Bathroom option in new townhome

[SaraJayne]

I'd put it on the first floor instead.

 

[jen0610]

I guess it would depend on how old you are and how long you plan on staying in the house.

Young and not so long, ehh..forgo the bath. Older, or plan on staying a long time, get the bath. Let me tell you, as you get older, going up and down the stairs can be a pain in places other than just the legs. And not to get too graphic, as you age, you generally have less time after the "urge" to get where you need to be.

As a third option...don't get the full bath from the builder, but after you move in, contract with someone to put in a 1/2 bath.

That was my thought. Even being a close friend or family, if I was at your place and the entertainment was out on the 4th floor space, I would not want to be using the bathrroms connected to your personal bedroom space, nor would I like trecking down to the 2nd level.

Not everybody in your families or close circle of friends will always be able to easily trek up and down them stairs for the next 10-20 years. While they maybe able to get up them once and down them once, the restroom restriction could put a damper on them coming over to your place. And as someone with bad knees, I have a friends house that I HATE because of the stairs, but she WILL NEVER hear a word outta me about it. If it gets to much, I will selectivly pick and choose what I do and don't attend at her house.

 

[kirstenb1]

I'd put it in. It will never be more convenient than now. This coming from someone who has lived through more additions/renovations than I can count!!! Also, if you ever sell, I could see someone with children using that room as a playroom or bonus family room, so the bathroom would be a big asset.

 

[clutter]

I think adding a half bath after the fact will cost more. In 5 years or so, you may regret not putting it in. I'd even consider doing the option to make it a bedroom. Assuming that all it is would be adding a closet as well as a bathroom, I think you'd love the storage space (you gotta put the Wii games somewhere!).

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Seems like a small price to pay and it's easier to build it in now than add it later.

 

[dis-happy]

I'd definitely put it in. Also nice to have if you want to put overnight houseguests up there.

 

[Gigi22]

Can't get over the small cost of the proposed half-bath. I am looking at putting in a new half-bath which I expect to cost about $20 K--and no, not deluxe finishings either.

 

[a1tinkfans]

My partner and I are buying a townhome in a new development in DC. The home has not been built yet, but we must soon decide on some options and I am interested in the collective wisdom of the DIS regarding an additional bathroom.

The home has four floors. The first floor has no bathroom. The second floor has a half-bath. The third floor has a full bath in each of two bedrooms. The fourth floor will be an open loft with a roof terrace. We have the option of adding another full bath to the fourth floor, but it will cost $7,500. A half-bath is not an available option.

Here are the issues to consider:

1) Just the two of us will occupy the home and do two people really need 3.5 bathrooms?
2) We will spend a lot of time on the fourth floor because that is where we will put the TV and Wii
3) Both of us are in good health and going downstairs to use the bathroom will not be a big deal
4) Most of our entertaining involves close family and small groups of friends
5) If we do not opt for the bathroom, the space on the fourth floor will become a nice storage closet and we can use the money otherwise spent on the bathroom for additional upgrades
6) We intend to live in the home for several years (probably 10-20), but will eventually sell it
7) Will it seem weird to have a full-bath on a floor without a bedroom?

If you were in our position, would you opt for the full-bath on the fourth floor or take the storage closet and use the money for something else?

Id add the bath. A bath will never DEvalue your home/investment. 7500 is cheap, cheaper before construction than later. If you'll be on that 4th floor, you'll want it if not your guests. Good Luck deciding.

 

[Pigeon]

I would add the full bath now. It gives you much more flexibility about how you (or future owners) use the fourth floor. It will be more expensive to add even a half bath after the fact. The $7,500 for a full bath is cheap. I also agree that the fact that the two other full baths are off bedrooms makes it inconvenient for guests if they are upstairs.

 

[StitchFanZ]

I would go with yet a third option. Have the plumbing put in for the bath on the 4th floor but don't put in the bathroom. It keeps your options open and prevents the huge cost of putting in plumbing after the fact.

We did this for a laundry room once. I didn't want a sink but knew it was a selling point. So we had the builder put in the plumbing so the next owner could just pop off the counter and add a sink if they wanted. The next owners had triplet babies so being able to put in a sink was very important to them.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Since you say you will entertain on the 4th floor a lot and the bathrooms on the 3rd floor are in bedrooms, I would go ahead and put the bathroom in.

I wouldn't like making my guests go up and down two flights of stairs to use the bathroom and I don't think I would be comfortable with them going in and out of our bedrooms to use the other bathrooms.

Why exactly isn't a half-bath an option? It seems to me if they can put a full bathroom in, a half-bath shouldn't be an issue but then again I'm not in the construction business.

 

[LukenDC]

Why exactly isn't a half-bath an option? It seems to me if they can put a full bathroom in, a half-bath shouldn't be an issue but then again I'm not in the construction business.

I'm puzzled too. We asked about a half-bath option and were told that it was not available. Not sure why.