Smallest possible downstairs toilet

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glenfield2

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The biggest convenience our house lacks is a downstairs toilet. It’s very inconvenient having to go go upstairs to have a pee after gardening or dog walking.
Enough of the puns - it’s very hard to find the space to put one in a cost effective way (eg close to drains and water). One option is to fit it into a redundant doorway which holds a washing machine in a cupboard. The space available would be approx 1m x 700mm. There’s a gulley for sink drainage outside which is, er, convenient.
Has anyone fitted a WC and basin in such a small space?
 
Almost.
I built one in to an existing external doorway while building an extension. It's 900 wide by around 1000 long but had to have an outward opening door and I built in a small recess near the door to house a small rectangular handbasin. I can take a pic if interested. The room could have neen narrower if essential but clearly you need a handbasin however I believe there are options available that could be fitted over the cistern or even caravan type fold up handbasin, you might need to make allowance for plaster etc as well of course so you might need to think outside the box.

I'd add that this being next to my workshop was intended for that use but it's perfectly acceptable to anyone who isn't perhaps 25 stone.
 
How big is the loo on a yacht or aeroplane? Both of which build into small spaces…
 
You can get those toilets where the sink is on top of the toilet cistern which would save space. You can also get "pods" which are like a one piece bathroom with everything built in, like in caravans etc.
Our bathroom is tiny and we had to look for a while to find a toilet that fitted between the end of the bath and the wall I think the gap is 800mm or so, it can be done.

Ollie
 
Ideal Standard do a space range of sanitary ware designed for small spaces, with short projection pans they even have a toilet cistern that fits into a corner. The seat can fit in 3 positions so you can sit left or right of centre so you don’t necessarily have to have a lot of room directly in front of the toilet, scroll down in the link.

https://www.idealstandard.co.uk/products/catalog/toilets/assemblies/a1_e1205
 
I'm following this out of interest because I might need to do something similar in a couple of years. I have a vague memory of building regs about toilets off kitchens if that is your situation, I don't think it can be directly off without an intermediate door, but I might be a few decades out of date. Best check. Macerating toilets are game-changers, you don't need direct feed into a soil pipe - mash and pump and a smaller pipe rather than gravity - so you have a few more options for locations. They have shortcomings but if there is no other choice then worth looking into (metaphorically).
 
I think the requirement for an ante space has changed

Macerating toilets are fine …just need a big sign to stop people flushing feminine hygiene products int9 them ….it completely screws them up
 
my parents have a toilet room with a shower that is 700 wide. the door is in the centre/side and toilet to the left and shower to the right (behind the door once you've entered). It's obviously not super spacious but i don't have a problem with it. Maybe if you are 'big boned' shall we say it might be a bit of a squeeze.
Its off the utility room so the sink is outside next to it. Not sure what the rules are though. I think you just have to have a sink available, not sure it has to be in the same room. Again if you go through building regs I'm not sure if there is min width it would have to be. New houses seem to have to have very big downstairs loo's to accomodate wheelchair users for example. it might be different in an existing dwelling.

I did wonder about whether you could inset the sink slightly into a stud wall if you want to get a little more space. if its a 4inch stud wall you could inset it 3inches with an inch left for battens/board. Might not sound a lot but 3inch clearance would prob make quite a difference in a very small room. I don't like the cistern sinks, i get they are a good space saving idea but you have to lean over the loo which seems awkward.

something like this https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/rondo-wall-hung-small-cloakroom-basin-1th-365-x-180mm for example inset by 3inch (~7.5cm) would only leave about 10.5cm sticking into the room and might just fit between 400 joists.
 
glenfield2 said:
The space available would be approx 1m x 700mm.
Click to expand...
I did a WC about that size. Well, refurbished it rather than starting from scratch. The services were all present and the drain position was fixed. The door was on one narrow end. The WC was up against the wall opposite the door so you had to go in then turn through 180 degrees to sit down.

There have been some good ideas already mentioned. In my case the door was already outward-opening. I also set the basin into the wall but I don't remember exactly how I did that - we don't have stud walls. If you do that, be sure to leave enough space above the basin to wash your hands and see what you are doing.

A couple of other things. I put in electric under-floor heating so no space was needed for a radiator or anything. I also installed a movement sensor for the light because previously whenever I went in there I hit my shoulder on the light switch.
 
Spectric said:
Why not pee whilst gardening, urine is good for the garden so why waste it.

https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/pee-cycling-for-gardeners/

The other aspect is use it or lose it, that extra exercise up the stairs is good to keep you fit for gardening and I find always pushing things helps keep you mobile and mobility keeps you healthy.
Click to expand...
We live in a bungalow …during lockdowns I was assessing food factories ‘online’ ….when we were allowed back onsite in Aug 2020 I was noticing my breathing climbing staircases etc in factories- not having them at home for 3 months lost my ‘fitness’
 
If it is only for pee, and not for the garden, how about a urinal rather than proper toilet assembly? Especially useful for males with dodgy prostates - my uncle had one (the urinal, that is, not the dodgy prostate)
 
glenfield2 said:
There’s a gulley for sink drainage outside which is, er, convenient.
Click to expand...
That would be the main issue, making the connection to the sewer, you don't want the WC to discharge straight into a gully (non compliance with water regs etc..., and all that s""t)
 
glenfield2 said:
The biggest convenience our house lacks is a downstairs toilet. It’s very inconvenient having to go go upstairs to have a pee after gardening or dog walking.
Enough of the puns - it’s very hard to find the space to put one in a cost effective way (eg close to drains and water). One option is to fit it into a redundant doorway which holds a washing machine in a cupboard. The space available would be approx 1m x 700mm. There’s a gulley for sink drainage outside which is, er, convenient.
Has anyone fitted a WC and basin in such a small space?
Click to expand...
I have one of these:

https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/toilets-with-sinks-on-top-936-0000
 
Although slipping your shoes/boots off to use the upstairs loo is an inconvenience, it is a good way of helping your daily fitness, as MF1000 implied in his comment. The less you try, the quicker you lose it, and the more you lose, the less you want to try.

On the other hand a loo with a macerator could be a solution.
 
Spectric said:
Why not pee whilst gardening, urine is good for the garden so why waste it.

https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/pee-cycling-for-gardeners/

The other aspect is use it or lose it, that extra exercise up the stairs is good to keep you fit for gardening and I find always pushing things helps keep you mobile and mobility keeps you healthy.
Click to expand...
The main driver for the downstairs toilet is Mrs G2 who suffers with her knees (from gardening!) and has clearly a bit more issues peeing in my the garden. We don’t have stinging nettles but we do have neighbours.
 

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