Keep separate bathroom & loo, or knock through?

[CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease]

We bought a fixer upper and are (very slowly) working through our plans.

Upstairs is a (fairly small) bathroom and separate loo and we can’t decide whether to keep them separate or knock together to create a more spacious room. I guess I’m worried as the landing will be smaller and it may feel a bit cramped.

we do have a separate downstairs loo so it’s not a problem really if someone needs to go when the bathroom is in use.

what have other people done?

thanks 😊

Keep it separate. Unless; you have no issues with the other halfs toilet habits. Try having a relaxing bath when they need to spend half an hour on the loo. Or mornings, you want to get in and out and there is a traffic jam....

What I’m keen to do is fit in a separate shower and bath. DH and DS love a bath and the current one is rubbish, it barely fits an adult in it never mind to lie down and soak. DD and I both like a shower and would like a really decent one and preferably not standing the bath.

the bathroom cupboard is wasted space currently. It used to have a water tank but now just a small boiler. So this can definitely be used better.

keep it separate but add a sink to the toilet.

A separate loo is a god send for a busy family, especially when you've teenagers in the bathroom and someone else needs to use the toilet!

I'd keep them separate but I'd add a toilet to the current bathroom and a small sink to the current toilet.

And look at sliding or pocket doors.

Also I appreciate what you're saying about losing space on the landing but unless it would be significantly smaller it probably won't make a great deal of difference. My ILs' landing was already pretty small and they did lose a bit but 100% worth it for what they gained in the bathroom.

That’s the exact layout to my parents house including the bay window. 1930s house?

Anyway, the extra floor space gained would need to be considered against the smaller landing, particularly the space between the top of the stairs, the door to bedroom 2 and the new door to the combined bathroom which would be a bottle neck at busy times like getting ready in the morning. It would definitely feel cramped in my parents house, although it would be a lovely sized bathroom.

My personal preference is separate rooms, but I also dislike the current trend for knocked through living spaces and kitchens too. I also don’t like sitting on the loo in a big room, I feel strangely exposed. Again, that may be just me.

@CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease this is how my parents have their bathroom, with a stand alone shower in the corner. The hot water tank is still in the cupboard. It isn’t huge but it still worked well enough for a family with two kids all the way through their teenage years! So it can be done with that configuration with two separate rooms if that’s what you decide.

Id buy a toilet and sink combi unit so you don't need to go into the bathroom to wash your hands.

Alternatively you could knock through and add a shower cubicle and the combi unit.

Clearly, I'm a fan 😂

https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/affine-tivoli-2-in-1-toilet-and-basin-combination-unit-tap-waste-included-936-1258231?utmsource=organic&utm_medium=shoppingfeed&utmcampaign=googlebase&gadsource=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwy8i0BhAkEiwAdFaeGHATKsS6wmNYEhXQLR9VlAsT3XmJoiJ2MpTMw-uME2cRgmvIH2WqRoCPTMQAvDBwE

We are about to knock ours through. It’s a slightly different layout re landing and bedrooms, but it looks like a similar bathroom space. We are putting a bath where the loo is now and blocking that door. A shower will go where yours is now, and take up more of that wall, the loo and basin will also be on that side, and there will be a run of storage units (hooray!) under the window, which is where your basin is now. Would that work for you?

When the children were at home it was great having them separate. Although there is another loo downstairs, it was still tight when everyone wanted to get ready in the morning. I agree it’s not particularly hygienic though, and in our case the loo was right next to a fourth bedroom, (which isn’t ideal either) and it’s for those reasons that we are changing it now.

Be aware that moving the loo is expensive. It would have been much cheaper to leave it where it is, but I wanted to avoid having a toilet inches from someone’s head, and biting that bullet gave us a lot more options.

We are in a similar situation - caveat: it's a less straightforward knock through than yours, but after some deliberation we are keeping separate and adding a v small wash basin to the toilet (may be cold water only but better than nothing) or possibly what @Greatmate suggested but period house so not quite convinced on that yet.

I think the combi unit would be great for the toilet if you keep the rooms separate but for a main bathroom sink you need something a bit bigger. We have small main bathroom and have a decent shower with shower screen over the bath. I would prefer a shower cubicle but we don’t have space for both.

We couldn’t do the combi thing without bricking up windows, but if there are children in the house it would have been a good idea. I was so glad of the chance to shower without pooing kids in the room, and not having to bang on the door to use the loo when teenagers were in the bath/shower, so do think carefully before merging.

This. We have separate. Can’t stand toilets in bathrooms

Very similar floor layout and had the wall knocked down. Now have spacious bathroom with two windows, free standing bath and separate shower...can't believe I hesitated about doing it now.

I would knock through, but the absolute deabreaker for me is no sink in the loo-room. So, if you keep them separate, please ensure hands can be washed before leaving the room.

I'd put a loo in main bathroom and keep the separate loo.

It's handy to have a loo separate for when someone is in the bath and you're bursting . But it's also handy to have one in the bathroom

We kept them separate and fitted a tiny sink in the toilet. We also have a downstairs toilet. I wouldn’t have it any other way now. It saves so much time in the mornings with two teens.

We kept them separate as at the time we couldn’t afford to knock through and have to move the boiler. I massively regret it now it’s such a small claustrophobic room. We do have a downstairs toilet and en-suite as well though.

Knock through. You need a sink when going to the toilet, so it doesn't make sense to have a stand alone loo to me. It's also quite a dated feature.

Also my kids ALWAYS need the toilet just as they're getting in the bath!

We have separate and it’s great - so much easier. But of course you’ll get peak MN about hygiene. Never been a concern for us. We’ve never been sick so can’t be that big a problem!

I used to live in a house with this set up when I was much younger. I actually found it really handy, as you didn't need to wait for someone to finish in the bathroom to use the loo.

Why do you need to lose landing space? Could you not do this?

I'd be trying to work out if I could make an en suite to the back bedroom

i would change the toilet to one with a sink built in. And then move the sink over and add a toilet to the bathroom.

Well, part of our bigger plan is an attic conversion to make a master suite with en-suite up there. So with that, a family bathroom & toilet and a downstairs loo, it feels like enough bathrooms.