putting a bath into an unused bedroom

Holly_Worton

Just bought a house with 4 bedrooms and one small bathroom. Looked into knocking through to make larger but there is a supporting wall so we would have to go down the road of metal pinning etc so decided against.
Was thinking instead of putting a large luxurious bath into the smallest bedroom with storage for towels and toiletries etc. Would also take bath out of existing bathroom to create more space in there for a walk in shower.

As there won't be a shower, toilet or sink in the additional bathroom how important is it to tile/waterproof the floor and walls and install an extractor etc? Can the plumbing have additional pipes added to it easily enough?
Would it require building regulations?
Anything else I need to think about?

If anyone has done this or anything similar i would love to hear from you!

Doozergirl

It's your house, so you can do as you please.

A bath is a bit easier to install than a loo in terms of drainage etc. Are the rooms adjacent to each other?

The building regulations to comply with will surround electrics only if you're using the existing soil pipe to connect to. The light switch will need moving and an extractor installing.

No need to waterproof or tile if you don't want to.

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

The building regulations to comply with will surround electrics only if you're using the existing soil pipe to connect to. The light switch will need moving and an extractor installing.

The WIRING Regulations will have lots to say about this, as a room containing a bath or a shower is a special location as defined in the IET Wiring Regulations. There are far more repercussions than what you have mentioned.

dggar

It might be of use to have a look at these videos (the 3rd one is more general)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYRJe-R9UZo





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNPnBEqbq7A





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odnUIWyC0oU

Doozergirl

Risteard wrote: »

The WIRING Regulations will have lots to say about this, as a room containing a bath or a shower is a special location as defined in the IET Wiring Regulations. There are far more repercussions than what you have mentioned.

Is it really necessary to be so consistently abrasive? Instead of continually SHOUTING about semantics, be helpful. Nobody cares what the proper regulation names are, the point is to get a message across. But as we're going there, the OP asked about Building Regulations as a whole - not just Part P. The electrical work in a dwelling does need to comply with BUILDING REGULATIONS. The safety standards are set by BS 7671 which is also known as 'wiring regulations'. A person can be compliant with safety standards but not able to sign off under Building Regulations. The homeowner needs a certificate to say that the work is compliant with Building Regulations. You're welcome.

What would be helpful is to add those 'repurcussions' in to help the OP, not make digs at people trying to help. In addition to what I've said, the existing sockets would need to be removed and the light fittings be compliant if they fall within the measurements of the bath zone. Anything else?

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

Is it really necessary to be so consistently abrasive? Instead of continually SHOUTING about semantics, be helpful. Nobody cares what the proper regulation names are, the point is to get a message across. But as we're going there, the OP asked about Building Regulations as a whole - not just Part P. The electrical work in a dwelling does need to comply with BUILDING REGULATIONS. The safety standards are set by BS 7671 which is also known as 'wiring regulations'. A person can be compliant with safety standards but not able to sign off under Building Regulations. The homeowner needs a certificate to say that the work is compliant with Building Regulations. You're welcome.

What would be helpful is to add those 'repurcussions' in to help the OP, not make digs at people trying to help. In addition to what I've said, the existing sockets would need to be removed and the light fittings be compliant if they fall within the measurements of the bath zone. Anything else?

I never mentioned Part P. That only applies in England and Wales anyway. The Wiring Regulations are the key requirement for electrical installations - of course Building Regulations must also be complied with, but wiring is carried out to the Wiring Regulations (hence the name).

It's not about being abrasive - it's about you giving advice without knowing what you are talking about. (A certain gas man also has a habit of doing that.)

The fact remains that an entire Section (701) of the IET Wiring Regulations is dedicated to "Rooms containing a bath or shower" as this is a special location within the IET Wiring Regulations which imposes additional requirements to the general requirements of the rest of BS7671:2008 (2015).

Doozergirl

You're right. I have no idea what I'm talking about. I told the OP that the only area that needed addressing under Building Regulations was the electrics. I am absolutely correct.

With all your superiority, you'd think you'd be able to answer an OP, but you're too busy with your head in your text book in a different country with about 15 people in it. The rest of us are on site (whether that's this website or a building site) using soft skills to give the benefit of what we know to people who often don't know where to even start. You don't seem to be able to manage that.

Please answer the OP and please add to my list or indeed, continue to rubbish it.

Relocation of light switches
New extractor fan (this is necessary under Building Regulations separate of any electrical certificate needed under BR as well)
Removal of existing sockets
IP rated light fittings, where appropriate.

daivid

Holly_Worton wrote: »

how important is it to tile/waterproof the floor and walls
At the very least it needs to be able to cope with condensation and wet footprints, carpet in a bathroom would be a no go for me!

and install an extractor
Definitely, my bathroom currently lacks one, it is next on the jobs list.

Can the plumbing have additional pipes added to it easily enough?
As mentioned by others bath wastes are much easier than toilets, however where is the water supply going to come from? Adding to/branching copper pipe is easy in theory. How close and accessible the nearest pipes are, and how you can feed them through to the new bath will determine the true difficulty.

My instinct is that there will be quite a lot of work to do a good job of this, so as long as the room is big enough and drainage reasonably close, I think creating a full bathroom (bath, basin & w.c.) is the way I would go.

My only other thought would be how long you intend to live in the house. If it's a forever/ 'until unforeseen circumstance' home then I'd go for it. If it is a finite time/ 'want to move in x years time' I'd be considering if dropping to 3 bed reduces marketability and/or value. It is of course possible that the house type and area would suit 3 bed 2 bathrooms and your improvement would be wholly beneficial.