The bathroom is one of the busiest rooms in the house, especially when it comes to the early morning rush to get ready for school or work. Having one bathroom for the whole family means dealing with mess, fights and chaos on a daily basis, so it’s no surprise that adding on a second bathroom is one of the most desirable additions in the country! It’s a great way to add some peace and quiet to your essential daily routine, and it’s also going to add value to your property, so it’s a win-win situation. Here’s some advice on how to make the best of this project.
Pick the Location Carefully
There’s no easy right spot in a home for a new bathroom – it’s all about your home’s layout. If you are doing an extensive remodel then you have a lot more flexibility, as you can knock out walls and move whole rooms, but otherwise you are going to have to work with what you’ve got. Here are some things to consider when choosing your bathroom location.
- Water and waste lines: Installing new lines is often a massive and costly job, so it’s best to situate your new bathroom as close as possible to existing water and waste lines. If your home is single story, new lines can be run fairly easily through the crawlspace below, so it’s not too much of a problem. This means that you can put your bathroom almost anywhere. For double-story homes, your best chance is to put the new bathroom above the one on the ground floor.
- Exhaust fan: You’ll need to be able to accommodate an exhaust fan that vents to the outside of your home.
- Tub: Even if everyone in your home loves to shower, a tub is a must-have for resale purposes. This is because a tub is so sought-after by buyers, as it’s essential for families with younger children. This may mean extending the space allocation for the bathroom you are building, or modifying your existing bathroom in addition to building on a new space.
Popular Locations for a Bathroom Addition
- Hallways: The unused end of a hallway is often the perfect spot for a small bathroom, and is ideal if you want a compact guest washroom.
- Back to back closets: This is a great space for a compact shower room or wet room.
- Walk-in closets: With a few structural changes, a walk-in closet can become a luxurious en-suite bathroom.
- Existing bathrooms: Older bathrooms can be quite large but the bulky fixtures make it feel cramped. A toilet, sink and tub require just 5×6 feet, so you can often split your existing bathroom into two spaces.
- Under the stairs: Depending on the headroom, you can put a small washroom (toilet and sink) in this space which is great for guests.
Even if it’s Little, Make it Luxurious
Bathrooms are often fairly small spaces, but they should be a joy to use! And because they’re fairly small, you can splash out a little more to get some truly luxurious fixtures and fittings. If you love to shower, buy the best showerhead so you have a fantastic start to every day. Paint your walls in something bold or bright – or get that lovely wallpaper you’ve been looking at – it won’t cost much to add style in a smaller space. Buy or upcycle a characterful, high-quality vanity or light fitting for your guest washroom to add a real wow-factor without overspending. Invest in high-quality towels too – it makes all the difference to your daily bathroom routine!
Follow Your City and State Building Codes
City and state codes differ from place to place and set out basic regulations that ensure your bathroom addition is safe and usable. This means getting a permit for the work, which your contractor or architect can handle. It takes a little more time, but it’s absolutely worth it because you’ll get lasting quality and satisfaction from your new space. When it comes to choosing a contractor, always hire someone who’s work you’ve seen in person and who is licensed and bonded in your state. This will protect you in the event of anything going wrong during your project.
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