Bathroom/toilet renovations and questions - WWYD?

So I'm thinking of renovating my bathroom. I currently have a bathroom and separate toilet (that comes off the laundry, so completely separate entrance to the bathroom). In my current (small) bathroom I have a bath, vanity and separate shower.

My builder has suggested putting the bath under the shower and putting in another toilet, which would fit. If I don't put the bath under the shower, the new toilet would not fit.

I used to live in a house with a shower over the bath, and occasionally it irked me, but mostly because my parents only had shower curtains rather than a glass shower screen, and the shower curtains always got mouldy.

It is highly likely that at some stage in the near future, I will be renting out this place (it's a large 3br unit, with one bathroom and one toilet).

So the questions are: (mainly for renters, but anyone's response is welcome)

1. Would the extra toilet be an advantage or necessary (given that it's in the bathroom?)
2. Would the shower over bath be a PITA?
3. Would you put up with the shower over bath in order to have the second toilet?
4. Would the second toilet be something that would sway you to rent the property?

Assume, for this exercise, that cost of putting in new toilet/bath under shower etc is not a relevant factor. If people have been to my house, I'd love your input :lol:

What would you prefer?

I hate showers over baths, mainly as I know a number of older people who only have sponge baths as they can not get in the bath shower. Unless you are aiming towards another market when you start renting it out this wouldn't be an issue

In a 3 bedroom I don't think 2 toilets would be a big factor either way, if the only toilet was in the bathroom it would put me off though.

Well that probably wasn't all that helpful!

I would have to see the building layout to be honest whether it would benefit me. How close is the current toilet to the bedrooms etc?

I personally don't like showers over baths.. because getting in and out irks me.. it would def mean a older couple/or people with mobility/back/issues would prob hesitate in renting your house. Def would not like the curtain!!!

But in saying that sometimes a second toilet is very handy!! specially in a 3 bedder as occupants would more then likely be a family of 4+ and god i hate being rushed out of the toilet because my 4 year old has decided she needs to go NOW!!


I havent helped at all have i?

Shower over baths have come a long way since day dot. But it would be dependent on the bath you choose. The points of the location of the other toilet and layout of the house will help you make your decision. I have lots of customers who do ANYTHING possible to keep there shower separate.

I really dislike toilets in bathrooms. So I wouldn't do it to add a second toilet. I would appreciate it more if the second toilet in the laundry was gone and the laundry was bigger. ;)

In a small 3 bed unit, a second toilet would not be my priority, and TBH would only serve to give the RE means to add another $20 week to the rent.

Showers over baths irk me. We have 1 in our main bathroom and to be honest shower over bath only gets used by guests. We have had some quotes to reno and seperate but was very costly and would loose a lot of space! We have a toilet in bathroom and 1 in ensuite as well. Would be nice to have toilet seperate but where we are is not possible due to size.

i'm not keen on toilets in bathroom either. would much rather bit more room in the bathroom, or seperate shower and bath than an extra toilet.

1. Would the extra toilet be an advantage or necessary (given that it's in the bathroom?) more disadvantage than advantage.
2. Would the shower over bath be a PITA? i don't mind them, but prefer seperate if the option is there.
3. Would you put up with the shower over bath in order to have the second toilet? nup
4. Would the second toilet be something that would sway you to rent the property? nup

I am all for a second toilet and I like the idea of adding one :) I wish we could add one here.
We have a shower over bath, think old style old house with crappy shower curtain arrangement. I agree you can do lots these days and the idea of it wouldn't phase me, and if it gave you extra room then it's a great idea.
The only main problem we have is that DH nan can't stay as she can't manage the shower bath, so would only put off older potential renters.

We have two toilets (both in the two bathrooms we have) and only one gets used. I wouldn't know the last time it was used. Probably by FIL who likes the one further away from the kitchen so having 2 toilets isn't benefiting us at all (There are 5 of us)
We have two baths both with showers in them. They are PITA definately.
Is not having a bath an option? I love my bath so wouldn't get rid of it but my DH is a tiler and I do see alot of his renovated masterpieces and am surprised at the amount of homes without a bath in it or people who renovate and remove the bath tub to replace with just a shower. My DH is a huge fan of showers with no shower screens that you just walk in and the floor angle guides the water down. I personally think I would wet my hole bathroom but thats what he plans on doing to our bathroom when he renovates it. I must say the ones I have seen do look really lovely but I dont know how practical they would be.

:

---

i'm not keen on toilets in bathroom either. would much rather bit more room in the bathroom, or seperate shower and bath than an extra toilet.

1. Would the extra toilet be an advantage or necessary (given that it's in the bathroom?) more disadvantage than advantage.
2. Would the shower over bath be a PITA? i don't mind them, but prefer seperate if the option is there.
3. Would you put up with the shower over bath in order to have the second toilet? nup
4. Would the second toilet be something that would sway you to rent the property? nup

---

Pretty much this

I'm from Scotland so my ideas might differ slightly, but I love toilets in bathrooms and wanted one in our house but our builder refused because he was a bit rubbish. A second toilet is always worth it and showers over baths are fine as long as you have sticky dots to stop you from slipping. I like shower curtains though as you can get some really funky ones and it is always easy to make your bathroom look completely renovated with a new curtain and floormat.

So yeah, I'd put in a second toilet.

I have never had a shower over a bath or a toilet in a bathroom before we moved into this house 2.5 years ago.
I would have said the same as many PPs.
However, now I love both.
We have a glass shower screen so the little kids can splash to their hearts content. They can have a shower but have the plug in and then I can turn the water off and they can play. Even my dad who has had a bilateral hip replacement can get in and out, albeit with a little help, but it's not that hard.
A second loo is a benefit to renters. If someone is in the bathroom and another person needs to go, then there's your other loo.

So no, don't think it's a disadvantage. If I was looking at renting I'd like it.

I love a shower over bath, I can have a shower and the kidlets sit in the bottom and have a bath. I would definitely go for a glass screen though, I loathe it when you're wet and the shower curtain sticks to you.

I would definitely want a second toilet in a three bedder and would prefer not to rent a place with only one toilet. Don't care if it's in the bathroom or not!

It wouldn't bother me, I like toilets in bathrooms and showers over baths.

We're looking at this very same thing right now, our toilet is separate to bathroom 1, which has separate shower and bath and we are thinking about combining the rooms plus shower and bath so we can enlarge out en suite, which is next to it.

You can get some very modern, funky shower/bath combos these days! I thought I wanted to keep it separate but for the benefit of adding a toilet to our en suite, we will probably put one in.

No issue with toilets in bathrooms and a second toilet is a benefit in my book. We have two bed with one toilet in the one bathroom - we often have overseas visitors an extra toilet would be great - especially when little ones just have to go right now! I would choose a place with two toilets but with shower over bath over one with only one toilet but separate shower if everything else was the same. Three bedrooms sounds like somewhere a family would rent so I think second toilet definitely a benefit (especially if is a big 3 bed - as opposed to a 2 + boxroom type). But to be honest there is never only one thing that is different between two places and I would still rent a place with one toilet, and even if toilet is in bathroom - if the rest of the place is good. Also really the rental market is so strong you won't have a problem whichever way you decide so I would do whatever suits you.

We are considering renovating our bathroom too to add a toilet in there because 3 girls and 1 male in the house does not work with 1 toilet, especially in the mornings! We have had a shower over the bath and would continue as it is a bonus when you have limited space.


1. Would the extra toilet be an advantage or necessary (given that it's in the bathroom?) Huge advantage
2. Would the shower over bath be a PITA? I find them to be ok so it doesn't bother me - I would prefer this with a second toilet, to having a seperate bath and no second toilet
3. Would you put up with the shower over bath in order to have the second toilet? Absolutely!
4. Would the second toilet be something that would sway you to rent the property? Yes

Div

Would the toilet go where the shower is now? Because if you put the shower over bath where the bath is now you lose a lot of natural light due to the positioning of the window.

Is the wall between the current toilet and bathroom a load bearing wall? I'm just thinking for extra space you could rejig the toilet/linen cupboard/laundry cupboard area to give the bathroom a bit more space. Just thinking making the current toilet a little bit smaller & use a sliding door, same as use a sliding door in the bathroom (if it doesn't interfere with the plumbing). Thinking having the two toilets mirror each other, so where the linen cupboard is now put the bathroom's toilet in there? Also how hard is it going to be to move pipes etc, as in the ones in the floor, will you end up having to jack-hammer the floor & slab up to change where the plumbing goes?

Just throwing ideas around.

We did this in our last house. The shower over the bath worked well with a glass screen. The bath was nice and wide with a flatter bottom than a regular bath and non slip base. Heaps better to clean than a tiled shower floor! I like a second toilet and don't mind having one in a bathroom.

something like this http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/ui...line-tub-1.jpg would look awesome and appeal to pretty much everyone I would think.

Inspired by Astrid's thread - what does make a difference to me now thinking about it, is in a separate toilet there should always be a method for washing hands - I really don't like having to go into bathroom or laundry to do - those tiny little sinks are perfect.

:

---

Inspired by Astrid's thread - what does make a difference to me now thinking about it, is in a separate toilet there should always be a method for washing hands - I really don't like having to go into bathroom or laundry to do - those tiny little sinks are perfect.

---

Or the toilets with the basin at the top of the cistern that recycle the water.

ooh do you have a pic or link Nai?

I think that with 3br it is possible that it will be tenanted by 4 people and with 4 people in the house a second loo is a blessing.
I don't mind shower/baths and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. If money isn't a thing you could even look at a small corner shower/bath/spa. We used to have one and it was awesome. Not just as a spa for me but for whipping the boy's bath up into a tower of bubbles.

Like this HotI (I hope the linky works)
http://www.caroma.com.au/ProductImag...00px-24bpp.jpg

Div - we put a shower over the bath in our reno. I didn't want to as I wanted separate, but there wasn't room. We have a swinging glass door & it looks really good, and there are no problems using either the shower or bath. I will try and take some photos, or you are welcome to drop by and check it out.

Thanks for your ideas - Traveller I love that one, and Nai too. Thanks heaps! Lots of things to think about.

I haven't read any of the posts but....here's my two cents.

When looking to rent our bathroom/toilet preferences are ranked as:
1. Bathroom, separate toilet, ensuite
2. Bathroom/toilet plus additional toilet
3. Bathroom with separate toilet

We don't rank the combined bathroom/toilet option at all.

If you are considering renting the property out, I would probably omit the bath and only have a generous shower (to compensate for lack of bath) and put in an additional toilet. I also think that the bath/shower option is a PITA.

There are some nice baths out there that are designed for smaller bathrooms. I'm not sure on your room dimensions but it's probably worth a google. You can also get spacesaver loos and basins. You may have to entirely rethink your layout.

An extra toilet always wins hands-downwhen looking at properties to buy or rent with us.

If I was renting I'd put up with the separate toilet for the sake of having a separate shower (not over the bath).

I love having a toilet in the bathroom - complete PITA to have to go to the loo somewhere else BUT I find showers over the bath a complete PITA too. Bad back,pelvis, hips etc make climbing over the bath quite tricky for me and if you're going to be renting to young families, I can't imagine pregnant women would like that idea either.

Obviously in an ideal world I'd have a toilet in bathroom, shower and separate bath in there and a toilet elsewhere too.

Would need to look at a floorplan. If at all possible, the biggest gain you could make (for rental value and resale value) would be to add an ensuite but it sounds like that's not possible.