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jally1

Small bathroom expertise

6 years ago

Anyone here with small bathroom expertise? (Please see attached).

Consider this rhetorical feelers. Seeking [preferably-pictorial] feedback as to how you guys might design this with an eye toward practicality rather than as a designer-look. Thanks!



Comments (7)

  • 6 years ago

    It's not clear that that space is large enough to pass code with the layout you show. Toilets typically are required to have a minimum of 24" of clear space from the front edge. My standard toilets stick out about 27" from the back wall, which would mean that a small bathroom would have to be at least 51" deep. The shortest toilet I was able to find when I once built a small powder room was 24" deep, which would require a 48" deep room; you're 4" short of that. In addition, code requires a clear space of at least 15" as measured from the centerline of the toilet on each side (or at least 30" combined free space width), so having the toilet placed off to the side in that confined space would likely also violate that part of the code. The only way I can see to make this work as a code-legal bathroom is to turn the toilet 90 degrees and put it on the wall where the sink is shown, move the door to the left, and mount a vanity and sink along the right wall. This would allow enough space to satisfy code and it would function better. Alternatively, if you want to leave the door where it is, you would have to make do with a small corner vanity in the top right of your floor plan. Lastly, it would also help if you had a pocket door rather than a standard, inward-swinging door, regardless of what you do.

  • 6 years ago

    Are you referring to U.S. codes? Or international?

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    U.S. codes.

    I don't know anything about international codes, which would be in metric units, anyway. Are you located outside the U.S.?

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I'm located in the U.S., but don't assume the layout is for the U.S. Anyway, nothing is definitely ironed out. Is there any forum geared for low-end people who seek practical feedback? Also, just because something is illegal, doesn't make some of these arbitrary laws moral, because they just serve to squeeze those who are in survival mode. I mean, is it truly "dangerous" not to stick to such rules? Is less leg-room "dangerous"?

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I'm not going to get into an argument about the morality of codes. You originally said you were seeking feedback “with an eye toward practicality,” and that's what I gave you by pointing out what the plumbing code requires in most U.S. localities. You can choose to do whatever you want, including not getting a required permit, and building something that may be a sticking point when you go to sell your home.

    I also gave you some suggestions on how to make it comply with code and be more usable, but you can ignore that input, too.

  • 6 years ago

    This is a very strange post 😱🤷🏼‍♀️

  • 6 years ago

    A below code bathroom isn’t very usable. Codes exist so that you don’t have to sit on the toilet sideways, or straddle the toilet to wash your hands. Think of the tightest most uncomfortable public restroom you’ve ever had to use. And know that commercial codes are more generous in spacing than residential ones. The biggest waste of money that exists is to build something unusable.