New bathroom

cannyshopper_2

Please can I ask for the opinions of all the wise people on here.

I have a 2 bed bungalow which I intend to sell within the next 2 years. Most of it is fairly modern, but the bathroom & toilet need updating.

At the moment the toilet & bath are separate.
1. Should I pull down the wall between them to create one larger combined bathroom/toilet, or would it be better to leave them separate. (Bearing in mind the likely market for the bungalow)
This is the only toilet in the property.

This has the advantage of making the room look a lot bigger of course, the combined space will be an L-shape with the 2 longest walls just short of 8 ft long. Losing one door gives more functional space & scope for design.

As its a stud partition it isn't a massive job except that a radiator will need to be moved (will replace with a towel rail).
Downside is that the whole, larger, room will need retiling which adds to the cost. I can't do this myself.

2. Also considering the likely market being older people possibly with mobility issues - bath with shower above or larger walk-in shower. If I lose the partition there is room for both a bath & a smaller stand-alone shower.

The L shape is because the former airing cupboard juts in from the hallway & takes up one corner (approx. 32" square). It doesn't house a hot water cylinder any more but provides useful storage space that it would be a shame to lose. However, I can see that removing it creates extra space for the bathroom, which would then be almost 8 ft square.

3. Would you also replace the window (single glazed, and the only original feature in the entire property) & install an extractor fan, or leave this for the new owners? I am thinking the window really ought to be replaced before the room is retiled, though obviously this will add to the cost.


Bearing in mind the future sale, I don't want to go overboard with this but I do want it to look appealing.

Slinky

'They' say that bathrooms and kitchens help sell property. If you think your target buyer is going to be an elderly person, a new bathroom may well appeal as they don't then have to get on and sort it themselves. If you're doing everything else, do the window and extractor as well. If you've got spotlights you can get an extractor with a spotlight built in to replace one of them.


As far as layout is concerned, we knocked through from our separate loo into the bathroom and put a corner shower where the loo door used to be. This was the only loo in the house at the time but we planned an extension and added 2 more. However that was one loo in a 3 bed house, now 4. Personally I think one loo in a 2 bed bungalow aimed at the elderly is fine, only likely to be 2 related people living in it, could be just one.


ETA you don't need to re-tile every wall in the bathroom, just the places where water can get, however the rest may need replastering.

Smodlet

We, too removed the stud wall between the bathroom and separate (at the time, only) loo. We have since added one downstairs. I think, if mobility is likely to be an issue for your target market, more space is generally a good idea. Turning on a sixpence is more the prerogative of the young and fit, perhaps.

I am sure you are familiar with the expression "spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar" so, if you are going to do this, I agree it makes sense to do it well. If your property needs re-wiring, it would need an extractor in the bathroom to be installed to conform with current regs.

If there are currently two windows, one in the bathroom and one in the toilet, you could always replace like-for-like, giving your purchaser the option to put the stud wall back if they so chose.

In my opinion, while full tiling may not be necessary, it is more desirable and may have more appeal for buyers.

Good luck with your project.

Doozergirl

We fitted a separate shower where the loo door used to be as well.

Simething like a wet room shower would be great for that market.

They might like a separate loo, but I think separate shower trumps it.

I wonder if you could make the airing cupboard less deep? Gain space but keep storage.

seven-day-weekend

The only part of our bungalow that we bought in 2015 that didn't need renovating, was the bathroom, which has been extended in a similar manner to what people have described on here. There is no bath, but there is a large double shower. Although there is room for a bath and a smaller shower, as two over 65s we are not bothered about the bath, we'd rather have the large shower, especially if we develop mobility issues in the future. However, if you already have a bath, I would just put the smaller shower in, then you appeal to a wider market.

Hope this helps.

eddddy

Is it an older bungalow where the separate toilet has no wash basin?

If so, that's now seen as a very big negative (for hygene reasons).

If that's the case, and you want to keep the toilet separate, you should see if you can add a compact hand basin.


If it were to be a family home, a separate toilet and bathroom might be useful - to reduce congestion in the mornings. If it's likely to be for a retired couple, that's less of an issue.

D_M_E

If you remove the cupboard, you have a room almost 8 foot square.

That's large enough to wall off a section and have a separate small room for a toilet and the space left should be enough to house a walk in shower and a toilet as well - I've seen new builds with a small shower room containing a shower, toilet and sink.

As for the window, it's single glazed so I would replace it with a double glazed unit.

cannyshopper_2

thanks for the comments.

correct eddddy, there is no washbasin in with the toilet, which bugs me & is another good reason for removing the partition.

I like the idea of a nice roomy walk-in shower but its nice to have the option of a long leisurely soak too.



As an aside, I've just seen a "retirement flat" for sale that has a really tiny bathroom - with a bath rather than a shower. The mind boggles what was going through their mind when they designed that (its new build too, not a refurbishment)

freeman3030

I would personally rip the wall down and create a larger room. Another option instead of tiling are these sheets you can get. We redone our bathroom when we move in and every wall is plastered and painted, in the shower we have this marble effect plastic sheeting/cladding. There is just a chrome strip in the corner where the two sheets meet and silicone between the wall and shower tray. Its great because its very low maintenance... great for an older perspective buyer and easy for you to keep clean (also should still look like new by the time you come to sell). We have a little extra space so decided to have a free standing bath in front of a tiled wall for a wow factor - not practical if you have children, but looks lovely!

Slinky

When we knocked ours through we put a new bath where the old one had been and a shower where the loo door had been so we have both. The only reorganisation was the loo had to be turned through 90 degrees to avoid the shower, but it wasn't much of an issue as it was next to the soil stack in both the old and new positions. We weren't sure about taking the wall out, but then went and looked at next door's identical house where they'd done that and we could see how much space they'd gained. Is there somebody else's house you could look at that would help your decision?

ladymarmalade222

One thing I would say, please don't assume your bungalow will only appeal to older people and a shower/wet room without a bath is the way to go.

We are currently looking at bungalows and I love a soak every evening but every home we have considered have no bath. We are early 40's with children still at home so bungalows still appeal to families too.

Good luck xx