Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

12 years ago

I am soon to be an empty nester. It will be just me and my 80 lb labrador in the house most of the time. I already have a main floor bath with a shower/tub combination, and another bath in the basement with a shower. There are 2 good size bedrooms near the main floor bath. I'm thinking about converting the 2 rooms upstairs into a master suite. Rooms are 12' X 12' and 12' X 11' currently with a hallway off of the smaller room near the stairs that leads out to a deck. Currently you have to walk through the slightly smaller room to get to the bigger room. I would like to expand the size of the bedroom to maybe 12 X 14 or 12 X 15, and include a master bath and walk-in closet. I'm torn about how big to go with the bathroom as it's just me. 2 sinks, a tub and seperate shower seem like overkill for 1 person. I plan to stay in the house for as long as possible. Any advice or experience welcome.

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Comments (5)

suero
12 years ago
I don't see how you can get a tub, two sinks, a separate shower and a toilet, have a walk-in closet, and still have room left over for the bedroom. What does the current layout look like, and can you change the location of any windows and doors?
User
12 years ago
Being an empty nester, I would think you would want a master downstairs. That is what the future will hold if you want to stay in this home and age in place.
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I think your plan has potential, depending on your priorities and the conventions in your neighbourhood (how quickly is resale an issue, what are the local expectations of a MBr, closet, MBa, etc). It looks like it's time to do a little research/thinking. Your current 5th bedroom looks like it's 10 ft deep? Do you want a 10ft deep full laundry ROOM? Or would a closet with a stacking unit be enough? Do you need a walk-in closet? If so, what kind of dimensions are you imagining? In our current reno, we've decided to forgo a walk-in for a wall of deeper-than-standard closets. If you did a run of closets 3' deep by 14' along your back wall, you would still have a 14x20 bedroom, plus what would be more than enough closet space for us. Alternatively, how big is your current bathroom, and how much bigger do you need it to be? If you're only trying to make space for a separate shower, taking over the closets that surround the back of your current bathroom might make enough room. You could then put the laundry in the 5th bedroom at the other end, backing onto the hall bathroom, and this might leave you enough room in the bedroom for your office, and let you keep the closets you have. Even a 9x10 room is likely big enough for your small office, leaving you 5 x10 for your laundry... (unless the closets are part of your 10x14 dimension?)
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katmu
Original Author
12 years ago
There are currently 3 walk-in closets between the 2 BRs upstairs, plus an attic space accessible by a door at the back of the closet in the front room. If I really needed to I could also expand out over the deck. But the core issue is I'm just not sure if a huge master bath is neccessary for just me.

I am currently in my early 40s so at this point I don't have an issue with stairs. There will still be 2 BRs downstairs with a full bath if it gets to the point where stairs are an issue. I had considered adding on to the back of the rear bedroom on the 1st floor, but that would mean tearing down the existing sunroom to make that work. There is certainly room on the lot. I'm just thinking that will greatly expand the scope of my proect.
catbuilder
12 years ago
If I were you, I would do one sink, a tub, and a separate shower. Unless you don't think you'll use the tub. Then I'd just do a really nice shower. It's not overkill for one person to do a separate tub and shower any more than it is to do it if there are two people using the bathroom. It's not like one person would be using the tub while the other one used the shower. If you can afford it, you should treat yourself to the same things you would if you had a partner.
aa62579
12 years ago
So are you saying that the new space will be 12' x 23', and you want to divide it into bedroom and bath with either the bedroom 12' x 15' and a bathroom 12' x 8', or the bedroom 12' x 14' and the bathroom 12' x 9'?

Is this the space you are working with? Sketches of the outside walls with doorways and windows marked would really help.

As to a just a simple comment about it being overkill - although it might seem like overkill to you, the next owner may have different feelings. If the layout works well to include all those pieces, I would go for it. Seems like even if it is rarely going to get used, people seem to be excited about a separate tub and shower in the master bath and disappointed when there isn't a separate tub. I think double sinks would be the one area I would skip if I had to. As long as you make the vanity at least 5' wide, someone could come in later and change it out into double sinks if they wanted by just changing out the vanity and some simple plumbing changes to use the existing lines and drain.

Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

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suero

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Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

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suero

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