ᐅ Bathroom renovation of 8 sqm in a timber-frame house built in 1986
Created on: 23 Jul 2024 13:42
S
Sandra&Thilo
Hello Forum,
My family and I fulfilled our dream last year by buying a (used) house and have already taken care of the most important things. Now we are slowly focusing on the interior, especially the master bathroom.
The bathroom is currently just adequate, with about 8 sqm (86 sq ft) it is rather small and in an outdated condition, so it definitely needs to be replaced. For completeness, I’m attaching a floor plan here since I have already looked through many bathroom threads, but I’m hoping for some collective wisdom and maybe a few more ideas before we get more specific with the planning.
Here are also some current pictures of the bathroom:
The essential fixture in this bathroom is a double vanity from Geberit that we would like to keep if possible.
Here are the key considerations:
- As a family of seven, we haven’t used the bathtub even once in the past year, so we would not plan to include one. This probably benefits the floor plan. What are the pros and cons here? There is no other bathtub in the house.
- I would like to place the shower as a walk-in style at the back right to give the room more depth. The drain would be a tiled channel at the floor level directly on the wall. This should work since the bathtub currently has its drain there as well. The entrance to the shower would be from the left, with a towel rack on the left wall just outside the shower entrance.
- Since we plan to replace the windows sooner or later anyway, I’m considering moving the window to the left wall right in the corner and making it floor-to-ceiling, with the lower part fixed glazing and the upper part opening for ventilation. Possibly an additional transom window could run across the full width on top. However, I could also imagine having ventilation equipment in the room plus fixed glass, if there is no objection. I suspect the current wooden window cannot remain as is due to moisture issues in the shower’s sloped ceiling area, right?
- For the surfaces, I would prefer large light-colored tiles but only in the splash zone, with the rest covered by water-repellent clay plaster, which also helps regulate moisture well.
- I would place the toilet where the shower currently is and possibly keep the existing partition wall, although it currently makes the space feel very narrow and corridor-like. Therefore, I’ve thought about removing this wall and instead hinging the door on the other side so that a person using the toilet is not immediately in full view.
- An outward-opening door could also be an option.
- The bathroom tends to be on the darker side in terms of natural light since our large walnut tree stands in front of the window, so I would like to maximize the existing window area if possible.
- The left wall is a so-called “installation wall” made of lightweight concrete. All the plumbing connections date back to the original build year. I assume it should be fully replaced as part of the renovation if the wall is to be worked on anyway. The water, waste, and heating pipes are all known in location because we have photos from before the screed was poured. Above this bathroom are the pipes from the upstairs bathroom directly above, which pass through this wall.
Since we will be working on the structural elements anyway, I considered two possibilities to enlarge the bathroom area:
- Remove the left boundary wall of the shower and install a new door at a 45° angle --> less narrow corridor feeling, plus 0.5 sqm (5 sq ft)
- Give up about 50 to maximum 70 cm (20 to 28 inches) of the living room space by moving the wall. This wouldn’t bother the living room. This would create a new room width of about 2.5 m (8 ft) and a new floor area of 10 sqm (108 sq ft). The only downside in the living room is that the ceiling height rises up to 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) (open space). From my point of view, this area could not be used sensibly and would need to be closed off with a drywall partition.
Regarding usage: We currently have two bathrooms with showers plus a guest toilet, which serve us well during busy times. However, our children are now aged 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11, so I expect shower times to increase significantly soon, and the morning demand on the bathrooms to last longer. Perhaps a future-oriented layout allowing simultaneous use of the shower and toilet while maintaining some privacy could be considered.
I hope all relevant information is included yet the text is not too long. I look forward to your feedback.
Best regards,
Thilo
My family and I fulfilled our dream last year by buying a (used) house and have already taken care of the most important things. Now we are slowly focusing on the interior, especially the master bathroom.
The bathroom is currently just adequate, with about 8 sqm (86 sq ft) it is rather small and in an outdated condition, so it definitely needs to be replaced. For completeness, I’m attaching a floor plan here since I have already looked through many bathroom threads, but I’m hoping for some collective wisdom and maybe a few more ideas before we get more specific with the planning.
Here are also some current pictures of the bathroom:
The essential fixture in this bathroom is a double vanity from Geberit that we would like to keep if possible.
Here are the key considerations:
- As a family of seven, we haven’t used the bathtub even once in the past year, so we would not plan to include one. This probably benefits the floor plan. What are the pros and cons here? There is no other bathtub in the house.
- I would like to place the shower as a walk-in style at the back right to give the room more depth. The drain would be a tiled channel at the floor level directly on the wall. This should work since the bathtub currently has its drain there as well. The entrance to the shower would be from the left, with a towel rack on the left wall just outside the shower entrance.
- Since we plan to replace the windows sooner or later anyway, I’m considering moving the window to the left wall right in the corner and making it floor-to-ceiling, with the lower part fixed glazing and the upper part opening for ventilation. Possibly an additional transom window could run across the full width on top. However, I could also imagine having ventilation equipment in the room plus fixed glass, if there is no objection. I suspect the current wooden window cannot remain as is due to moisture issues in the shower’s sloped ceiling area, right?
- For the surfaces, I would prefer large light-colored tiles but only in the splash zone, with the rest covered by water-repellent clay plaster, which also helps regulate moisture well.
- I would place the toilet where the shower currently is and possibly keep the existing partition wall, although it currently makes the space feel very narrow and corridor-like. Therefore, I’ve thought about removing this wall and instead hinging the door on the other side so that a person using the toilet is not immediately in full view.
- An outward-opening door could also be an option.
- The bathroom tends to be on the darker side in terms of natural light since our large walnut tree stands in front of the window, so I would like to maximize the existing window area if possible.
- The left wall is a so-called “installation wall” made of lightweight concrete. All the plumbing connections date back to the original build year. I assume it should be fully replaced as part of the renovation if the wall is to be worked on anyway. The water, waste, and heating pipes are all known in location because we have photos from before the screed was poured. Above this bathroom are the pipes from the upstairs bathroom directly above, which pass through this wall.
Since we will be working on the structural elements anyway, I considered two possibilities to enlarge the bathroom area:
- Remove the left boundary wall of the shower and install a new door at a 45° angle --> less narrow corridor feeling, plus 0.5 sqm (5 sq ft)
- Give up about 50 to maximum 70 cm (20 to 28 inches) of the living room space by moving the wall. This wouldn’t bother the living room. This would create a new room width of about 2.5 m (8 ft) and a new floor area of 10 sqm (108 sq ft). The only downside in the living room is that the ceiling height rises up to 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) (open space). From my point of view, this area could not be used sensibly and would need to be closed off with a drywall partition.
Regarding usage: We currently have two bathrooms with showers plus a guest toilet, which serve us well during busy times. However, our children are now aged 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11, so I expect shower times to increase significantly soon, and the morning demand on the bathrooms to last longer. Perhaps a future-oriented layout allowing simultaneous use of the shower and toilet while maintaining some privacy could be considered.
I hope all relevant information is included yet the text is not too long. I look forward to your feedback.
Best regards,
Thilo
M
motorradsilke24 Jul 2024 20:15It’s all just too tight. Nobody can get to the toilet if someone is standing at the sink.
And sitting on the toilet with your back to the door isn’t something everyone is comfortable with.
And sitting on the toilet with your back to the door isn’t something everyone is comfortable with.
Sandra&Thilo schrieb:
Is it worth moving the wall towards the living room by up to 50cm (20 inches)? In terms of work, it would be a huge mess but I think it's doable. Is that a solid wall? You have wooden support beams inside for the structural stability, so it seems possible, especially if you’re planning to renew the plumbing anyway.
However, I wouldn’t just consider the 50cm (20 inches). For what you want, 8 sqm (86 sq ft) is enough. The real issue is the dimensions. Fully tiled and all new: simply retiling will reduce the room by another 3-4 cm (1-1.5 inches). You would need to replaster or install new plasterboard and then extend by about 15 cm (6 inches) at the same time. As far as I know, nowadays you need to double-layer the plasterboard on walls with tiles.
Sandra&Thilo schrieb:
T-wall T-walls work well in square rooms but are not suitable for narrow spaces. In this case, they would create narrow pinch points.
S
Sandra&Thilo26 Jul 2024 11:20ypg schrieb:
[ATTACH alt="badsanierung-8qm-in-holzstaender-haus-bj-86-666899-1.jpeg"]86924[/ATTACH]
Could you please explain the pipe situation? What can be seen in this picture?This is a service wall that contains the drain pipe from the bathroom located directly above.S
Sandra&Thilo26 Jul 2024 11:24Another idea: place the shower in the left rear corner and the window on the right. This way, the walkway past the washbasin makes sense, and there is space on the left side of the room for a shelf and a laundry basket. Possibly add a small bench that can be folded up or out for sorting laundry.
H
hanghaus202326 Jul 2024 13:12Here is my suggestion. Maybe this is also what @ypg meant.
I copied the design into the building plan and marked in red where there are deviations. These are about 50cm (20 inches). Blue indicates the shower curtain option.
I copied the design into the building plan and marked in red where there are deviations. These are about 50cm (20 inches). Blue indicates the shower curtain option.
Similar topics