Importance of downstairs toilet?

aneary

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

Downstairs loo is a real plus.

Washing machine? I would be put off if it were in with the loo (hygiene reasons, plus the thought of being on the loo when the machine starts a spin cycle, and the noise in a small space), but if there is room to have a cloakroom and a utility then great. What would you do with the space freed up in the kitchen? Dishwasher? Beware of flagging up that the kitchen is too small.

Shower? If there is room to do it really well, then yes, but not if it'll be a squeezed-in / budget job.

I really appreciate not having to go upstairs to the bathroom when I am downstairs.

My parents have a 30' square kitchen/dinning room with 34 wide and deep hand made drawers plus 8 standard size cupboards, a dresser and two 5' cupboards, they have a utility room does that make their kitchen small???

A lot of people have washing machines elsewhere as it makes more sense not to have them in the kitchen.

Hygiene reasons? Seriously how hygienic is it to take dirty washing into a kitchen where food is prepared especially if there are young children who throw up, wet the bed etc.

ReadingTim

aneary wrote: »

Hygiene reasons? Seriously how hygienic is it to take dirty washing into a kitchen where food is prepared especially if there are young children who throw up, wet the bed etc.

Furthermore, what on earth are you doing in the loo which renders the whole room unhygienic?!? A dirty protest on a daily basis...?!?

LandyAndy

Another vote for the downstairs toilet. Washing machine, good idea if there is room for it easily. Shower, maybe not. Having said that, my previous house had two bathrooms, one with a bath upstairs and one with a shower downstairs. I really liked having a shower downstairs but it was a proper bathroom not a shower cubicle in the corner of a cupboard.


Would there be any restrictions on having a washing machine in a 'bathroom'? I would have thought so.

Bettycheese

No, there are no restrictions on washing machine in a bathroom. In fact we viewed some brand new houses recently that are being built with that set-up.

comeandgo

As you only have one bathroom I would have a shower room. Good idea having the washing machine there too. I have had holidays in many overseas properties and non of them had washing machine in kitchen, some in cupboard, some outside under cover and some in the bathroom.

aneary

LandyAndy wrote: »

Would there be any restrictions on having a washing machine in a 'bathroom'? I would have thought so.

You are probably thinking about the plug as you generally don't have plugs in bathrooms (not sure if that's regs or not) but you can get around that by having it boxed in.

LandyAndy

aneary wrote: »

You are probably thinking about the plug as you generally don't have plugs in bathrooms (not sure if that's regs or not) but you can get around that by having it boxed in.

Ah! Thank you.


Kirsty Allsop will be pleased.

davidmcn

aneary wrote: »

You are probably thinking about the plug as you generally don't have plugs in bathrooms (not sure if that's regs or not) but you can get around that by having it boxed in.

I think regulations have now been relaxed so you can have sockets in bathroom (as long as they are outside any splashy zones), rather than the previous blanket prohibition.

Red-Squirrel_2

As you're redesigning the kitchen I'd just make sure you have room for the washing machine in there.

Logically I know its not unhygienic but I can't help finding the idea of a small loo with a washing machine in it a bit weird. Like the room isn't properly a downstairs loo or properly a utility room, but a nondescript space where you've just shoved the stuff that wouldn't fit elsewhere. If it was boxed in in an attractive way, and so were all the bits like washing powder, baskets, pegs etc. it wouldn't be as bad I suppose.

00ec25

my friends have their washing machine (and dryer) in what was, before their extension, previously the downstairs bathroom. They removed the bath (to upstairs extension) but retained the toilet as a valuable "addition" in that they of course still have one downstairs.

yes it is odd meeting a washing machine when using the "facility" but it makes a huge difference to their kitchen and having a socket installed was not a building regs problem AFAIK

so another vote for toilet, washing machine but not shower - downstairs shower in a 3 bed is OTT as I personally would not choose to wash downstairs anyway