Changing a floor plan - is this realistic?

Hi everyone

We are in the process of purchasing a house and land package. Our current floor plan lacks any storage cupboards of any type (excluding the usual BIRs and WIR in the 4 bedrooms). Local PM's and REA's have said quite clearly that almost all our competition will have as a minimum a linen cupboard and broom cupboard and that we would not be doing ourselves any favours in the rental market (mainly families) or on future resale to have a total lack of storage in the IP.

There is really only one area of the house with the capacity to add this storage. The attached docs show part of the current (original) plan, plus the two options I have come up with to incorporate both a linen cupboard and a broom cupboard. Would anybody be able to comment on the attached options and the possible cost of the variation?

If Option 1 is best, should I just leave the Laundry space as shown on the current plan to save money? i.e. no Bench and the Tub/WM Space to return to their original positions.

This is our first ever H&L pkg, so any help at all would be HUGELY appreciated. Thanks.

Angela

I can't help with the costs, but I can tell you that I don't like the position of the toilet. I would put a sliding door from the bathroom to the toilet rather than going through the laundry.

storage is so essential, and so many of these new properties (even the expensive ones) just don't seem to have anywhere for the vacuum cleaner and brooms and nik naks like fans etc.

i like your alternative, but to get rid of some of the "doors" i'd put the "laundry" inside a cupboard with bi-fold doors, so you didn't need the door between the hall space and the laundry, and put in a 1/2 tub instead of a full one to give yourself more bench space.

just some thoughts.

An alternative to swing out doors for the linen press is the vinyl sliding doors. This will save on space for traffic flow.

You could remove the door completely to the laundry, this would make it easier if you change the location of the tiolet access.

The toilet entry from the laundry - not ideal however, it does provide you with the benefit that residents of that property can have two people doing business at the same time.

I would consider the broom cupboard be placed in the garage if space permits.

From your drawings, the addition of these two extra facilities in this space makes it very cramped.

lura said:

An alternative to swing out doors for the linen press is the vinyl sliding doors. This will save on space for traffic flow.

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Sounds like a good idea, thanks. Would this only work if Option 1 was best, as I don't think Option 2 has room for a slider.

lura said:

You could remove the door completely to the laundry, this would make it easier if you change the location of the tiolet access.

Click to expand...

Maybe Option 1 with the cavity slider to the laundry is the best compromise on this one? Tenants can just leave the slider open or close it if they want to conceal any mess?

lizzie said:

put in a 1/2 tub instead of a full one to give yourself more bench space.

Click to expand...

Great suggestion. I wasn't sure whether adding the bench space was a good idea or not, as I thought it may not be cost effective or add enough upside compared to just leaving the laundry as it is on the current plan? Same with changing the external sliding glass door to a door and window...this was mainly so I could push the WM space to that end of the laundry and not have it up against a glass door. Why has the builder put a glass slider in a laundry?

skater said:

...I don't like the position of the toilet. I would put a sliding door from the bathroom to the toilet rather than going through the laundry.

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I agree that a casualty of adding this storage is the direct access to the toilet. I did consider having access through the bathroom, but thought having a family might be a vote towards keeping the toilet separate, so as lura says two people can be doing their business at the same time? I'm unsure on this one.

lura said:

I would consider the broom cupboard be placed in the garage if space permits.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately the space doesn't permit.

Thanks for all the great replies thus far. Is either Option (1 or 2) looking like a better way to go? What are people's votes on whether to access the toilet via the laundry or bathroom? Any idea on likely costs to make these variations? I must admit I find it hard to visualise whether adding this storage will just make the whole area too cramped.

Angela

Swinging doors take up a lot of space, and having several in a small area can make it feel like a rabbit warren. I know designers refer to cavity sliding doors as the poor cousin of swinging doors but in limited space i think they are a miracle.

Personally i would put 2 cativty sliding doors in the toilet to allow access from both directions.
Move the bathroom door as you are doing.
Remove the wall between the laundry and the hall and get laundry in a cupboard with extra cupboards for broom and linen.
If you keep the extra cupboards ~500mm wide then the doors shouldn't open out to far as to cause an issue.

The advantage of this is it won't feel like a house of mirrors everytime you have to walk around 3 swinging doors from any given room in the house.

Be very careful as the builder will use any change to the design as a way to inflate their costs.

Many will charge for the redesign of the cad drawings as well as the material used.

A suggestion would be to combine the laundry, toilet and bathroom into one. You would close off the laundry wall section using series of sliding doors as they do in inner city apartments.

The cupboard space will then come from the wall where you no longer doors and access to toilet/laundry.

This way there are minimal changes and better room to move around.

Good luck.

The cheapest and simplest way would be to put a broom cupboard in the laundry instead of the bench, and put a linen cupboard on the right hand side of the kitchen door in the hallway where it says "Tiles" on the original plan.

chilliblue said:

A suggestion would be to combine the laundry, toilet and bathroom into one. You would close off the laundry wall section using series of sliding doors as they do in inner city apartments.

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actually - i like this suggestion best - combine it into one big room. that way you could have a big linen press/walk in cupboard where access to the toilet and laundry currently are.

don't worry about keep toilet separate as you have a 2nd toilet in the ensuite if "emergencies" require it whilst someone is brushing their teeth.

Plenty of great ideas being offered. Thanks guys! I can see how many suggestions would make the area more user friendly. I spoke to a couple of local PM's again and the concensus was that a laundry in a cupboard in a new 4x2x2 wouldn't be popular with (family) tenants in this regional area and separate access to the toilet would be preferable. The other concern was that too many changes (even if minor) could inflate our costs.

battler said:

The cheapest and simplest way would be to put a broom cupboard in the laundry instead of the bench, and put a linen cupboard on the right hand side of the kitchen door in the hallway where it says "Tiles" on the original plan.

Click to expand...

I have been taking on board everyone's comments and trying to balance that with our key aim of adding storage space using the most straightforward and cost effective solution, so battler's suggestion certainly appealed. I have done Option 3 (attached) which:

*would only require minor changes to the floor plan - mainly adding 2 storage cupboards and maybe a bench to the laundry. Still not sure if I need to change the laundry glass sliding door to a window and door though.
*In hindsight I'm not really sure if there is sufficient space in the laundry to put the broom cupboard in there, so I have included an alternative based on the original two options. I guess this might leave room for a dirty clothes hamper or trolley under the bench.
*leaves the toilet with it's own direct access
*reduces (a little) the cramped feeling and rabbit warren of doors. Entering from the Family room one shouldn't be hit with an onslaught of doors, as they are somewhat out of sight (i.e. bathroom & toilet doors).

Hopefully the builder would be kept onside with this variation and not feeling like we were trying to entirely re-draft that area of the plan...and then be more reasonable with the cost factor. Thoughts?

Thanks again
Angela

option 3 looks nice and simple, not getting max cupboard space but also not having to change the world.

The only thing I can see is that you don't leave much traffic space to access the bedroom, laundry and bathroom/toilet unless you get rid of that wall.

If you get rid of that wall - your toilet opens directly into view of family room...this may detract tenants...

Success!

Hi all. Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. I was able to take all your comments and suggestions onboard and then had a very fruitful discussion with the builder. Essentially we will most likely substitute the current plan with an alternative plan that already incorporates all the storage aspects we were after (plus some), and even better it will be at no extra charge!

Basically we will gain a double linen cupboard, a bench in the laundry with a full size tub cut in, maintain a separate toilet with direct access and no cramped rabbit warren hallways. We are also being given a few other extras as standard, so a great result. Thanks again for all the great feedback!

Angela