narrow guest bathroom layout help please!

13 years ago

We are about to re-do our kitchen and I realized that while I am having all this work done I should really re-do our existing guest bathroom. Problem is it is extremely narrow and nowhere near up to current codes. It is 42" x 100", and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get a toilet, sink and shower back in there and get the 24" code clearance requirement.

It is a 1936 Cape Cod style house, and right outside the bathroom is a narrow landing to the stairs so I can't widen it at all unfortunately (the guest "suite" is on its own small floor) The bedroom is already quite small so cutting into it feels unwise.

I know I want to convert the bathroom door to a pocket door to make the most of the space. I've looked at wall hung toilets but they still seem to take 22" off the wall, leaving only 22 inches of clearance instead of 24. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

palimpsest
13 years ago
You can probably be grandfathered because it's an existing structure and you are not doing an addition or removing walls.

A new toilet is typically 28 inches in total length which would give you only 14" in front?

I think you would have to put a wall hung toilet on the guest room wall 30" on center, and a pocket door to get a bit of extra room, or you could turn the whole thing into a "wet room" and put the wall hung toilet down at the other, end, essentially In the shower.

No possibility of switching the Laundry and 3/4 bath to get a slightly larger bath?
jeweleee
Original Author
13 years ago
You can't tell really well from these plans but the laundry/mudroom is on a different level (level with the kitchen) and the bathroom and guest room are up a half flight of stairs. So switching them unfortunately wouldn't work

I will look into the grandfathering thing but I was told that my city is very uptight about codes. I will also ask them if I put the toilet on the guest room wall, do we still need 24" of clearance to a vanity sink or just to a wall. Oy, so complicated!
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gabbythecat
13 years ago
Could you do a corner toilet - I've seen pictures of them (sorry, I don't know of a source), put it in the corner directly next to the shower. Also take the sink out of the bathroom entirely and put it in the bedroom, maybe on that short wall directly outside the bathroom. You would have room for a larger vanity there.
palimpsest
13 years ago
Would you essentially just be getting new fixtures if you kept it as is? They would almost have to grandfather it then: if not it would mean that you couldn't replace a broken toilet in an old house.

According to International Building Code, a toilet and a sink can have overlapping clearances, so part of the knee space for a toilet can extend under the sink (9 inches, I think). And if you did 30" on center for the toilet you would have 15" on one side and 15" + 12" on the other, so the sink could be on that side. (However, you may be required to put the toilet 36" on center which would give you 18" on one side and 18" +6" on the other)