En-suite in front bedroom and soil pipes...

[Pannacotta]

We'd like to put in an en-suite, or at least a small master bathroom for just me and DH but the only space for it is at the front of the house.

We cannot run the soil pipe to the back of the house (where it would join the other soil pipes), so are our only options
a) putting in a Saniflo loo or
b) running the soil pipe down the front of the house?

Am not too keen on either option, esp not option b as we live in a conservation area and not sure we would be "allowed" to do this.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks

I don't think soil pipe at the front is an option, never seen that on any house before.

We had our ensuite soil pipe connected to the main soil pipe by a series of connections down the side of the house...your builder would be able to tell what the limits are in terms of distance.

Saniflo's are ok I think for a second loo but noisy?

Cyb the drains run from the back and round the side/front past the front door, so we could in theory run the soil pipe there (another house on our street has this, I assume it was done before it was a conservation area) but it doesnt look great.

Our soil pipes are at the back of the house rather than side, which makes it more complicated, ie we cant run the pipe work on the outside as you did.

I have asked a couple of builders but no sensible answers yet....

i have heards saniflos described as not just noisy - but an embarrassmen waiing to hapen (condomns, tampons etc do not go down them, as the unwary have found to their cost)

i have seen soil pipes go through a house boxed in (though i believe this may be contrary to building regs - the house i saw it in was built before then!)

front of house = unlikely too.

ask your builder/plumber for a better option!

I think you're right that those are the two choices you have. We have a saniflo in our family bathroom, and it is bizarrely noisy.

we're thinking of doing without a loo in the en-suite bathroom (see my fabulous thread on loos in en-suite bathrooms, men and sex) for this reason amongst others.

Surely you shouldn't put tampons and condoms down the toilet anyway! Put them in the bin - save blocking the toilet and polluting the sea.

Oh I throw mine out the window

LOL Cyb!

DOnt use tampons or condoms here but have never flushed either down the loo...

I fancied a nice, stylish bathroom for me and DH, but it looks like I might have to think again - saniflo loo bit umglam...

GM I do remember your thread it was very funny. This is not likley to be an en-suite just a bathroom for us (or just me ideally1) and not DSs.

In terms of loo usage, its not that nice being the only female in the house...

Well Cyb you could always put them in the bin.

We are in grade 2 listed and have no pipes outside house at all - soil pipe from upstairs bathroom runs inside house to downstairs utility room. Could this be an option?

Running it inside wouldn't be an option unless you have a very short run due to the fact that the pipe needs to angle down to enable the flow.

To fit under the floorboards this would be difficult and the joists would have to run in that direction.

Saniflo are noisy but most people box them in to dampen the noise.

I know that you are saying that the neighbours have run it down the side but it is unsightly, but would you really care about that if you could get your en-suite?

We have had an en-suite in every house we have lived in mainly because they were all built within the last 20 years. It is used by me and DH and the shower is occasionally used by our boys, they are 6 and 3. To me it is worth running unsightly pipework outside where I can't see it to get the en-suite.

Someone... Gizmo I think, said if you had interior walls on top of each otehr, you might be able to run pipes through them, if of the 6 inch thick variety.

No, ours is a really really long run - but it does just have a small incline and then go straight down - futility room under bathroom. Tis lovely hanging up the washing to the sound of someone else's shit swirling above your head...

No option to run inside as the en-suite woudl be above the hall/front door area and we pretty sure it wouldnt fit under the floor sue to joists etc.
We cfould have the pipe outside and grow a climbing plant (or two) over it, will have to ponder.

Am also going to speak to other plumbers/builders.
Thanks all.

don't understand all the anti-macerator sentiments on this thread! OUrs works fine, short noise when you flush but that's all! The loo looks like any other, with all the macerator pipes boxed in, and I wouldn't throw anything down the loo apart from loo paper .

Watching with interest. The room which we would use an an ensuite is also above the front door/porch. I think our neighbours who had done it, managed to run the soil pipe under the floor in the adjacent bedroom, then down the side of the house. And some neighbours have used a saniflo but we are the sort of family who get blocked loos (feral third child) so I don't think a saniflo is for us. I've asked as many neighbours as possible (not all can be asked about soil pipes!) and so far they are the only 2 solutions.

Do you really want a loo opening off your bedroom? That's not at all pleasant!

Could you not have a really fabulous bath and/or shower and basin only bathroom off your bedroom, and use a loo elsewhere.

We've got a similar set up and ours pipes upwards into the loft and then runs along to connect to the top of the bathroom soil pipe at the back of the house.

The saniflo itself makes a nosie for about 5 seconds at a time and probably does that four times for a flush - really not too loud.

We do have a no solids rule for that toilet just to be on the safe side though

The bathroom wouldnt open off the bedroom, it would be next to the bedroom (and next to the room where we will store all our clothes and ironing board).

If we do put in a bathroom there I really dont want to leave out a loo, as the only other loo on the same floor would be shared with our 2 small DSs (family bathroom is down flight of stairs which I prefer to avoid in the middle of the night).
So we will need a loo its just a question of pipework vs saniflo...

Here is a link to a bathroom arrangement that I think is amazing... can you not separate out the elements in this elegant way? Then you wouldn't hear a Saniflo so badly.

Shower

Loo

First link does look great I agree Bonsoir, I can't open the second one though.

The room in question is a box room so not sure if it's feasible to divide it, but I will mull it over. It would be awkward to change the layout as the house has the original Victorian coving and very high ceilings and I am reluctant to chop it around and spoil the proportions.
It's a townhouse which was once very elegant and I want to make sure what we do doesnt spoil it, if that makes sense.

The other option is to abandon a saniflo and run the pipework outside and down the front of the house - it could be tucked next to the stone door surround and covered with an evergreen climber, which might look ok if done very neatly.

Loo second attempt

Basically there are three aligned "cupboards" housing loo, shower and basin.

I think it is gorgeous and would just love to do something like this chez moi - and in fact this apartment would lend itself to this kind of thing quite well...

Also really like this mosaic

I completely understand about not wanting to chop rooms around in period houses, especially when there is coving etc. That's why I loved the double doors in frosted glass - they would be so beautiful in our 1929 apartment!

I'm sure you could do Victorian style frosted glass doors too!

Very chic, for a loo!
Thanks for the links.
I can really picture that arrangement in a Parisian apartment, not convinced it would fit in our Norfolk townhouse.
But I do agree it would be good to section off the loo if we could.

Whoops cross posted.
Yes we could do frosted doors its just we dont have the right layout for that kind of arrangement, to get that kind of effect we'd have to knock down several walls etc which I am really trying to avoid...

Do you want a bath or a shower?