Bathroom Reno - Maximising Space in small bathroom

Hi Guys,

Trying to come up with layout for bathroom in IP to maximise the available space. It is currently a bit cramped, so was thinking of installing a shower / bath in one area. (i.e. have shower taps above bath taps and get a folding glass door).

What are the thoughts out there.....Is it better to have a seperate bath and shower (how it currently is), or put them together to maximise space in bathroom.

Do you come accross any major probs in extending the copper pipes to get shower taps above bath taps??

Refer to photo. (Shower on the right and bath on the left)

Thanks in advance if any responses.

Cheers,

F
 

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Do you come accross any major probs in extending the copper pipes to get shower taps above bath taps??

You would probably need to retile to connect new plumbing, unless it can be accessed externally.

The window may cause issues as well.
 
What sort of market is the place in? eg, young families will nearly always want a bath, but a couple may prefer just having a (large-ish) shower.

Tough call - I spend a lot of time in motels and HATE the shower over bath thing, so I'd lean away from that and go with just a shower, but that's a personal preference. As I said, if there's a chance a family goes into the place, you'd pretty much HAVE to have a bath.
 
Hi Fudge,

I usually recommend my clients spend 1-1.5% of the property value on renovating a bathroom in an investment property. If you can reconfigure the bathroom for this amount of money then I would do it.

I'm not a great fan of a shower over a bath but I don't have to live there and neither do you. If this is a rental property then remember that your tenants will probably have less expectation than you personally do (in terms of what sort of property they are happy to live in). Combining the shower and bath will provide a much more spacious appearance as you have suggested.

I've seen plenty of shower over bath scenarios that look fantastic - and these properties have been re-valued/sold/rented out just as effectively. Check out the before and after photos on my website http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/portfolio.html - particularly 27 warren Ave and 30 Sylvania Cres.

Is the property in a low, medium or high growth area? If in a low or medium growth area, I would tend to leave the bathroom as it is and 'trick it up' as best you can (paint walls, new bench-top etc...). If the property is in a better area, then spend the 1-1.5% on renovating it and reconfiguring to provide a separate shower and bath (you will need to be super careful with sticking to your budget!). If in a high growth area and you are renovating the rest of the property then spend a bit more on the bathroom.

Be sure not to over-capitalise on your bathroom reno - especially if the rest of the property has not been recently renovated too.

Hope this helps.
 
What sort of market is the place in? eg, young families will nearly always want a bath, but a couple may prefer just having a (large-ish) shower.

Tough call - I spend a lot of time in motels and HATE the shower over bath thing, so I'd lean away from that and go with just a shower, but that's a personal preference. As I said, if there's a chance a family goes into the place, you'd pretty much HAVE to have a bath.

Yeah, thanks Rob.

It is very much a family orientated location (Northern suburbs of Brisbane), so I want to keep the bath.

I am not too sure which way to go. Considering everything fits in the old one, I might keep layout but replace everything. I guess yo don't need to swing a cat in the bathroom, so may paossibly leave as is.

I personally agree with you.....I don't like baths that have a shower above them.

Have to have a bigger think about it.

Cheers

F
 
Other tricks

Couple of other tricks, regardless of bath shower layout...
- biiiig mirrors
- ceiling or wall-mounted toilet tank
- wall mounted cabinets with a tad of vacant floor beneath to visually extend floor space.
 
Couple of other tricks, regardless of bath shower layout...
- biiiig mirrors
- ceiling or wall-mounted toilet tank
- wall mounted cabinets with a tad of vacant floor beneath to visually extend floor space.

ITA. The mirror should fill in that space to the ceiling. Floating vanities also give you an instant feeling of space.
-New white tiles throughout
- That shower wall looks odd. i don't like that wall in there and it's closing off the shower & making it look more cramped. I would replace the shower with clear glass all around - semi frameless if you can afford it. Looking through a clear glass shower will add to the feeling of spaciousness too. of course, that old glass has more privacy but people obviously don't care about that these days. Everyone puts in clear glass showers.
 
My last bathroom reno was really working with a small space - 1.75m wide.

We did the following,
- we rehung the door to swing from the other side,
- used 200*600mm white tiles with the long tile length ways so as draw the eye to the back of the room and elongate it
- floor to ceiling tiles,
- floating vanity,
- the shortest length toilet possible,
- frameless shower,
- glass tile feature wall at the back to draw the eye down the room
- a skylight and downlights to make it larger and lighter looking.

All up about $8k with a whole new concrete slab and plumbing points etc etc added.

Hope this helps

Jane
 

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Here's a couple of space saving ideas:

  • If you can, rip some gyprock out, try recessing it to the Stud spacing to create some storage spaces for Shampoo/gels etc inside the shower. See this bathroom I recently did. When you tile over the recess it looks fantastic.
    http://www.somersoft.com/forums/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3836&ppuser=951
  • Multi bar towel rail above toilet, can simply be used as shelving
  • Avoid clutter. e.g. use mixers in the shower and basin instead of two taps, Semi-frameless means cleaner lines. All helps to create the illusion of space.
  • Agree with the MONSTER mirrors concept. See This shot: http://www.somersoft.com/forums/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3840 It runs the full length. Cost a paltry $95.
  • Sliding doors save a lot of space
The bathroom in the http://www.somersoft.com/forums/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3852 granny flat measures 1800x2100 and includes a Washing machine space. (couldn't have done it without the sliding door). My budget didn't extend to the hung vanity otherwise I would have installed one instead of the floor model.
 
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