What does your contract state?

A wet bar cannot easily be turned into a bathroom. I don't think you are understanding what it takes either for any plumbing DWV, or what it means to have an accessible space. You need to clarify.

As far as refusing to install an upgrade. Well, unless you pay for an upgrade, you're not going to get it. He cannot give you a bathroom for anywhere near the cost of a wet bar rough in. 8K is a pretty good price for an accessible bath. Darn low, actually.

Are you financing this house? If so, I suspect it's a matter of the lender being unwilling to leave something unfinished.

Ichabod has the best question here: What's in your contract? Whatever you signed for is what you're going to get. The builder can't make fairly big changes like this simply on your word.

8K is a pretty good price for an accessible bath. Darn low, actually.

I don't think the 8K included "accessible".

Where are you located? All US homes are freehold so the fact that you noted it makes me think that you are building somewhere else.

It does appears once an accessible bathroom was eventually built, the remaining space would have limited use.

I think the OP wants to add the 'wet bar' space to the bathroom to make it large enough to be ADA compliant.

I think the builder won't leave the space 'just plumbed' without the fixtures.

UPDATE :

I apologize for the confusion. English is not my first language and I did not explain this very well.

I wanted to use family room for somebody who is not completely in the wheelchair. This person can make small steps (short distance) with walker. He does not need bathroom with wide door or big space. Bathroom with walk in bathtub and few grab bars would perfectly fit this person's needs. I understand that adding bathroom would make family room smaller but again that is fine because our plan was just to put the bed and night table in the remaining area.

I asked builder to provide 3 piece bathroom "rough in (pipes to be installed)", so I can build build my custom bathroom later. They refused my request but they offer to build simple STANDARD bathroom (not accessible) for $8000. (I know that accessible bathroom will cost much more e.g. only walk in bathtub is from $5000) but for simple standard bathroom, the realistic price (here in Canada) is $5000 max.

Anyhow, what really upset me in all this story is the fact that builder say "no we cannot provide "rough in pipes""

but yes, we can build bathroom. This does not make any sense to me. If is possible for them to built bathroom, than why is not possible to provide bathroom rough in pipes?

Once again, thanks to all of you for your quick and useful replay.

Is the floor concrete? Has it been poured?

Will the occupant be able to climb the stairs?

It appears you are actually building a bedroom that will be quite small after it is separated from the entry.

There may be a building department restriction regarding an occupancy permit for the rough-in of a full bathroom.

Your definition of accessible is not clear. Is an accessible shower not acceptable? How would the other fixtures differ. Such an expensive accessible tub seems inappropriate for such a small difficult to access living space.

Can you not ask the builder to explain his reason?

I think an accessible shower with a seat would be more cost effective and might be something the builder would be willing to do. I would ask the builder as well why they can't provide you the rough in, but can do a standard bathroom.

It may have to do with recessing the tub or shower into the floor. We don't know what the floor is made of or the current stage of the construction. It is impossible to try to solve a problem that is so poorly described.

The other item I was wondering if this were either an occupancy issue for the local juridiction, or if perhaps it's a production builder who doesn't do anything custom.

Anyhow, what really upset me in all this story is the fact that builder say "no we cannot provide "rough in pipes""

Of course they CAN do it.

What they're actually saying is, They WON'T do it.

perhaps it's a production builder who doesn't do anything custom.

That's my second suspicion.

Going back to what I said yesterday, I strongly suspect it has to do with the loan. The bank isn't going to allow its project to be partially done because they don't want to potentially find themselves stuck with a fixer-upper (not that you'd ever find yourself in foreclosure -- nothing you say makes me think that -- but the bank always operates in worst-case mode).

Echoing another poster's suggestion, if it were my house, I'd prefer a no-barrier, walk-in shower. I don't think those tubs are such a great deal: You'd have to sit down and wait for it to fill, then sit 'til it empties completely. Also, they can't be completely barrier-free like a shower.

Also, I don't see this as a good bedroom. The room won't be large at all, and -- after taking a bite out for the bathroom -- it'll be oddly shaped. Will it have a door? And it'll need a closet to be a legal bedroom. I think you could make this into a decent guest room (perhaps with a hideaway or murphy bed), but this room doesn't seem realistic for a handicapped person all the time -- especially if he should ever need more than the walker.

I am assuming that the yellow optional bar is something you want to put into bathroom space.

It may be easier for the occupant to enter the bathroom from that end, rather than a turn then a turn.

You may want to consider a fully-ADA bathroom as his needs may increase over time.

I think it is likely, as others have pointed out, that simply having the space plumbed in may be something your bank/financial lender is balking at, and that your builder doesn't do custom.

I have no idea how your construction contract works, but finding someone who your builder (and whomever is overseeing the development) can approve of, to put in a full custom bath with handicapped/ADA (or whatever the Canadian variant of ADA is -- I suspect it won't differ much) is in order.

Do you have more info? To help, people here need explanations that your builder or lender etc. have given.

PS: if the occupant is going to use the rec room as a bedroom, you will almost certainly need to make sure that that window is up to fire egress code. (You can add in a closet later, or use a wardrobe). I assume there is some alternate way instead of the stairs for him to get to the main living area (so he can dine and socialize with you) without too much difficulty? Consider if he goes around outside, the issue of ice and snow in the winter.

Unlike others, I don't think that rec room is too small to be a bedroom. Depends on how much stuff he has, and the size of his bed.