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stephanie_lewis47

Master bathroom layout options?

5 years ago

Hi all. My husband and I are planning to update our master bathroom and are trying to figure out the best way to orient the pieces in the space. Key requirements are: no tub, large two-person shower (ideally frameless glass), dual vanity, separate water closet that also has a urinal. We believe we can move the toilet if we want (option 2) and still maintain the appropriate fall required for plumbing. Does either option make more sense than the other? Other thoughts?


Current layout – tiny stall shower and a never-used tub:

Option 1 – keep toilet in the same spot but flip vanity location and move shower to exterior wall:


Option 2 – move the toilet but keep vanity where it is:


Comments (11)

  • 5 years ago

    I would ditch the urinal, is it really necessary? You would have more options for storage without it. Either layout looks okay though. If you get rid of the urinal I'd put the toilet in the top right like in option 2 and a storage piece next to the vanity where you have toilet in option 1 and shower on the wall with the window.

  • 5 years ago

    I don't think plumbing for shower can go on an outside wall (you may want to confirm it). How wide is your vanity? How high is the window from the floor? I would recommend a 6' vanity minimum. You may want to remove the cabinet to make your vanity longer and add a low storage below the window.

    Stephanie Lewis thanked suzanne_m
  • PRO
    5 years ago

    NO URINAL EVER in a home. I had a husband and 3 boys and they all peed sitting down or they got to clean the bathroom. I really hate toilet rooms inside of bathrooms IMO no one should be using the toilet while somone else is in the bathroom, if you want that sort of idea then you do what they do in Europe they have a separate room outside the bedroom or main bathroom for a toilet and a sink.

    Stephanie Lewis thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 5 years ago

    Patricia got her family trained 🤣

    Stephanie Lewis thanked Christina
  • 5 years ago

    Have you checked in with a plumber yet? We are just about done with a bathroom reno and found that a lot of our original design options were thrown out by the plumber. Existing plumbing, floor joist direction, and exterior wall restrictions really limited our options.

    Stephanie Lewis thanked Sarah M
  • PRO
    5 years ago

    You could also just turn your current tub into a shower. Can you move the door to the straight wall? Then you could make the shower longer.

    Stephanie Lewis thanked N Dobos Architecture
  • 5 years ago

    If OP wants a urinal, then she should get one. In terms of options, seems cheaper to put the shower where the tub is now but both seem fine if plumber sees no issues.

    Stephanie Lewis thanked lmckuin
  • 5 years ago

    Also, if door to room can move to the 7’2” wall you could expand the shower.

  • 5 years ago

    My husband really wants a urinal, so we're going to put one in! We've talked with our contractor and shouldn't have any issues with plumbing/floor joists... @Sarah M the comment of exterior walls is definitely one we need to think about

    @N Dobos Architecture, the door needs to stay where it is – the straight wall goes into our closet and we don't want to lose any of that space.

    @suzanne_m, yes we're planning on at least a 6' vanity, and I like the idea of low storage (or the laundry hamper?!) under the window

  • 5 years ago

    I think it's important to know where your plumbing vent pipes and drains go. You need to find out where the vent/drain is for the small shower. That will dictate where you want to put your urinal. You could conceivably put it on the right wall and turn the old small shower in to a urinal so it's separate from the toilet. This would, of course, eliminate the storage area. But you could put wall-mounted storage cabinets in the bathroom somewhere. Perhaps even across from the toilet or in a space saver cabinet above the toilet (make sure to have it high enough that it won't block you from taking the lid off and doing maintenance on the toilet).

    You could then remove the tub & replace it with a shower. but unless the tub has a 2" drain, you will need to increase the drain size. You could build a custom shower the size of the current tub or modify the footprint a bit. Keep in mind that size modifications will affect your flooring.

    It is easier to keep the toilet where it is as you won't have to alter the plumbing for it.

    All fixtures: sinks, showers, tubs, toilets, urinals, etc. require plumbing vents to let air push the water down. While they do work via gravity, they still need to have air to avoid creating a vacuum. You will need to figure out where your vents are & make sure they are sufficient size to handle the dfu (drain fixture unit) rating. Bathroom sinks (aka lavatories or lavs) generally have 1-1/4" drains but sometimes have 1-1/2" P-traps. Toilets will have 3" to 4" drains. Tubs have 1-1/2" drains. Urinals have 2" drains (so it would be the same as the shower).

    As someone else suggested, you could go with pocket doors so long as the doors don't conflict with plumbing vents.

    All plumbing vents need to meet up with a vent that goes out the roof (unless you get lazy & slap on AAVs IF your code allows for those- but AAVs need to be accessible & have airflow around them so you can't just hide them in a wall without a grille of some sort & they can have diaphragm failures). If you do not have proper vents you will have poor drainage &/or water may end up getting siphoned out of the P-traps and allow toxic sewer gases to come up.


    zannej's bathroom & laundry room ideas · More Info

    This layout has the least amount of changes to your plumbing & allows for privacy for both toilet and urinal.


    Additional pics or sketches of the plumbing for your double sinks could help. Do they combine to a single pipe or do they enter the wall separately?


    If you are planning to upgrade your toilet, I suggest a Universal Height toilet like the Toto Entrada. Not only is it a good height, it has a 3" flush and 1k MaP score so it flushes like a beast but does not splash. My friend got one and it's great.