Ensuite/walk in robe

[Roundhogg]

Hey Guys,

Been a bit a bit of a lurker on somersoft for a while and the info on here has helped me no end.

I posted this on another forum but it has been slow to receive responses. I was hoping the wise people on here would be able to help me out....

I'm currently in the process of renovating a circa 1930's Queenslander and I've become a bit stuck on the ensuite. The area I'm converting is the "sleepout" (enclosed verandah). The problem I'm having is that on my proposed plans, there's a window in the middle of the shower. So I've been trying to figure out how to get around this, but haven't come up with any brilliant ideas ideas.

The current layout of the "sleepout" (sorry about the scummy paint map - I'm trying to figure out sketch up atm)



My proposed plans



Veiw of the outside of the house where the shower will be


My plan was to remove the casement window and replace it with a small double hung window to match the rest of the house, which would only look good if it was centred in the middle of the gable, which lands it in the middle of the shower. Where else could I move the shower to in this area? I've thought of weatherboarding up the front with no window, but this would look too plain and weird to me.
I plan on moving the stairs to come straight down from the house and have a walkway up to the front door. I've made the walkway a bit wider to make it feel a bit spacier and to allow for shoes etc. I suppose I could always cut into this space a bit more to allow room elsewhere....

Is there a way I could better use the available space? Maybe a walk through robe?

Should I use yellow tounge or a scyon type product for the floor? Being an older house, where sub standard building practices seemed to be the norm, the joists are at 530 centres (100x50 hardwood). I was planning on adding extra joists in between, is this overkill or necessary?

Would wet area plasterboard be sufficient for the walls?

Thanks in advance

David

Ps, Vj walls are the worst invention ever!

 

[Roundhogg]

Proposed plans

 

[Roundhogg]

Veiw of the outside of the house where the shower will be


My phone would only allow one attachment per post......

 

[wylie]

Cannot scan the plan I just played around with, so here goes with me trying to talk you through it ...

In the bit where you have drawn a walk in wardrobe, I would slit that section down the middle, from the front of the house to the internal wall. Half could be full wall of storage opening onto the walkway and be a great place for shoes, coats, linen and general "stuff".

Backing onto this full length cupboard is a matching one (back to back) used for clothes, which opens from the ensuite side. This loses the wasted space in the way you've drawn the walk in wardrobe and gives more storage in the walkway.

Ditch the linen press, that can be incorporated in the wall of cupboards opening from the "walkway" inside the front door.

Shower goes in the corner where your pink door is drawn and the door moves to where the linen press is drawn (so where you've drawn linen press, vanity and toilet becomes a passage with a shower to the left and full bank of cupboards on the right. Vanity can go under the side window and toilet where you have drawn the shower. (in fact, if you place the toilet on the same side as the shower and vanity, you can install a half wall or screen so that someone on the toilet is not so exposed.)

Obviously, nobody wants to see people using the toilet, but a shutter on that front window would solve that problem.

This gives you everything you have drawn, but the "wasted" space in the "walk in wardrobe" gives you a huge wall of cupboards opening off the "walkway".

 

[Roundhogg]

Thanks Wylie, bit of thought put into that.

So you're saying to put the robe in the ensuite? Sounds interesting, never even thought of that.

In regards to the walkway cupboard, that will make them external to the front door ie outside. The "walkway" is essentially a small "verandah".....

 

[wylie]

Thanks Wylie, bit of thought put into that.

So you're saying to put the robe in the ensuite? Sounds interesting, never even thought of that.

In regards to the walkway cupboard, that will make them external to the front door ie outside. The "walkway" is essentially a small "verandah".....

Ahh!! Would you be putting lattice doors or something else at the top of the stairs? If there is a back deck, would you consider closing this front verandah in with doors to make it "internal" space? I cannot imagine anybody wanting to sit there, because of its size and the fact it is a front entry, so why not make it internal with a nice set of lattice or french doors?

And yes, the wardrobes would be in the ensuite. I don't have walk in robes OR an ensuite. I know some would say not to have wardrobes inside a "wet area" but we have a two door linen cupboard with a bank of eight drawers below it, in our bathroom. The top shelves hold towels, blankets and linen, the drawers hold brushes, spare toothpaste, socks, jocks, washcloths, bit of everything really.

The top panel has a type of lattice so air can circulate. We've never had an issue with any dampness in this cupboard, but our bathroom has a large window which is only shut for a few months through winter, so plenty of airflow through the bathroom probably helps.

 

[Roundhogg]

The "verandah" is mostly just me being lazy (cheap) and not wanting to build a landing at the top of the stairs. Plus I will be utilizing what used to be the front door before the area was enclosed. And also it will give us a covered area at the doorway for when its raining (which it always seems to be) while trying to find the right key.....
Yeah we were thinking of putting in some lattice like doors, you might have just sold me.....

 

[mrsdawnrazor]

We have a walk in robe off our ensuite - enclosed veranda like you. Always shut the door when showering but never had an issue with moisture. Having said that we always have a window partly open in the bathroom.