilation. They are quite cheap for loads of impact.

@kikilaw how do you clean the outside of the velux? That's what worries me with them not on a ground floor.

We flip ours around almost 180 degrees and use a squeegee.

@Giantdog You are adding to your problems by not running water through the shower!!! You must. As I explained earlier there will be a seal to prevent odours coming back from the sewer. These seals stop working if they are not flushed with water.

Plus the fact there’s one bathroom steps away is somewhat irrelevant if someone else has got there first! A guest or a child. There’s 4 bedrooms making for the bathroom on this floor.

I also assume a bay window is in the middle of the wall. Not to one side.