Building a bathroom upstairs

NJG_2

Hi guys,

Me and my partner are first time buyers who've just bought a little terraced house that has a bathroom downstairs, it has a small shower in one of the bedrooms upstairs. We want to extend the space where the shower currently is and create a small bathroom with a small bath, a small walk-in shower, toilet and basin. We would need to create 2 extra internal walls - 1 with a door.

Could someone please give a rough indication of how much it would cost to create the room and add the components without decoration/tiling? And a cost to create the bathroom fully furnished with tiling and flooring etc?

Thanks

Neil

Doozergirl

Downstairs barhrooms are incredibly common in terraced houses, there is often no gain in moving the bathroom upstairs.

The main issue is drainage. Do you know how the waste water from the shower gets out? Is it direct to a nearby outside wall or further away?

ethank

There may be no gain in value from moving the bathroom upstairs, but it will increase saleability. Many people are put off by downstairs bathrooms.

googler

Doozergirl wrote: »

The main issue is drainage. Do you know how the waste water from the shower gets out? Is it direct to a nearby outside wall or further away?

Exactly. You'll need to form a new SVP (Soil & Vent Pipe), as you won't be able to use the shower waste pipe for WC waste, unless you install a macerator or Saniflo.

SVP pipe is 110mm diameter, so not easily submerged in walls or floor voids. It also needs to vent at roof level, above the new installation.

You need a local plumber/installer to give you a quote. You may need building regulation approval from the council for installation of a new SVP.

Kynthia

The floor may need strengthening to take the weight of a full bath.

SailorSam

The soil pipe will probably be the biggest job.
I don't agree though that you'll get no benefit from doing the work. When i've been house hunting in the past i've been put off if there was only a downstairs bathroom and loo, i'm sure many others have. Will make it much easier to sell when the time comes.

jjlandlord

ethank wrote: »

There may be no gain in value from moving the bathroom upstairs, but it will increase saleability. Many people are put off by downstairs bathrooms.

Isn't that a contradiction?
Increased 'saleability' and 'people put off by downstairs bathrooms' = premium for upstairs bathroom.

picket_fence

jjlandlord wrote: »

Isn't that a contradiction?
Increased 'saleability' and 'people put off by downstairs bathrooms' = premium for upstairs bathroom.

Not necessarily. Whilst more people may prefer an upstairs bathroom (and you may get increased viewings when coming to sell), it may not have a positive impact on what the property actually sells for. The financial gain may be none existent, or may represent a loss for the owner in real terms when factoring in how much it has cost them to put the bathroom in. The OP may not care about the "return" as they are viewing the house as their home, rather than an investment.

ConfusedofYorkshire

picket_fence wrote: »

Not necessarily. Whilst more people may prefer an upstairs bathroom (and you may get increased viewings when coming to sell), it may not have a positive impact on what the property actually sells for. The financial gain may be none existent, or may represent a loss for the owner in real terms when factoring in how much it has cost them to put the bathroom in. The OP may not care about the "return" as they are viewing the house as their home, rather than an investment.

Unless they can't sell it at all with a downstairs bathroom, or it takes so long to sell it that they reduce the price

SailorSam

picket_fence wrote: »

Not necessarily. Whilst more people may prefer an upstairs bathroom (and you may get increased viewings when coming to sell), it may not have a positive impact on what the property actually sells for. The financial gain may be none existent, or may represent a loss for the owner in real terms when factoring in how much it has cost them to put the bathroom in. The OP may not care about the "return" as they are viewing the house as their home, rather than an investment.

But Picket that could be said about anything you do to improve your house from double glazing to cavity wall insulation . and even fitting central heating or decorating. No matter how much you spend you may not get it all back.

Doozergirl

People are also put off by small bedrooms, which affect value and bathrooms without windows which is what often happens if you put an upstairs bathroom in a Victorian terrace. Swings and roundabouts - you can't please everyone.

The main problem is practical and concerns drainage anyhow. Googler has gone into some detail and I would not have my main bathroom run off a macerating system. They are a disaster that doesn't just wait to happen, they regularly do. It means outages with no ability to flush the loo even with a bucket. And when they leak from a joint, which they seem to do from the pressure inside, you can imagine what they leak onto whatever ceiling the pipes sit above.

I always heard this, but now have the 'pleasure' of a saniflow in our ensuite. If guests used it, that would bring a whole new level of pain. If I viewed a house that had a saniflow in the main bathroom, I'd leave it, thanks.