suggested building a raised floor and installing the plumbing underneath. If your ceiling is not finished, putting a raised floor anywhere makes no sense whatsoever. You can pick up supply lines in the ceiling and run them to wherever you want. Similarly, venting runs upwards, not in the floor. In some circumstances, you might run drains above the floor till you tie them into the existing drains. Tip One: locate your wet bar and bath as close to possible to existing stacks. Tip Two: use an experienced licenced plumber to get the connections and setup to Code.

lukkiirish, so far, there's no sign of mold (sight or smell). I'm guessing the water leaks were long ago, and then the floor just gave in, so it's probably not wet now. kudzu9, one contractor said he would pull everything out, rebuild the shower in concrete and tile (it's just one of those ready-made things at present), for $6k. My KD looked at it, measured it, but has turned a blind eye to it every since, so he probably doesn't want to go near it. DD has the camera at university, but I want my own to photograph my almost finished kitchen, so maybe I'll just spring for a little one soon :) Thanks again for all the advice.

Okay, so thoughts: Is door placement set? I'd put the toilet near the door, with sink next to it. I'd put the shower in a back corner If this is a basement, I'd put a drain in the floor of the room (and maybe leave it concrete floors so I could potentially hose the whole thing down?) Laundry in a back corner (other corner) Hanging things between laundry and shower storage/hooks/etc along other wall sink near door. I think I went around the room. If you have the option to put the door in the center of the room instead of the end of a wall, that might be best. But, you can play with that a little.

OK - here are my measurememnts. They are in inches. To answer some of your quesitons: What is the extent of the remodel? Gut and redo? Basically gut - hopefully we can get rid of the soffits, no cabinets will remain. The only thing that is new enough is the range. You say "budget", "DIY", you don't want to "over improve". Can we at least move water? With the area we live in it would be benefit us to have a very expensive remodel. Although I know it will help to remodel the kitchen to eventaully sell. We are talking about Ikea cabinets to save $$ but will prob do granite and tile flooring. 10-15k is the budget as it stands right now. We will be doing a lot of the labor ourselves. We can move water as DHs Uncle is a plumber and he will basically do it for free if we feed him.. lol island/cabinets on bottom wall I wouldn't need seating at the island and would use it for storage and prep space but I feel that if I do nothing with the bottom wall again and leave it blank - will it look empty still. Can I get a better layout by utilizing that wall with cabinets and forget the island. Can walls/windows/doorways (interior and/or exterior) be modified/moved/eliminated? Interior walls - the bottom wall is structural and behind that wall is steps to the basement. So that wouldn't be possible. Left wall is the wall that is shared with the garage and the right wall is the entry foyer. I am not sure how that would look opening up. I would say no to modifying walls and windows. Is this a one-person kitchen now and forever? A two-or more person? That includes anyone doing anything in the kitchen...prepping, cooking, cleaning up, other. Mostly a one person but I would like it to be at least a 2 person kitchen. We are a growing family and need to think about a highchair as well. Currently, Me, DH and 6 mo old son. How do you feel about banquette seating? How high off the floor are the windows in the small bay bump out where your table is? I wouldn't be opposed to banquette seating - although under the window is a heater that prob can't be moved easily - but I have seem building vents under banquette to allow the heat to flow out.. not sure how that would work. Exact Dimensions: Top wall: * Distance b/w wall on the left and the window: 39 5/8 * Width of the window: 40 7/8 (including molding) * How high off the floor is the window? 42 * Distance b/w window and bay window: 55 3/8 * Width of bay window opening: 73 (molding to molding) * Distance b/w bay window and wall on the right: 13 7/8 *Height of Bay from floor: 24 1/2 Bottom wall: * Width of doorway on the left: 72 This is where the garage entry and basement entry are located just beyond this. We use garage entry primarily. Right wall: * Width of doorway toward the bottom: 47.5" * Distance b/w doorway and bottom wall: 10 9/16" Left Wall * From corner to lightswitch by garage (where ref ends now) 137" Other: * What are the dimensions of the table? * Diameter when round?: 48 * Length when leafs are in?: 48x66 *Opening now to enter kitchen (with Fridge there) 41" *Total opening by fridge wall to wall: 71 1/4 Sorry about the approximates - I had them on my work computer but I was able to log in there and get the exact dimensions. ALSO forgot to mention - I REALLY need a pantry type cabinet. Currently I am using the uppers on either side of the range and it is terrible space for pantry stuff. No way to do an actual pantry so it has to be a cabinet. Hope this helps. I am just at a loss as to what the best layout would be. Buehl - I like the layout you provided, but I am not sI gained that much cabinet space. I am already piling things on top of each other. ALSO I REALLY LIKE THE TRASH CABINET. We currently have it under the sink on a rollout thing b/c the Dog loves to get into the garbage. PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks....