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Do you need a family bathroom?


Tom

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Still thinking about the internal lay-out/design of our barn conversion and got some interesting responses to a previous thread on the topic - one of which was to lose the family bathroom and have en suits in all the bedrooms. This has got me thinking, and I'd appreciate the thoughts of the assembled hive-mind: do you actually need a family bathroom? If all bedrooms have en suits and there is an additional separate loo somewhere else - what is the point of the family bathroom?

Any views welcome

Cheers

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6 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Resale would families with kids like them having access to ensuite maybe a comsideration

As in access to their own en suit - a safety thing? Possibly. Not planning on selling though, but never say never...

 

4 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I suspect it would not be allowed in Scotland as the "accessible bathroom" must not be an en-suite.  Perhaps you could argue it if all bathrooms were made to the accessible requirements? 

Good point, not sure on the regs south of the border, any one know?

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In an old friends mothers house, it was what we call a mansion up a close. It was pretty much Victorian original, they had a bathroom.

in the middle of a big room there was a GIANT bath with giant taps that came out of the floor.

The bath was in the middle of the room oriented corner to corner but you could socially distance four slaves (servants) around it.

They were the kings of luxury.

Big Alan the bouncer asked the lady of the house if he could use it. Yes, towels in the (fitted) cupboard  and afterwards he said it’s the only bath he could float in without touching the sides and he wasn’t called Big Al for nothing 

Edited by Tennentslager
A Glasgow mansion (up a close) is a high class tenement. Usually 3/4 bedrooms and massive floor space and quality of fittings.
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Not really answering your question @Tom but we’ve done pretty much the exact opposite to your proposal.

 

I’ve never been a massive fan of en-suites, too much happening too close to a bedroom for my liking. We have an en-suit to the main bedroom, sort of. 

 

To to get to the master bedroom you open a door from the landing to a walk through/past wardrobe. A door on the right accesses the bedroom and a door straight ahead accesses the en-suite. In effect, anyone can use the en-suite without entering the main bedroom so we will treat it like an overspill ‘family’ bathroom if required. That plus the main family bathroom is all we have. 

 

I suspect we we would have issues were we to try and sell a 4 bed house with 1 family bathroom and 1 en-suite but I plan on pushing up the daisies before it goes on the market so the kids will have to deal with that. 

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I don't see the problem as long as you have a decent WC for visitors.

 

We almost did it but kept one and it is a bit of a wasted room.

 

I far prefer an en suite, having my own bathroom.

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In Scotland you have to have an accessible shower or bath or  space to provide one later and it cannot be off a bedroom. It is a bit stupid really in that if you have a downstairs en suite bedroom that does not satisfy the regs.

 

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On 22/04/2020 at 19:54, Russell griffiths said:

Im not sure what @ProDave means by accessible bathroom, as far as I’m aware in England I need to supply an accessible toilet not a full bathroom. 

Can someone confirm this before I loose more sleep

 

The Approved Documents (for England) state...

 

"A room (which may be a WC/cloakroom or a bathroom) containing a WC is provided on the entrance storey or, where there are no habitable rooms on the entrance storey, on the principal storey or the entrance storey"

 

I have come across the requirement for a Bathroom or Shower provision (usually the latter) on the entrance storey of a new dwelling but that was something to do with designing for the ageing population. I'm not even sure it's still a thing to be honest as I haven't been asked to do it for new build dwellings recently. The guidelines stated that a W.C. should be capable of being adapted to a wet room in the future along with a habitable area becoming a Bedroom. In addition to this, we also had to make sure an area of the dwelling was suitable to accommodate a lift so would need to demonstrate trimming and strengthening of floors, etc... As mentioned, I'm not even sure it's still a thing/requirement anymore unless it is with specific LA's.

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On 25/04/2020 at 12:21, DevilDamo said:

I have come across the requirement for a Bathroom or Shower provision (usually the latter) on the entrance storey of a new dwelling but that was something to do with designing for the ageing population.

That was probably the Lifetime Homes standard:

 

"Entrance level WC and shower drainage: Where an accessible bathroom, in accordance with Criterion 14, is not provided on the entrance level of a dwelling, the entrance level should have an accessible WC compartment, with potential for a shower to be installed – as detailed in the specification below."

 

On 22/04/2020 at 18:37, Tom said:

what is the point of the family bathroom

None, in the case of en-suites everywhere (but I suggested dropping it)...

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