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DIY Bathrooms Remodeling

Bathroom vanity size/placement help!

3 years ago

We’re executing a bathroom renovation for a guest/spare bathroom. It’s an every day use for my husband and I for the toilet and sink and an occasional use for the full bath. Likely to be used more after the reno because of the new functions bath.

(I’ve attached 1 “before” photo and a few current bare bones photos.. you can see some lines on the floor indicating the 48”, 42” and 36” marks from the wall as well as the right line shows where a centered 36” would sit.)

The vanity that was removed was 48” long and placed against the right side wall. As you can see if the before picture, that placement was very close to the toilet especially with the tp holder.

My dilemma is - do I replace with a 48” and keep the average spacing as it was? Do I downsize to a 42” or 36”? I feel like a 42 would fit a bit better but would have to modify the sink pipes a bit. The 36” sounds nice in theory to open the space up a bit but I feel it’s too big of a gap between the left side of the vanity and the toilet then... OR if I were to line it up center with the existing pipes, it would leave about 6” in between the right side vanity and the wall. Is that a faux pas? I don’t want to waste space either...

I’m so torn, please help!

Thank you!!

Comments (3)

Sammy
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Leaving a six-inch space between the right side of the vanity and the wall would, indeed, be a waste of space, not to mention the fact that it would make it difficult to re-paint or paper that wall down the road.

Couple questions:
1. Is your shower staying within the same footprint?
2. What’s underneath this bathroom—i.e., do you have easy access to the plumbing lines? If so, in addition to reducing the size of the vanity, you might want to move the toilet over to the right six inches or so.
3. How long is that wall? Starting at the right wall moving left, if you allocate 36” for the vanity and another 30” - 36” (the more space you can spare the better!) for the toilet, how much space is left for the shower?
Here are some diagrams you might find helpful:
wdccruise
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
My old vanity was jammed in the corner as yours was. I replaced it with a vanity that's 4" from the wall (wide enough for a paint roller).

Here's what I'd do: On the right-hand side, measure 4-1/2" in from the stud.* On the left-hand side, measure 15" from the center of the toilet drain. That defines the maximum possible vanity width. Now round down from that number to a standard vanity size and install that vanity 4" from the right-hand drywall.

You may not need to fiddle with the pipes. Just choose a vanity whose with an open section (e.g., behind doors, not drawers) wide enough to leave pipes as they are accessible.

-- amateur

*1/2 is added for the thickness of the drywall
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Megan Donnelly
Original Author
3 years ago
Sammy,

Yes the tub is staying within the same footprint. We'd prefer to not move toilet plumbing but slighting moving the vanity plumbing isn't an issue. The basement is just below this bathroom as we're in a ranch house. I'll comment back with measurements of that wall.

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