# Remodelling a tiny bathroom



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Hi all
We have just bought a house that we will move into when we retire. At the moment the very small bathroom has the shower over the bath. This has got to go! My idea is to rip the bath out and replace it with a walk in shower. No door as such, just a partial wall. The bath goes the full depth of the room - about 1700cm's. We can knock out the wall on the right of the bath into the foyer by about 30cm's which will then make the room roughly 1700 x 2550.










The toilet I thought could be moved to behind the door and then put a corner vanity where the toilet now is.










What do you think? Any other ideas?


----------



## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

Why rearrange? That's gonna cost big money to move fixtures. Also, if you replace the tub/shower with just a shower, technically you lose having a "full bath", which might not be great for resale purposes. 

Sometimes new tile, paint and a vanity is all that is really needed. Just depends on your budget.


----------



## TarheelTerp (Jan 6, 2009)

Wandererone said:


> At the moment the very small bathroom has the shower over the bath.
> This has got to go!


No, it doesn't actually.



> My idea... rip the bath out... knock out the wall... The toilet I thought could be moved...
> Any other ideas?


Sure; lots of them. 
Start with finding something else to do with your time and money.

As to THIS home in particular...
keep it as is and as a rental...
then find something else already done that suits your taste/need...
or build that from scratch.


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

TarheelTerp said:


> No, it doesn't actually.
> 
> *Yes it does. Actually. As retirees in our 60's we don't want to be clambering into and out of a bathtub for a shower
> *
> ...


*THIS home in particular is the one we want to live in when we retire. If we wanted a run of the mill, ordinary house on an ordinary block in an ordinary street with, most likely, ordinary neighbours, then that is what we would have bought.

I did not ask for opinions on what we should spend our time and money on.* *
I asked for any better ideas on how to remodel a small bathroom.

Personally TarheelTwerp I found your post a little insulting and not at all constructive.*


----------



## TarheelTerp (Jan 6, 2009)

Wandererone said:


> *...I found your post a little insulting and not at all constructive.*


Happy to help.
Very often the best course of action for the DIYer is to do nothing at all.
You know the axiom: "If it ain't broke... don't fix it" ?
This is especially true when what exists is in good shape.

I'll stand by the constructive advice I offered.


----------



## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

Is the floor concrete? Just wondering because of the floor drain. Putting a shower in will make the space feel much more open. Unless you have an adjacent closet or space to knock out a wall, the floor space is what it is.


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Okay. So I will explain the reasons for wanting to renovate this small bathroom. Again. For those, especially Tarheel Terp, who doesn't seem to get the purpose behind this :wallbash:
In 4-5 years when we move into this house my husband will be 65. I will be a few years younger. 
What we don't want to be doing is climbing in and out of a bathtub when we are in our 70's and 80's. Bleeding obvious I would have thought. 
Nor do we want to have to renovate a bathroom when we are living there as it is the only bathroom in the house.

So. Quite simple really. As it's such a small bathroom we want to remove the bathtub and replace with a decent size shower. One that will take a chair if necessary. 
As I said in my initial post we can bump that wall back about a foot.

Any 'helpful suggestions' on the layout would be greatly appreciated 

And cibula11 the floor is wood. We should be able to use the same drain hole as the tub has now.


----------



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Is the house on a concrete slab or is it a wood frame floor?

A sketch of the current layout would help---also include any additional space that you might want to include into the new bathroom.

A shower would be a good addition--someone here will help--Mike--


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Wandererone said:


> And cibula11 the floor is wood. We should be able to use the same drain hole as the tub has now.


Same with the toilet and vanity.

We are not concerned with the 'resale value' of the house without a bathtub. I don't intend to leave here until I'm in a box and by then I won't give a damn :laughing:

Rough sketches (and not to scale) of current and proposed layouts.

Forgot to add bottom right corner of 'proposed layout' will be a cupboard


----------



## Dierte (Jan 23, 2011)

Whats below the bath? Basement or crawl or the first floor? This will play a factor in the cost of moving fixtires. They do make shower pans the same size as a tub for added space


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Crawl space


----------



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

A shower with a seat would be great----I wouldn't worry about loosing the tub--
A handsomely tiled shower is a feature that is preferred by most adults without children.

Do think about widening the door while you have the place ripped up--That will add value to a future owner(or your selves) if anyone gets stuck in a wheel chair---


----------



## ellechan (Jun 17, 2012)

Wandererone said:


> We have just bought a house that we will move into when we retire.


I suggest you make a careful planning here. As you age, you need to focus more on having a shower area that is as much as possible free from safety concerns. I don't mean to forget the aesthetics, but make sure the things you put in there (vanities etc) will not get in the way and cause any injury.



oh'mike said:


> A shower with a seat would be great----I wouldn't worry about loosing the tub--
> A handsomely tiled shower is a feature that is preferred by most adults without children.
> 
> Do think about widening the door while you have the place ripped up--That will add value to a future owner(or your selves) if anyone gets stuck in a wheel chair---


Absolutely. Widening the whole shower area is safer as well.


----------



## OurHouse (Jun 21, 2011)

I have two ideas...

#1 leave the toilet where it is, and move the door over to the left edge of the room, then place the vanity were the door was. (This saves the cost of moving the toilet)

#2 If I were heading to that phase of life, I'd want something like the bathing system in this video http://www.deltafaucet.com/tools-resources/research/video-gallery/video.html?v=TouTDNOtRT8&cat=
(If my grandparents weren't in a rental, I'd be trying to get them one)


----------



## dpach (May 12, 2009)

Don't know if this would be in your budget, but if you want to keep the "soaking" idea of a tub but don't want to be climbing into one, there are walk in tubs for people with mobility problems. They are more money but allow for both a tub for soaking and shower.


----------



## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

I like the shower idea. We did that in our master bath and it works extremely well.

I think our shower ended up being 36 inches wide by the length of the standard tub. It is more than sufficient size so I wouldn't worry too much about adding the extra space unless you want room for two AND a chair.

And the extra wide door is an excellent idea.


----------



## mae-ling (Dec 9, 2011)

dpach said:


> Don't know if this would be in your budget, but if you want to keep the "soaking" idea of a tub but don't want to be climbing into one, there are walk in tubs for people with mobility problems. They are more money but allow for both a tub for soaking and shower.


A friend is a Home Care worker with the elderly, she says although they seem like a good idea, they suck.
Have to sit and wait while water fills, then sit and wait while it drains.


----------



## drtbk4ever (Dec 29, 2008)

mae-ling said:


> A friend is a Home Care worker with the elderly, she says although they seem like a good idea, they suck.
> Have to sit and wait while water fills, then sit and wait while it drains.


Hmm, never thought of that. Very good point.


----------



## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

Why not just make it a big shower - the same size as the tub? Every home in Florida I have ever been to has this and it's quite easy in-n-out.

By the way, how old is the picture of that soaking tub? I thought gold fixtures went out of style in 1990 LOL.


----------



## OurHouse (Jun 21, 2011)

Maybe they are banking on older folks hanging on to the older style?


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Looks great dpach!
But probably costs as much as the whole house renovation will! :laughing:
(And can't say I've ever seen one of those in Australia)


----------



## Wandererone (Mar 23, 2012)

Something like this is what I'm thinking of......


----------

