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Moving toilet in bathroom

We've got our bathroom and ensuite booked in for November, although I suspect it will be about feb before the builder gets round to us based on noises he has made to some friends who are having an extension done by him.

The issue we have with our bathroom is it was cheaply refurbed by the guy we bought it from, so are looking to move things around a bit if possible. What looks like nice slate tiles is actually PVC panelling, the taps are cheap waterfall that spray everywhere, the flooring is thin LVT with no ply underlay so cracked everywhere, the shower is like something out of 2001 space odyssey and there is no extractor. As a bloke, its a nightmare to have a shave in the bathroom because there is a window directly above the sink, so have to use a window ledge stand mounted mirror, which does my neck/back in every time.

Ideally we are wanting to swap around the location of the toilet and the sink, so that we can have a wall mounter mirror, but am wondering if the location of the soil stack is going to cause problems with that. The ensuite is in the room to the left based on the PoV in the below photo, and I've traced over it in black where the soil stack is which goes straight down, and then out to the side in each direction for the bathroom and ensuite toilets. I've looked at two other houses in our town which appear to be the same footprint and floorplan as our house and one seems to have a modern bathroom with the same problem ours has around layout, and the other puts the toilet on the wall on the left but that puts the loo right in front of the door which seems a bit of an odd layout to me, and the sink is STILL under the window so doesn't get around that problem haha...

Unfortunately the bathroom is at the front of the house and the soil stack is internally routed, so limited in options of moving it to the outside of the house as it would look awful. 

Are we basically s**t out of luck and need to deal with this arrangement, or is there anything that can be done? The builder did take a look at it and say he would be able to move it, but I don't want to get to the day of the job and for him to umm and ahh and change his mind about it - his work is good standard, but we had some similar design issues with the ensuite downstairs where we had an exposed pipe and he said he could put it in the wall, then decided he couldn't and we had to scramble around to get some chrome pipework so that it didn't look awful. He does installation only, so we need to get the appropriate gear in advance and pointless buying mirrored wall cabinets if they're going to sit above the loo. 

Another option could be to have the sink on the wall to the left, and move the toilet along to the right to create space for the sink, and have the soil stack in some boxing and waste pipes etc at a lower level?



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  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,082 Forumite
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    edited 29 August 2021 at 4:43PM
    Do you have a floorplan, please? Perhaps from when you purchased it?   It's much easier than reading anything!  

    Does the bath have to stay where it is? I'm guessing there's a bit of pipework exposed or boxed in between the sink unit and the bath?  

    Anyway, floorplan needed for any sensible design input from others! 
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
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    Does the bath have to stay where it is? I'm guessing there's a bit of pipework exposed or boxed in between the sink unit and the bath? 
    It can be under the floor, can't it?

  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,082 Forumite
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    edited 29 August 2021 at 4:56PM
    grumbler said:

    Does the bath have to stay where it is? I'm guessing there's a bit of pipework exposed or boxed in between the sink unit and the bath? 
    It can be under the floor, can't it?

    It can.  It doesn't have that kind of sound of attention to detail about it, but one can hope. 😬
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 18,306 Forumite
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    grumbler said:

    Does the bath have to stay where it is? I'm guessing there's a bit of pipework exposed or boxed in between the sink unit and the bath? 
    It can be under the floor, can't it?

    Depends on the floor - Solid concrete will be a pig, and if timber, you don't want to be putting big notches in the joists. It is easier to arrange access panels for boxed in pipework should there ever be a leak.
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  • NSG666
    NSG666 Posts: 981 Forumite
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     As above, floor plans please for both the bathroom and en-suite. And, if it's a timber floor, do you happen to know which way the joists run?
    Sorry I can't think of anything profound, clever or witty to write here.
  • ashe
    ashe Posts: 1,574 Forumite
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    edited 30 August 2021 at 3:26AM
    Thanks guys

    Bathroom is upstairs, so timber floor, but not sure which way the joists go. As mentioned above too if access is ever needed I'd rather not have to take all the flooring up etc but open to  ideas if that helps it along

    Slinky said:
    Cant stand those to be honest, don't like the design and they're still really small mirrors. Ideally we want a wall mounted anti fog mirror

    Bathroom is 2.44m (window wall) x 2.14m (along wall with cupboard)

    Do you have a floorplan, please? Perhaps from when you purchased it?   It's much easier than reading anything!  

    Does the bath have to stay where it is? I'm guessing there's a bit of pipework exposed or boxed in between the sink unit and the bath?  

    Anyway, floorplan needed for any sensible design input from others! 
    Yes, it doesn't show in hat image but there's a tiny bit of boxing in between the bath and the sink unit. girlfriend wants a freestanding bath rather than one like is in there now, doesnt HAVE to stay where it is so open to suggestions around layouts. The bath she has seen is 1780x800 which is the width of the widest part of the bath currently

    There's only us two that live here so we would happily take out the ensuite and make a larger bathroom, but then if we ever have guests stay over or when we come to sell it becomes more problematic. 

    Floorplan; the thing that says wardrobe is the old airing cupboard so currently just used for tile storage. It couldn't be used for space in the room though due to the stairs being behind the bathroom


  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,082 Forumite
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    "Wardrobe" in the bathroom, what is that? 
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • What is the blacked out area?
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  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,082 Forumite
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    edited 29 August 2021 at 8:37PM
    The very simplest way would be to move the toilet to under the window and use the wall to the left for your sink and mirror.  

    I would have ideas for utilising the 'wardrobe' space but if it's got the tank in it, for example, it's a no-go.  

    But knowing the direction of the joists is essential to establish how you would get a freestanding bath in with the waste.  

    You can't do this once you've got people on site.  It needs to be properly planned.  
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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