Add toilet to first floor of a small cottage

dan_first_time_buyer

Hi.
Below you can see the floorplan of the first (and top) floor of a 2-bed cottage.
What would be the best way to add a toilet without making the bedrooms (especially the smaller one) ridiculously small?
Have anybody here done a similar project?
Thanks,
Dan


Going to add the ground floor floorplan to give an idea of where the plumbing is:

SameOldRoundabout

I don’t think it’s feasible. If the soil stack is on the back where the main toilet is you may not even be able to get there, and if you do chances are it’ll have to be in the already small second bedroom. I’d be surprised if you were able to have a “normal” toilet at all. Possibly a macerator, but quite possibly no toilet will be able to be installed. 

Personally I wouldn’t bother. You’d need to halve the size of the little room to get a usable space for wc and sink. 

princeofpounds

Depends on bunch of things, including where your drains run under the house.

The only place we can be sure you have a suitable drain is at the back of the house near the existing bathroom. It looks like that is stepped out further than the rear edge of the first floor, but even so it may be possible (if not that pretty) to run a soil pipe on the exterior from the rear of the first floor to a suitable access point for the drains on the ground floor. There is a good chance a suitable drain runs or could be build nearer the kitchen, which would solve the lateral flow issue, but we can't be sure. If it requires digging to make the connection, that would be more disruptive.

This doesn't leave you in an ideal position with regards to the positioning of the WC on the first floor. It would take space from the smaller bedroom and likely infringe or totally obscure the rear window.

More comprehensive solutions would be things like doing a two-storey extension, if possible, or moving the entire bathroom upstairs and putting in a new drain.

I wouldn't be surprised if local builders have encountered floor plans like these and are aware of the best solution.

2nd_time_buyer

What's the loft like? 

AdrianC

Where do the drains go externally? It might be possible to run a soil stack down the back wall, alongside the kitchen. I'm presuming it's mid-terrace, so either side is not an option.

Short of building a first-floor extension onto the top of the kitchen, your choices are extremely limited. And, yes, inevitably you're going to take space out of one bedroom or the other.

You're simply trying to turn this house into something it isn't...

moneysavinghero

You could always buy a bucket.

dan_first_time_buyer

2nd_time_buyer said:

What's the loft like? 

Unusable unfortunately - the pitch is too low

2nd_time_buyer

dan_first_time_buyer said:

2nd_time_buyer said:

What's the loft like? 

Unusable unfortunately - the pitch is too low

That's a shame. Nevertheless, even with limited room an esoteric solution might be to add a mezzanine sleeping area in the loft.
However, pretty much anything you do will cost a fair bit of money and may or may not add value. The best solution is probably as others say to add an extension over the exiting ground floor.  Ideally ending up with 3 bedroom (2 doubles and a single) and a bathroom upstairs. Perhaps then turning the downstairs bathroom into a utility/shower-room. Even so, unless you are in a very expensive area, you are unlikely to get your money back.

youth_leader

I saw a two bed cottage with the same layout as yours with a Saniflo toilet in the front bedroom, same area as the wardrobe.  I didn't like the thought of it and didn't offer.

pumas

Nothing is impossible, if you really want it. Speak to plumbers, bathroom shops. I had an upstairs bathroom installed, the waste pipe went under a bedroom, across the stairs and over the kitchen.

davidmcn

Assuming other houses in the area are similar, what have they done?