Bigger bathroom vs. Airing Cupboard

EchoLocation

Having had a combi boiler fitted earlier in the year I now find myself with an empty (a few pipes aside) airing cupboard. This cupboard essentially takes up a corner of my bathroom meaning that it is an inverted L shape (think of a square with the bottom left quarter being the cupboard). So I have been considering taking out the two walls dividing it from the bathroom this creating a bigger squarer bathroom.

Now for me currently living on my own (2 bed house) I really don't need that cupboard, and a bigger bathroom just seems much more appealing. But I was wondering which option other people, in other positions, would see as having the biggest benefit? Say a small family, a bigger bathroom might be a plus for them too, but then the storage space of the cupboard might be more beneficial? etc. Any thoughts anyone?

Also, would anybody know roughly how easy/quick/expensive it would be to have someone take down the two walls (both non load bearing) and potentially also remove the cupboard door and put some plasterboard wall in it's place?

rach_k

We have a similar situation, with an airing cupboard between our tiny bathroom and the box room.  When we can be bothered, we will be taking out the airing cupboard and giving more space to both rooms.  I do use the airing cupboard for storing toiletries and towels now, plus random things like air beds and heaters, but I think we will get more use out of bigger rooms.  If you're worried about the loss of storage, could you design your bathroom with some extra or clever storage?  

Silvertabby

EchoLocation said:

Having had a combi boiler fitted earlier in the year I now find myself with an empty (a few pipes aside) airing cupboard. This cupboard essentially takes up a corner of my bathroom meaning that it is essentially an L shape (think of a square with the bottom left quarter being the cupboard). So I have been considering taking out the two walls divide it from the bathroom this creating a bigger squarer bathroom.

Now for me currently living on my own (2 bed house) I really don't need that cupboard, and a bigger bathroom just seems much more appealing. But I was wondering which option other people, in other positions, would see as having the biggest benefit? Say a small family, a bigger bathroom might be a plus for them too, but then the storage space of the cupboard might be more beneficial? etc. Any thoughts anyone?

Also, would anybody know roughly how easy/quick/expensive it would be to have someone take down the two walls (both non load bearing) and potentially also remove the cupboard door and put some plasterboard wall in it's place?

Plus the cost of decorating to match the rest of the bathroom and making good the flooring. 

EchoLocation

rach_k said:

If you're worried about the loss of storage, could you design your bathroom with some extra or clever storage?  

Yeah I think I'd probably stick some stacked boxes in that corner for various toiletries and towels etc.

Silvertabby said:

Plus the cost of decorating to match the rest of the bathroom and making good the flooring. 

Yeah I think if I were to remove the cupboard it would have to coincide with a new bathroom/decoration. Not least because of managing costs depending on how much the mentioned work might cost.

ic

+1 for bigger bathroom.  Ikea do good storage that you can plan in to the bathroom if you need it.  Don't plan your bathroom around the storage you have, which is what the airing cupboard is forcing you to do.  The boiler was in the corner of our bathroom - I had it moved up to the loft, and then completely rejigged the layout of the room in a later remodel.  No regrets.

Working_Mum

I have recently moved from a house with an airing cupboard to one with a combi boiler and no airing cupboard.
I am such a saddie to admit that I MISS MY AIRING CUPBOARD!!!! I used to hang shirts etc in there and dry them overnight without the need for a tumble dryer etc.
I suppose the question is what other storage you have at your disposal? I am knocking my house about a bit and will be stealing a bit of my bathroom to pop a nice easy access cupboard into so that I can store bulky items and dry clothes easily.

Soot2006

When we had the combi installed, we added a towel rail to the old airing cupboard and have repurposed it as a heated garderobe. Our house is fairly big but coat hanging space seems to be missing, so this fit the bill.  If your bathroom is really small, then it's a no-brainer to extend it really.

sgun

Soot2006 said:

When we had the combi installed, we added a towel rail to the old airing cupboard and have repurposed it as a heated garderobe. Our house is fairly big but coat hanging space seems to be missing, so this fit the bill.  If your bathroom is really small, then it's a no-brainer to extend it really.

A heated garderobe - like one of those holes off the side of a castle that people used to poo out of, but heated? 

kdotdotdotdot

I guess it depends on what sort of storage you have in the rest of your house.  I personally love a cupboard, but as long as each of the rooms has decent storage, then a larger bathroom would be good.  

Homer_home

Its no longer an airing cupboard it's just a cupboard

Get rid , the making good costs are not that expensive if you do it yourself and you can put high level cupboard(s) in to store any toiletries or loo rolls 

Soot2006

sgun said:

Soot2006 said:

When we had the combi installed, we added a towel rail to the old airing cupboard and have repurposed it as a heated garderobe. Our house is fairly big but coat hanging space seems to be missing, so this fit the bill.  If your bathroom is really small, then it's a no-brainer to extend it really.

A heated garderobe - like one of those holes off the side of a castle that people used to poo out of, but heated? 

Thankfully we have modern facilities now