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Design Dilemma Bathrooms Laundry Room

Laundry/Bathroom combo: Where to put the sink?

last month

We are turning a storage room adjacent to the garage into a combo utility/bathroom but I can’t decide where to put the sink.

We are bumping into the garage 8x3.5’ and cannot go any longer, so I opted for the machines to go there, leaving the longest opposite wall for counter space and 42” alcove shower. See pictures below & thank you for the suggestions!

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Comments (9)

Linda Dornan
last month
What is the purpose of the counter? Is that a spot for sorting and folding clothes? If so, I wouldn’t want the toilet right next to it for obvious sanitary reasons.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
last month
IMO you do not need a laundry sink at all. I have never had one in 60 yrs of doing laundry. Do the space like a bathroom with a W/D . You can alwys use the bathroom sink for whatever you would use the laundry sink for. The new washers really IMO delete the need for laundry sinks, you can soak for as long as you like in the washer, they have great delicate cycles .You for sure do not need 2 sinks.or a shower .Maybe a bit more info as to why a shower at all.
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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.
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I have a laundry closet next to a bathroom. The bathroom includes a 3' X 2 1/2' shower, toilet and sink, plus the exterior side door that leads down to the garage and garbage cans. The bathroom is approx. 6' wide by 8' long, with an additional 3' X 2' space that is currently a broom closet. There is room to extend the laundry closet to make it a full size 5X9 room. I would like to swap the laundry and bathroom locations. This would enable me to include a tub/shower in the bathroom and would put the exterior side door in the laundry/mud room instead of the bathroom. My question is whether it is feasible (or worth the expense) to swap the two rooms. Here is some background on the house: The house is a split level built into a hillside in Southern California/Orange County. The garage is at what would be basement level, the living room and entry about a 1/2 story above and to the left of the garage, then the main part of the house where the bathroom and laundry are located is about 3 feet above the living room/entry level, and behind the living/entry and garage area. The main level is over a crawl space that is approx. 4-5 feet high. There is a second bathroom on the third level that backs to the current bathroom location. In the third level bathroom, the sinks are directly over the garage, but the tub and toilet are over the crawl space, and back to the bathroom we want to change. Right now, the shower in the bathroom we want to move is in the location where the toilet is in the upstairs bathroom. The two rooms back to one another, but the third level bathroom is approximately 2' higher than than the main level bathroom (the one we want to change). The shower plumbing is on the exterior wall rather than the shared wall. The current plumbing order from exterior wall to the interior end run of the bathroom and laundry closet is as follows: 3' shower (plumbing is currently on the exterior wall rather than the shared interior wall where all other plumbing is located), toilet, 3' sink vanity, front load washer, gas dryer, sink. The proposed order would be: small broom closet where the shower is now (eliminating plumbing in exterior wall); gas dryer, washer, sink (in existing location); tub+shower, toilet, sink (in existing location). The new toilet location would be approximately 7-8 feet away from its current location, along the same wall. The house was built in 1964, but the plumbing was replaced in the early 1990s with all copper. The washing machine has the current standard sized pipe, and the dryer is gas. There is a ceiling fan/vent in the bathroom but not in the laundry closet (there is only attic crawl space above this area; an exhaust vent and solar tube would be added to increase exhaust and natural light in the room).
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KW
last month
I’m not agreeing with not needing a laundry sink. I use mine a lot but not for laundry. My laundry room - no bath in it just laundry - has a door to get to garage & we use it for a mud room too as we enter house mostly from car in garage through laundry or back yard through laundry room. We use it to fill 5 gallon buckets for washing cars, other outdoor stuff & to bathe small dog, wash off dirty things we don’t want to wash in bath or kitchen sinks. My point is they can be useful for things that couldn’t be done in smaller bath sink. Maybe it’s the bath sink that’s not needed in this case.
kandrewspa
last month
Unless this bathroom is close to a bedroom there is no reason to have a shower in it, unless someone in the household wants to be able to come in from the garage and shower without having to walk through the house. Maybe change the shower into a toilet closet? To me it makes sense to segregate the toilet from the rest of the room.
chispa
last month
last modified: last month
Unless you are buying very small/compact W & D, they will stick out a lot more than you think. My front loaders stick out 38.5" Make sure to allow extra space for water and power connection in the back.
thinkdesignlive
last month
I prefer the first plan
Julie C
Original Author
last month
Thank you, everyone.

To clarify, the shower will serve as a dog wash/human shower area.

The other 2 bathrooms are all the way on the other side of the house, so it’s also easy access for anyone working in the shop, or in the living room area.

Lastly, the current laundry area is very cramped and in the small area (8x9) as you enter from the garage. This will have a bench, counter and wall cabinets as a mud/receiving area before entering the main house from the garage.

Here is a bigger picture:
KW
last month
@Julie C Your extra info on house flow shows that your plan makes lots of sense! Saves tracking lots of dirt in through house to use toilet while working outside or in shop. A hand held shower nozzle makes it easy to wash a dog in shower as well as fill large buckets that won’t fit in sink. I can also see a person who is dirty from mud, grass /weeds, sawdust or grease after working in shop or outside wanting to use the shower. Would require some planning though to have covering on hand after taking shower! I also just now am understanding that your plan has one sink only that will do double duty as bath / laundry sink.. Smart.
lharpie
last month
Definitely plan 1. i love having a laundry sink but mostly for washing off paintbrushes and such - things i’d rather not have in kitchen sink. The only laundry i’ve used it for is rinsing tie dye.

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