Are you sure you want a "WC"...water closet. We have recently returned from a European vacation and many of the public toilets there are really in closets. Door goes from the floor to the ceiling. For me it is weird being enclosed in a small space with just a toilet. No air circulation there, I guess I like to look out a window or something while on the can. Do you have just the one bathroom, where only one person can occupy at a time so you need the separation? Then I it would make more sense, I guess.

I grew up in a house where 5 people had one bathroom, and there was a lot of frantic pounding on the door sometimes, until my Dad installed an "emergency toilet in the basement.

-Babka

Thanks for the response. This is in the master bathroom...we have two others in the house. Pretty confident we would like the WC. There is one door from the bedroom leading to the area with two (other) closets and then the bathroom. So it would be nice to have separation for the toilet from the rest of the bathroom and the closet areas.

Right now, the toilet shares the clearance in front of it with the vanity. Closing it in will reduce both clearances greatly, physically and psychologically. It also renders it non ADA friendly. That is big deal. In a home that you are thinking of staying in for a long time, people are building IN accessibility, not reducing it.

Padedus, I totally agree that a bath remodel can be both exciting and overwhelming. So many design possibilities, and a ton of technical details.

What other changes do you plan to make during your remodel? Are you keeping fixtures in the same places? And what kind of look are you going for? Your diagram is very hard to read - especially the measurements. How wide it the opening in front of the vanity leading to the toilet alcove - glass wall to front of closet?

One thing you might want to consider is adding a wall mounted toilet. It will project less from the back wall and allow you to move the wall back away from the tub if that's what you want. Also a lot nicer looking IMO and easier to clean - off the floor and no nooks and crannies. I'm planning on one and all parts were around $600. Install cost may be a factor, but my DH is very handy so not an issue for us.

That tub looks massive in that space, but it could just be the pics. You could opt for a freestanding and it would sure open up the space, and they look so nice it would do away with the need for those glass block walls

BTW, I've learned that many people hate the closed in toilet rooms, and others wouldn't have it any other way. Do what will make you happy - its your space. I really don't see how adding a wall will reduce the space you have in front of the vanity - you have the tub deck jutting out now.

The current opening leading to the toilet alcove is about 36"...that is the space from the glass blocks to the front of the closet. Yes the current drop-in tub and surround is huge...that is one of the main reasons for the remodel. It takes up so much space and we really don't use the tub. Our plan is to do a freestanding tub...either 66"-68" or 72" but I'm leaning towards the smaller.

A wall-mounted toilet is certainly an interesting suggestion that I hadn't considered. I will look into it but I think that we will probably want to avoid the installation expense if possible.

I think we will be able to make the toilet room plenty big (although perhaps not ADA compliant--I'm not sure what those requirements are). But I wasn't sure whether it will look too strange to have the wall flush with the side of the recessed window--that would increase the depth of the toilet room. OR, we could try to leave 5" or so of wall on that side of the window before the toilet wall starts...but I think that would decrease the depth of the toilet room somewhat.

Other than the toilet room and replacing the huge tub/surround, we are planning a tiled shower with bench, niche, glass walls, and two showerheads (one regular and one handheld). We are planning to keep the vanities and their location, but stain them and put on new pulls and new countertops and faucets. We will potentially reuse our mirrors but do new lighting by the vanities. The tub and shower will be in the same basic location. We will retile the floor and are thinking of tiling the walls by the shower up to the ceiling.

I'd set the wall a few inches away from the window opening, and make it even on both sides. i.e., set the shower glass a few inches back from the window on the left.

A 41"x66" toilet closet meets code just fine.

"I'd set the wall a few inches away from the window opening, and make it even on both sides. i.e., set the shower glass a few inches back from the window on the left."

Thanks for the advice. I like that idea, although I wonder if it will look weird having only 3" or so on that side of the recessed window before the floor-to-ceiling wall comes out. I also wonder if we will lose some depth in the toilet room if we go 3" or more. What is the standard thickness of a wall that would be used for something like this? Right now the glass blocks "wall" is 4" wide.

I personally think keeping the bathroom wall even with the tub alcove wall will look good. Might as well go to the alcove wall with the shower glass too. If you want to open your room up a little more, you could make the shower 42x60 instead of 48X60.
I agree that a much smaller tub will really help enlarge you space.
It looks like a pocket door should be a big help. Most walls are about 5 in deep. One thing we did to our toilet room was to install a Cooper LED nightlight switch. Makes finding the bathroom at night great and you can adjust the light level, but I like it on high. It would probably light up your toilet room in the daytime too since you have no window.

"I personally think keeping the bathroom wall even with the tub alcove wall will look good. Might as well go to the alcove wall with the shower glass too."

Just to clarify...by alcove you mean the recess for the window? (The old tub does slightly poke into the window recess area...a new freestanding tub won't be inside the window "alcove", but right outside that window ledge.) The window recess isn't from floor to ceiling...it's 14.5" down from the ceiling and 23" up from the floor.

Do you think the shower glass could really be fully flush with the window recess? (The wall will be tiled there...I usually don't see the shower glass all the way at the very edge of the tiling.)

"If you want to open your room up a little more, you could make the shower 42x60 instead of 48X60."

We were thinking 50x70 (The wall there on that side of the window is 72".), but perhaps we should consider a narrower shower that would open up space in front of that vanity. However, we do want to put a handshower that can act as another showerhead on the window-side wall...so extra depth would be good for that.

"One thing we did to our toilet room was to install a Cooper LED nightlight switch. Makes finding the bathroom at night great and you can adjust the light level, but I like it on high. It would probably light up your toilet room in the daytime too since you have no window."

Nice idea. We have a light and ventilation fan already in the toilet section, but I don't think we have an outlet or a switch in there, so that is something we would have to add. The current switches for the light/fan are right next to the closet, outside of where the toilet room would be.

You are right about the tile in the shower. I think as long as you have room in the toilet room to build the wall a few inches from the recessed area and keep it the same on both sides, it should look okay. I think the recommendation is 5 feet deep for a toilet closet.
The LED nightlight is actually a replacement for the light switch. Our fan switch is right next to it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Would it help your space planning to orient the tub perpendicular to the window like this? I thought of it because it looks easier to clean behind and I'm practical like that.

I also thought it was interesting how the shower is walled/tiled in with glass only at the top to let light in. Perhaps if there is a wall on the left for the shower and a wall on the right for the WC, it'll look more balanced?

"Would it help your space planning to orient the tub perpendicular to the window like this? I thought of it because it looks easier to clean behind and I'm practical like that."

Another interesting suggestion...thanks. I'm not sure it would help in our space though because due to the window it wouldn't really allow us to extend the area of the shower or toilet closet.

"Perhaps if there is a wall on the left for the shower and a wall on the right for the WC, it'll look more balanced?"

I think you are right about this and it's something to consider...the only worry is that it would make the bathroom seem smaller than if we do an all glass shower. You are 100% right that it would look more balanced this way though...we could even theoretically do glass at the top of the toilet room wall to let light in there as well. Hrmmmm.....maybe a glass shower but glass at the top of the toilet room for SOME balance (and light).

Your idea about glass for the top of the toilet room is a good one, and something I am considering to keep mine from seeming like a dungeon. If you do that, you could also have the shower wall on the left be only a half wall with glass on top. Then you would have consistent look on both sides. The open part of the toilet room would be facing the tub area, so there should be no privacy concern.

We had a WC in our last house and it was the best thing we ever had. It allowed for privacy and stink control. I can't tell you where to put it. I would just measure how much room the toilet takes up and leave enough room to be comfortable in there and be able to stand up with ease.

Karenseb mentioned that 5 ft deep was the recommendation for a water closet. I think it should be slightly larger, especially if you want an elongated toilet. Our powder room is 5 ft and our current toilet extends only 25" - very small format. When we started looking for a new toilet, we had serous concerns about most of the elongated toilets - because most extend almost 30 inches leaving much less space from the toilet to the wall. Thats one reason why we opted to go with a wall mount.

Maybe you could bring the wall in the shower out the same distance from the recessed wall as the toilet closet wall and then glass in the rest of it. You would have glass on the front of the shower with a door and glass going around the corner to meet the wall.That would still keep it open.
Or could you do glass in the upper half of the walls on either side of the tub?

Thanks for the continued help and suggestions. I think we are learning toward a floor-mounted elongated toilet, so it is probably a good idea not to go much shorter than the 66" if at all.

Balancing both sides of the tub walls is a nice idea, but I think we may just do a full glass shower to keep things open. Even if we went with walls on both sides that are half wall and half glass, I think it might still look unbalanced, because the front of the toilet area will look very different from the front of the shower, and the shower will extend out farther than the toilet area.

Still, I like the idea of the toilet wall having a portion of glass at the top. One thing I'm not sure of is how the wall would look where the door is to the toilet room...I'm assuming that that wouldn't have glass on top as well (because I think the door to the toilet area will go pretty high up). I recently saw a picture of a floor-to-ceiling pocket door that looked excellent...I wonder how difficult/expensive that would be. It might be strange for the pocket door to slide out fully against the other wall of the toilet room...especially if we put glass on the top half of that wall.

Any thoughts on how high the wall "half" would have to be on the toilet side for privacy?

Perhaps I was too quick in suggesting against the idea of the same exact half-wall half-glass on both sides of the tub. This would look balanced and would create a nice alcove for the tub. Also, I'm realizing this might have some nice features in the shower too: There would be some wall right behind the shower bench so you could lean your back up against it while seated, which might be nice. Also, we could make the bench extend only to the end of that half-wall portion (even though the shower itself extends farther), and so that corner of the shower might be clean looking...not interrupted by the bench.

Ever feel we are overthinking these issues? ;)

I don't think you're overthinking, and I like your suggestion about hiding the bench. Not sure where your shower spray will reach, but the main reason I plan to use the half wall is to avoid having to keep the glass on the lower section clean.

BTW, with regard to the toilet room door, you could go with a barn door type hardware instead of a pocket door and it will save you from having to tear open the wall. There are models that will allow you to mount a glass panel as a door. I've seen pictures on houzz where the glass was frosted on the bottom and clear on the top. Or you could just hang a regular wood door or a wood door with a glass panel on the top section.

Can you possibly put a window to the outdoors? We have a window in ours and it just makes it so much more pleasant--you don't feel so closed into a box, and of course fresh air is always nice.

I was picturing a frosted glass panel inset in the upper portion of the toilet wall towards the tub. Make the wall as tall as the tub on both sides. Use a solid pocket door.
If you are looking for balance, do a 42 in deep shower and toilet room.

"BTW, with regard to the toilet room door, you could go with a barn door type hardware instead of a pocket door and it will save you from having to tear open the wall."

Yes I thought about this a little...I think this option would make us lose a bit of width in the toilet room, if we put a barn-style door inside of where the closet wall is. The toilet room is now about 39-41" wide (I need to recheck this measurement) so perhaps we have a little width to spare. The only issue is that the current toilet is already offset slightly toward the closet...maybe it wouldn't be too costly to move to toilet slightly away from the closet to center it???

"Make the wall as tall as the tub on both sides."

I'm not sure what you mean...if I'm not mistaken the tub will be only 22" tall or so. The solid wall portion would need to be taller on both sides for privacy in the toilet room, right? 5'? 6'? Not that much? (Our ceilings are a nice 9' btw.)

Again, I really appreciate all the help!

This post was edited by Phaedrus29 on Tue, Nov 4, 14 at 16:57

Make the solid wall portions on either side of the tub 24 to 36 inches high. Add clear glass on top to the ceiling on the shower side. On the toilet side, add frosted glass into the wall mimicking the shower side.

"Make the solid wall portions on either side of the tub 24 to 36 inches high. Add clear glass on top to the ceiling on the shower side. On the toilet side, add frosted glass into the wall mimicking the shower side."

Ah OK. I was thinking that we would do a solid wall on both sides high enough so that we can have clear glass on both sides. If I'm doing frosted glass on the toilet side, then why have a solid portion at all? A clear glass portion on both sides might make the room look more open...since you could see all the way through the toilet room...but the solid wall would have to be higher.

I was checking Houzz for pics. I did a search for frosted glass bathroom walls and they had some nifty ideas. You could do 2 glass enclosures on either side of the tub and use a horizontal band in the lower third or half. On both enclosures use shower pivot doors.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Bath[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/frosted-glass-bathroom-wall-phbr0lbl-bl~l_93033)

Another pic

Here is a link that might be useful: [Bath[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/forma-design-modern-bathroom-dc-metro-phvw-vp~336578)

I like the bathroom just the way it is. I think the glass wall is neat and gives a unique look to the bathroom.

"I did a search for frosted glass bathroom walls and they had some nifty ideas."

Thanks for the pics. We have also thought about doing something like this for the toilet closet wall across from the toilet:

A smoked glass window enclosed in the wall...a matching barn-style door like that pic might also work (but with the door mounted inside the toilet room). I think it would require a strip of wall dropping down from the ceiling like in that pic for the barn-style door hardware to mount to. I guess that would work fine. And as numbersjunkie pointed out, if we went with the barn-style door we wouldn't have to modify the closet walls at all.

I do wonder how much the barn-style door really isolates smells and sounds. Also there is the issue again of the barn-style door taking up some width from the toilet room.

This post was edited by Phaedrus29 on Tue, Nov 4, 14 at 21:48

I like that last setup you showed. It would be nice to have the toilet centered in that space, but if you can keep the center of the toilet 18 inches from the sliding glass door on the wall, you should be fine.Will you need a fan and or light in the enclosed area?
Your toilet area will probably feel even bigger with all the glass. Your entire bathroom will also seem much more open!

"Will you need a fan and or light in the enclosed area?"

We actually have one unit in the ceiling above the toilet that has a fan and light built in...we might get a new nicer-looking unit to replace the old one but that should be an easy upgrade.

"I like that last setup you showed."

Me too, but I'm still not sure whether to go with a barn door or pocket door. I think barn door has the advantage of an easier installation, but a pocket door probably could be installed leaving more room in the toilet closet. A barn door would probably look cleaner from outside the toilet closet, since you wouldn't see the hardware or the door when opened.

"It would be nice to have the toilet centered in that space, but if you can keep the center of the toilet 18 inches from the sliding glass door on the wall, you should be fine."

That's my worry...the toilet is currently offset slightly closer to the closet...it is about 19" from the center of the toilet to that wall, and 22" to the other wall. With a barn door installed there I imagine we wouldn't keep 18" unless we shift over the toilet. I don't know yet how expensive that would be.

A smoked glass insert across from the toilet as in that pic might be the way to go. Then I still have the question of whether that wall should be flush with the window recess or set in a little. I'm thinking maybe flush with the window would be best to leave as much depth as possible for the toilet closet, and fewer edges/angles on the other side of the wall outside of the toilet closet.

This post was edited by Phaedrus29 on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 16:33

I like your barn door idea, because although a pivot door would probably work also, the barn door allows you to keep the door open when not in use. I don't know what costs more, moving a toilet a couple of inches or moving a closet wall. If you move the closet wall, you could use a smaller door in the closet if you want to keep the closet space.
You could remove the closet entirely and put a linen cabinet next to your vanity. I feel remodeling creep coming on):

Yes, I think based on the space limitations I won't be doing a pivot door. But there's still a question of whether to go with a barn door or pocket door. Maybe it doesn't really matter too much between those two options...I look forward to asking some contractors what their advice is.

I think the choice between a barn door and a pocket door may be influenced by the style/look you are trying to achieve. In general, I think pocket doors have a much more traditional look and pocket door tend to be more contemporary.

"In general, I think pocket doors have a much more traditional look and pocket door tend to be more contemporary."

I think you mean barn doors are more contemporary, right? Perhaps in my case looks are even less important because the barn door would be mounted INSIDE the toilet room and so you wouldn't really see the hardware etc. most of the time. If we do barn door, perhaps we would go with a frosted glass door for space saving purposes (and looks)...with a pocket door it would probably be wood with or without a glass section. The door would be open most of the time anyway. I'm not sure what size pocket door we would use but I don't really like the idea of a normal framed doorway right next to the framed closet doorway.

I think both kinds of doors would be fine options and I will try to see if one would be much more expensive than the other.

There is still the issue of the other toilet room wall, but again I'm now leaning toward a tall frosted glass "window" as in that pic...and I THINK it would be best to just have that wall flush with the window recess on that side, although it might look a little weird since the main window in the room would be somewhat in a corner.

"I think the choice between a barn door and a pocket door may be influenced by the style/look you are trying to achieve. In general, I think pocket doors have a much more traditional look and pocket door tend to be more contemporary."

Yes, I meant barn doors to be more contemporary.

This post was edited by numbersjunkie on Thu, Nov 6, 14 at 21:24

You mentioned that you don't use the tub. Why replace it? Is this the only tub in the house? If you're not worried about resale, forget it. You would have tons of space to put in a spectacular shower, large water closet, and to expand the existing closet. Lots of possibilities! When we remodeled our master bath a year ago, we took out the tub and haven't regretted it for a second.

"You mentioned that you don't use the tub. Why replace it? Is this the only tub in the house? If you're not worried about resale, forget it. You would have tons of space to put in a spectacular shower, large water closet, and to expand the existing closet. Lots of possibilities! When we remodeled our master bath a year ago, we took out the tub and haven't regretted it for a second."

We have three bedrooms in the house...one on the main floor downstairs and two upstairs. The downstairs bathroom (near the kitchen and a guest bedroom) has a shower/tub combo. The other bathroom upstairs only has a shower.

Because of the big recessed window placement in middle of the room, getting rid of the tub wouldn't really allow us to create a bigger shower or toilet closet. And yes, although we aren't planning to sell any time soon at all, for resale we are thinking that a tub in the master bathroom is a good idea.