Hello everyone,
We have a bathroom on the upper floor that dates back to 1988, and what mainly bothers us is the current shower. It measures 80x80cm (31x31 inches) with a high step of nearly 40cm (16 inches). In addition, there is a 3-panel sliding door that makes the entrance very narrow. Overall, it is quite uncomfortable and not up to modern standards. On the ground floor, we already have a renovated shower bathroom, but it is not ideal as the main shower since all our bedrooms are upstairs, and you have to go through the open living area to get there to change.
Unfortunately, the builder deviated from the original plan and made the bathroom only 2.1m (6 ft 11 in) wide instead of 3m (9 ft 10 in). The room is 3.17m (10 ft 5 in) long and 2m (6 ft 7 in) wide, including the built-in wall installation for the sink and toilet. Accordingly, the layout is quite traditional for its time, with a bathtub and shower on one side and the toilet and washbasin opposite. Of course, we could roughly keep the layout and just extend the shower since there is still a shelf of about 50cm (20 inches) behind the bathtub. This would make a shower size of 80x130cm (31x51 inches). However, the entrance area in the bathroom is currently extremely narrow, so two people basically cannot use it at the same time. Also, we don’t like the rather dated layout at all. Unfortunately, there are not many options. Next to the bathroom, there is a relatively large room (4.5x4.2m (15x14 ft)) that is currently unused and will later be a guest room or office.
Our idea is to "borrow" a few square meters from the neighboring room and relocate the shower there. We thought of a shower tray of either 1x1.4m (3 ft 3 in x 4 ft 7 in) or 1x1.6m (3 ft 3 in x 5 ft 3 in), if shower trays are available in those sizes. The toilet would roughly stay in place, which shouldn’t be a problem since the drainage pipe runs along the left front corner of the room. We would move the washbasin to the opposite side where connections are basically already available due to the current bathtub and shower placement there. We would like to position the bathtub crosswise in front of the windows. I’m aware that this might complicate the window opening, but we can’t think of a better layout, and we like the bathtub arrangement. We are also considering installing a decentralized ventilation system in the bathroom so that airing out the room is not necessary as often. Supplying water there is no problem, but we still need to check if the drainage height will work. However, since the screed is likely to be renewed anyway for underfloor heating, this should be possible. The main challenge is probably the shower. A new lintel will need to be installed in the wall opening, and I have to see how shallow the drain can be made. A step into the shower would not be a deal-breaker for us. The entrance door would be reversed in its opening direction so that when open, it only blocks the shower entrance. Since people don’t usually shower with the bathroom door open, this should not be an issue.
My question: What do you think of this plan and layout?
Does anyone have a better idea on how to arrange it?
What else needs to be considered?
We have a bathroom on the upper floor that dates back to 1988, and what mainly bothers us is the current shower. It measures 80x80cm (31x31 inches) with a high step of nearly 40cm (16 inches). In addition, there is a 3-panel sliding door that makes the entrance very narrow. Overall, it is quite uncomfortable and not up to modern standards. On the ground floor, we already have a renovated shower bathroom, but it is not ideal as the main shower since all our bedrooms are upstairs, and you have to go through the open living area to get there to change.
Unfortunately, the builder deviated from the original plan and made the bathroom only 2.1m (6 ft 11 in) wide instead of 3m (9 ft 10 in). The room is 3.17m (10 ft 5 in) long and 2m (6 ft 7 in) wide, including the built-in wall installation for the sink and toilet. Accordingly, the layout is quite traditional for its time, with a bathtub and shower on one side and the toilet and washbasin opposite. Of course, we could roughly keep the layout and just extend the shower since there is still a shelf of about 50cm (20 inches) behind the bathtub. This would make a shower size of 80x130cm (31x51 inches). However, the entrance area in the bathroom is currently extremely narrow, so two people basically cannot use it at the same time. Also, we don’t like the rather dated layout at all. Unfortunately, there are not many options. Next to the bathroom, there is a relatively large room (4.5x4.2m (15x14 ft)) that is currently unused and will later be a guest room or office.
Our idea is to "borrow" a few square meters from the neighboring room and relocate the shower there. We thought of a shower tray of either 1x1.4m (3 ft 3 in x 4 ft 7 in) or 1x1.6m (3 ft 3 in x 5 ft 3 in), if shower trays are available in those sizes. The toilet would roughly stay in place, which shouldn’t be a problem since the drainage pipe runs along the left front corner of the room. We would move the washbasin to the opposite side where connections are basically already available due to the current bathtub and shower placement there. We would like to position the bathtub crosswise in front of the windows. I’m aware that this might complicate the window opening, but we can’t think of a better layout, and we like the bathtub arrangement. We are also considering installing a decentralized ventilation system in the bathroom so that airing out the room is not necessary as often. Supplying water there is no problem, but we still need to check if the drainage height will work. However, since the screed is likely to be renewed anyway for underfloor heating, this should be possible. The main challenge is probably the shower. A new lintel will need to be installed in the wall opening, and I have to see how shallow the drain can be made. A step into the shower would not be a deal-breaker for us. The entrance door would be reversed in its opening direction so that when open, it only blocks the shower entrance. Since people don’t usually shower with the bathroom door open, this should not be an issue.
My question: What do you think of this plan and layout?
Does anyone have a better idea on how to arrange it?
What else needs to be considered?
We had a similar bathroom in our older building: 1.90 meters wide and 2.8 meters long (6 ft 3 in by 9 ft 2 in), with the door and window in the same positions as yours, but without any extra space gained from adjacent rooms.
Attached is the result for inspiration, in case you don’t want to alter the neighboring room.
The shower tray measures 80 by 90 centimeters (31 by 35 inches). Since the bathroom is not finished yet, I can’t comment on the overall feeling of the space. However, the bathtub and shower tray are already installed, and the window can be opened easily even with the bathtub in place. A padded bathtub cover is planned. This allows for a comfortable seating option despite the limited space, as the bathtub is not used daily.
Attached is the result for inspiration, in case you don’t want to alter the neighboring room.
The shower tray measures 80 by 90 centimeters (31 by 35 inches). Since the bathroom is not finished yet, I can’t comment on the overall feeling of the space. However, the bathtub and shower tray are already installed, and the window can be opened easily even with the bathtub in place. A padded bathtub cover is planned. This allows for a comfortable seating option despite the limited space, as the bathtub is not used daily.
Is the wall where the lintel is supposed to be installed load-bearing in any way?
Wouldn’t it be better to completely move it, so that the adjacent room doesn’t end up with such a pointless corner?
Also, I would never place anything in front of the windows in the bathroom, such as bathtubs, if there are no other windows in the room that are easy and quick to access.
Wouldn’t it be better to completely move it, so that the adjacent room doesn’t end up with such a pointless corner?
Also, I would never place anything in front of the windows in the bathroom, such as bathtubs, if there are no other windows in the room that are easy and quick to access.
The wall is probably not load-bearing. It’s a 12.5cm (5 inches) wall on the upper floor, and the roof structure is unfinished (wooden ceiling). However, the bathroom is located in a dormer that ends right next to the window. In the neighboring room, the knee wall is at 1.1m (3 ft 7 in). This would create an awkward offset from the window front to the toilet, especially since the WC needs a pre-wall installation and the knee wall already extends about 25-30cm (10-12 inches) into the room. Of course, you couldn’t have known this because I forgot to mention it. The resulting corner in the adjacent room could be used as a closet or shelving, which isn’t bad for an office, although it is somewhat deep at about 1m (3 ft 3 in). Otherwise, I actually quite like the idea. Personally, I can live with having the bathtub in front of the window – my parents have had that for 25 years without complaints (though it’s more of a secondary bathroom). I would probably accept that rather than pushing the sink too far back.
PS: Which program did you use to draw the floor plan?
Since our renovation probably won’t take place until next winter, I would appreciate a picture of your finished bathroom. We were also considering this layout, which I like quite a bit and seems to me to be the ideal use of space. The only thing I find unusual is the outward-opening door, but we had accepted that. In our case, it would probably fail because of the position of the toilet, as the current connections are on the opposite side. You can’t really switch the toilet and the sink because the sink would then be squeezed between the shower and bathtub. Still, I would be happy to see pictures.
Thanks in any case for the suggestions.
PS: Which program did you use to draw the floor plan?
dertill schrieb:
We had a similar bathroom in our old building: 1.90m (6 ft 3 in) wide and 2.8m (9 ft 2 in) long with the door and window in the same position as yours, but no space to “borrow” from the adjacent rooms. Attached is the result as inspiration if you don’t want to cut into the neighboring room. The shower tray is 80/90cm (31/35 inches). Since the bathroom is not finished yet, I can’t say much about the feeling of space. But the bathtub and shower tray are already installed, and the window can be opened well even with the bathtub. A bathtub cover with padding is firmly planned. This allows for a comfortable “sitting area” despite the confined space, since the bathtub isn’t used daily.
Since our renovation probably won’t take place until next winter, I would appreciate a picture of your finished bathroom. We were also considering this layout, which I like quite a bit and seems to me to be the ideal use of space. The only thing I find unusual is the outward-opening door, but we had accepted that. In our case, it would probably fail because of the position of the toilet, as the current connections are on the opposite side. You can’t really switch the toilet and the sink because the sink would then be squeezed between the shower and bathtub. Still, I would be happy to see pictures.
Thanks in any case for the suggestions.
Can anyone recommend a bathroom planner (online, software, app, etc.) that allows 3D visualization, preferably with tiles and wall colors, etc.? We would like to do some planning to see how different color combinations would look. I don’t need a specific manufacturer’s range, as the bathtub, toilet, and shower will be fairly standard, and we can decide on washbasins later.
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