Converting under the stairs into wc - thoughts pls

LJS2014

Hi All,

Looking for advice from anyone who has converted space under stairs into a toilet, or equally advice from anyone who looked into it and maybe decided against?

Just doing some very preliminary research into this so would be good to hear re: pro's and con's, maybe any unexpected costs to look out for. Also wondering if it would potentially add any value to the property (not that this is a main concern for doing it - more just an add-on thought).

Any advice from anyone who has done / considered doing this much appreciated.

Thanks in advance :beer:

anotherbaldrick

Reasonably straightforward, a good situation to use a Saniflo or similar pumped unit. Don't forget you will have to mechanically ventilate the area to outside air.

beaker141

Best thing we ever added to our house!


The head height dictated the toilet position. Lower down we made a cupboard accessible from the hall for shoes to be thrown in.

richy999

I saw it done on 'Mr Browns boys' but that didn't end well ;-)

bouicca21

Friend did this and is really pleased with it. She has a macerater system and warns all who visit that it's for liquid waste rather than solid ...

serverdog

We bought our house with one installed, but the smallest one ever, so much so, you have to turn sideways to get through the door. We wanted to remove it, but due to planning regs, you can't remove an existing ground level toilet so beware.

Saying that, it is great for the convenience especially when you have guests (assuming you have a decent sized toilet that is).

Ben35

I would agree with anotherbaldrick above, the saniflo system is great as it only needs like a 2" waste pipe instead of the usual 4" and a small power supply to the unit...and as he mentioned don't forget about the ventilation by installing a timer fan as well!

SailorSam

I've read lots on the Internet saying Saniflo type toilets get blocked up easily.

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?p=64793655

Ben35

I've wired quite a few of these up for various plumbers and never known a blockage to occur. It all depends what your putting down the toilet...should be waste and toilet paper only, people will probably try to flush wet wipes, sanitary items etc down them. Most people put a polite notice on the toilet cistern to inform the user that it is a saniflo system.

LJS2014

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this - interesting info re: the Saniflo systems too which gives me something else to take into consideration.

Much appreciated!

:beer:

RichardTheComic

My home is 7 years old, but has exactly what you are talking about doing. Personally I love it - not ideal as its directly off the kitchen (though apparently this is fine these days). Happy to send you pix so you can see essentially what it'll look like.