3 storey townhouse alteration

[Atm0987]

Hi I am looking for some advice / help regarding carrying out an alteration in my home with opinions on how Scottish building control would view my proposal. So it’s a 3 storey town house built in 2012 set up as follows : 2 x bedrooms on ground floor, 1 bedroom has en-suite shower room with shower, wc and sink. In addition to this there is a cloaks wc comprising toilet and sink which is classed as accessible in terms of building regs sizes etc. : middle floor has lounge, kitchen and another shower room with shower,  wc and sink, (note the shower is raised so this requires stepped into) this is also classed as accessible and on principal living level. : top floor has 1 bedroom and one small bathroom ( 1500mm bath ) toilet and sink. Basically I’m looking to remove middle floor shower room to create an open plan area. This would leave sanitary facilities on ground floor and top floor. It should be noted that the middle floor can only be accessed by stairs though there is provision for a stair lift in the original plans. On removal of the room the associated drain pipes etc will be capped off under the floor directly beneath the original facilities to allow ease of fitment should circumstances change. Basically looking for opinions on how building control would view the removal of this facility and any help in making my plans more viable to them. Thanks I’m advance. 

Current layout with proposed wall removal shaded in red.pdf

[ProDave]

Where are the stairs?

 

I think regardless of what BC say, this would be a bad idea. you would get very fed up having to go up or down a flight of stairs just to use the loo.

[Atm0987]

To be fair that thought had crossed my mind, however it’s a question of weighing up benefits vs drawbacks. My home currently does not have a set dining area, my only option is to have a table in the kitchen which fills up a lot of space. Removing the middle bathroom would facilitate the extra space and a practical solution for this. Considering my last 3 properties have only had upstairs toilet access, this is something I feel I can live with and not an issue having to go up or down one flight of stairs to use these facilities. 

[Ferdinand]

It's a fsirly inefficient design - especially having that kitchen door 2/3 along the wall in the kitchen, rather than in the corner.

 

An alternative could be to flip the kitchen, so that the run of units is behind the current door opening, and perhaps replace the door with a slider, or swing the other way, or leave open plan.

 

Then you have 2.8m x 1.6m of area to put your table.

 

Alternatively you could probably steel a chunk of one end or the other of your shower, make it a compact loo, and get extra space in one room. I would probably set it up for a table in the lounge area as that is a work table, and put a breakfast bar in the kitchen - which could be a small 400-500 x 1.2m thing on the LH wall or something bigger if you flip the layout or redesign. A table that folds down at both ends might be good. 

 

Or do both the above.

[Atm0987]

Yes it’s not the greatest of designs. My 1st preference would be to remove the shower room and toilet altogether to make one large open plan area with breakfast bar where the shower wall is etc, I am open to other ideas like the compact toilet etc but my initial plan provides best option in terms of layout functionality etc. I have came across this noted below from the regs handbook I’m not sure if these clauses could be applied, any opinions would great. 
 

 

Existing sanitary accommodation which meets the guidance in clause 3.12.3 or the previous guidance for an accessible toilet (see below) should only be removed or relocated where facilities at least equivalent to those removed will still be present within the dwelling.

Removal of existing facilities - a sanitary facilitythat is not an accessible facility may be altered or removed where the minimum provision for a dwelling, set out in clause 3.12.1, is maintained.