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Original poster

Are there any plus points to having a ground floor bathroom?

20 replies

GothAnneGeddes · 12/06/2009 03:46

House hunting and the vast majority of houses in our budget/location are Victorian terraces with ground floor bathrooms.

Are they much more inconvenient or am I being silly?

P.S We definitely do not have the money to convert it into an upstairs bathroom

OP posts:

SuperBunny · 12/06/2009 03:51

I have been wondering this too. At first, I was really put off but now I am not so sure it is a problem. I'm interested to know what other poeple think.

Tortington · 12/06/2009 03:55

alli can think of is that you don't have to tidy upstairs when visitors come but if its off the kitchen - as i have seen some - i think thats just wrong

queenrollo · 12/06/2009 10:22

i've just bought a house with a downstairs bathroom. Really doesn't bother me, i use the loo more during the day than at night and it cuts down having to run upstairs a lot. The only downside with ours is that is a very old property and the stairs to the main bedroom(which is separate from the others) are more like a Victorian ladder, so negotiating them half asleep will be entertaining. We decided to take an old fasioned approach and have bought a chamber pot

Weegle · 12/06/2009 10:26

we just moved in to a house as you describe - it's not a problem until you are ill (like I am now) and it is just crap having to go from bed all the way downstairs, through the house, to the bathroom. It was also incredibly cold in the winter months. We are renovating and replacing the downstairs bathroom with a proper family bathroom but also having an ensuite WC/shower room put on the master bedroom - this seemed the best and most economical solution. It means we don't waste space upstairs on a full bathroom, but we get an upstairs loo, and I have no objection to young children coming in to our room to use the loo in the night, but they can have theirs baths/getting washed in the downstairs bathroom.

Weegle · 12/06/2009 10:27

yes, we too have taken an old fashioned approach of a chamber pot - but that still has it's limits with sickness! You have to empty it quickly!

sarah293 · 12/06/2009 10:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

IlanaK · 12/06/2009 10:37

A downside that no-one has mentioned is when you want to resell it will make it more difficult. The are many many people like me who will not even looko at a house that only has a downstairs bathroom.

EyeballshasManBoobs · 12/06/2009 10:43

We nearly bought a house with a downstairs bathroom. I rather liked the idea. Get up, shuffle into kitchen, put kettle on, into shower, make tea on way back, upstairs and get dressed.

JillJ72 · 12/06/2009 10:56

We moved late 2007 into a Victorian property with downstairs bathroom. I occasionally get up early hours for the toilet but it's not an issue, have perfected the art of sleepy walking! We're downstairs far more than we are up, and it's nice that visitors don't have to go upstairs at all. Ultimately we'd move things round, or even put in a loo upstairs, but we're not in a position to do so.. but it's nice to dream. It wouldn't put me off buying another house with a downstairs bathroom.

CMOTdibbler · 12/06/2009 10:59

Our last house had a downstairs bathroom - not off the kitchen though.

I rather liked it as I could lurk in the bath in the evening without feeling cut off from DH. And as the sole toilet, more convenient with guests/toddlers

But it was harder to sell, and if we were staying there long term, we would have put in a toilet upstairs

heavenstobetsy · 12/06/2009 11:41

I just sold my victorian house in February and I wouldn't say it was hard to sell - victorian houses with original features are quite popular here and tbh people that like them tend to be realistic and expect a downstairs bathroom as a trade for the features.

What I'd say is it's worth looking at quite a few because in my experience bathrooms are put in a lot of different places - for example mine was in an extension with the kitchen but you didn't have to go through the kitchen to get to it, which is better IMHO.

I liked my downstairs bathroom - easier for toddlers and guests, if you came home wet and grubby you can get straight in the shower without traipsing through the house

brettgirl2 · 12/06/2009 13:06

Maybe the main advantage is that you can actually afford the house? When you sell someone else will also have the same situation. Yes, in an ideal world you would want one upstairs but loads of houses are like this.

The problem with putting it upstairs is that you use bedroom space, which would also be a negative for some buyers.

oneforward20back · 12/06/2009 13:08

There is a plus point when kids mucky and need loo - less footprints ...

wombleprincess · 12/06/2009 13:27

yes its a complete pain in the a*se.

wombleprincess · 12/06/2009 13:28

sorry should have read no its a complete pain in the arse

mrsmaidamess · 12/06/2009 13:30

We had one for a long time until we had loft conversion and extension. I loathed it.

It was handy for the kids needing a wee in a hurry, but a loo by itself wuld have sufficed.

I would be trying to have a relaxing bath whilst my dh was banging around outside the door putting the bins out.

BUT in some areas of housing, as you said, that's all you'll get, OR you lose an upstairs room to accomadate it.

FAQinglovely · 12/06/2009 13:34

we have a downstairs bathroom, and an upstairs toilet. I wasn't sure to start with - but 4 1/2yrs on I love it. It's right at the end of the house - beyond the kitchen (seperated by a small utility area) and there's nothing above it so it's lovely and quiet and you can't hear ANY goings on in the house when you go for a bath.

Should add that we weren't going to look at any that had downstairs bathrooms - but this house had everything else we wanted and a perfect location for us so a downstairs bathroom was just a minor inconvenience in our eyes.

Shelly75 · 12/06/2009 13:41

We have had two houses with downstairs bathrooms ... the first had no loo upstairs, although we have one now. I love it as you can stick the kids in the bath after tea and still clear up the kitchen/tidy down stairs etc. I would never leave them in an upstairs bathroom, but feel quite happy, now they are 2+4 to leave them splashing away while I potter round the kitchen. Also great, as people have said, for guests not going upstairs and muddy kids coming in from the garden. Only down side is that our bathroom is off the main hall, so you feel quite exposed if you are weeing with the door open and someone walks in through the front door!

Pannacotta · 13/06/2009 10:41

I think its fine if you can put in an upstairs loo as well.
If not then IMO it may make it harder to sell, I know I would never buy a house with a downstairs bathroom.

slackrunner · 13/06/2009 19:40

I used to have a house with a downstairs bathroom. I think that if it's the norm for the area then it shouldn't be a problem - my house took 3 weeks to sell (in a rising market).

We currently have 2 bathrooms, one of which is on the ground floor. We fitted it out as a wetroom, which you wouldn't really be able to do with an upstairs bathroom, and we love it. Perfect for putting mucky kids/ dogs into, and great for drying out wetsuits, waterproofs etc. without having to drag them through the rest of the house.

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