Removing a wheelchair accessable toilet

Oemb

Hi
I'm looking at buying a small house that was built in 2005 and has a large wheelchair accessable toilet downstairs. Ifor I got rid of the loo to make more space would this have an impact if I sold the house later?
Thanks

DOCARCH

Oemb wrote: »

If I got rid of the loo to make more space would this have an impact if I sold the house later?

Yes.

The house would no longer comply with the Building Regulations it was built in accordance with.

If you want to remove, be prepared to reinstate it sometime in the future.

Dardania

It may be worth your while to keep it, and possibly expand it a bit to turn it into a utility room (washer/dryer) if there isn't one already?
Get dual use out of it, and save space / noise elsewhere...

These wheelchair accessible loos are one of the better features of modern building regs I think - it's important to plan for future

DOCARCH

DOCARCH wrote: »

Yes.

The house would no longer comply with the Building Regulations it was built in accordance with.

If you want to remove, be prepared to reinstate it sometime in the future.

Seriously, is it now a requirement that houses have to have loos which are wheelchair accessible?

DOCARCH

Deleted User wrote: »

Seriously, is it now a requirement that houses have to have loos which are wheelchair accessible?

Yes. New houses. House built since around 2000.

listermint

DOCARCH wrote: »

Yes. New houses. House built since around 2000.

This cant be true I've been in plenty of new houses and you wouldn't get a wheelchair into any of the downstairs toilets

_Brian

Dardania wrote: »

It may be worth your while to keep it, and possibly expand it a bit to turn it into a utility room (washer/dryer) if there isn't one already?
Get dual use out of it, and save space / noise elsewhere...

These wheelchair accessible loos are one of the better features of modern building regs I think - it's important to plan for future

We put the washer and dryer into ours, worked out well.

Peregrinus

Deleted User wrote: »

Seriously, is it now a requirement that houses have to have loos which are wheelchair accessible?

Yup. The idea is to minise the number of people who find they have to move house (or move to supported accommodation) over issues like limited mobility. Financially and and in terms of general welfare and good health enabling them to live at home for as long as possible has much the best outcome.

Speedsie

listermint wrote: »

This cant be true I've been in plenty of new houses and you wouldn't get a wheelchair into any of the downstairs toilets

They may have commenced before January 2000, as the legal requirements came in at that time.

Gumbo

Deleted User wrote: »

Seriously, is it now a requirement that houses have to have loos which are wheelchair accessible?

Has been a requirement for some time!

listermint wrote: »

This cant be true I've been in plenty of new houses and you wouldn't get a wheelchair into any of the downstairs toilets

Yes true. Google Part M of the Building Regulations.

There are 2 versions. A WC for houses with a ground floor of 45 Sq. M or less and a WC for larger houses.

Its aim is allow houses to be accessible to visitors while also allowing the house to be a life home with toilet facilities at entrance level.

Don't necessarily require full access for wheel chairs. People think wheel chair toilets have to be the same as the ones in Shopping centres, but they are of a lesser standard in single family dwellings.

DOCARCH

DOCARCH wrote: »

Yes. New houses. House built since around 2000.

Bloody hell! A downstairs toilet used to be a luxury, but making them a requirement and wheelchair accessible to boot, it's no wonder people can't afford starter homes.

Calahonda52

Deleted User wrote: »

Bloody hell! A downstairs toilet used to be a luxury, but making them a requirement and wheelchair accessible to boot, it's no wonder people can't afford starter homes.

Useful contribution. Drop the Dr and you will be grand

Gumbo

Deleted User wrote: »

Bloody hell! A downstairs toilet used to be a luxury, but making them a requirement and wheelchair accessible to boot, it's no wonder people can't afford starter homes.

You really think a €250 WC is the reason why people can't buy a starter home?

kceire

kceire wrote: »

You really think a €250 WC is the reason why people can't buy a starter home?

Its not the WC, its the space dedicated to this... and another example of goldplating. Even 2 Sqm saved or used for another purpose can improve matters considerably in the hands of a good architect. Starter homes should be basic and as affordable as possible.

sydthebeat

And abs brakes and power steering used to be considered a luxury but thankfully progress means they are common place today.

Same progress applies to houses.

We come a long way from the outdoor latrine thankfully.

Dardania

Deleted User wrote: »

kceire wrote: »

You really think a €250 WC is the reason why people can't buy a starter home?

Its not the WC, its the space dedicated to this... and another example of goldplating.  Even 2 Sqm saved or used for another purpose can improve matters considerably in the hands of a good architect.   Starter homes should be basic and as affordable as possible.

The concept of starter homes itself is wasteful. Why not build a house that can last?

Peregrinus

The house will last. It's a "starter home" because it's designed for people at a particular time of life - young adults, basically. They'll outgrow it, and want to move on, at which point it becomes a starter home for somebody else.

PhoenixParker

Deleted User wrote: »

Its not the WC, its the space dedicated to this... and another example of goldplating. Even 2 Sqm saved or used for another purpose can improve matters considerably in the hands of a good architect. Starter homes should be basic and as affordable as possible.

If it's a starter home then there are likely to be young kids.
For toilet training (and generally helping them) or just the fact they want to accompany you to the toilet at all times the extra space is extremely useful.

In the ops place I'd consider other non-permanent ways to use the space efficiently. A laundry room is a good one I've seen in plenty of houses. Building in a storage closet for sheets and towels is another. If it's close to the front door adding shoe & coat storage can be very useful.

Effects

Deleted User wrote: »

Seriously, is it now a requirement that houses have to have loos which are wheelchair accessible?

I have to put in a wheelchair ramp!

I wouldn't mind having to make a plan for a provisional ramp but I have to lose garden space to provide the ramp.

Effects

Dardania wrote: »

The concept of starter homes itself is wasteful. Why not build a house that can last?

Not everyone can afford to build/buy their final home straight away.

Gumbo

Effects wrote: »

I have to put in a wheelchair ramp!

I wouldn't mind having to make a plan for a provisional ramp but I have to lose garden space to provide the ramp.

Cant the garden be gently sloped to the door as part of TGD Part M?
This is a design that should have been explained to you at concept from the beginning.

Effects

kceire wrote: »

Cant the garden be gently sloped to the door as part of TGD Part M?
This is a design that should have been explained to you at concept from the beginning.

Well we just wanted steps but were told we had to put in a ramp. I'd rather the garden was level than sloped.
I'll look into TGD part M as we still have time to adjust.

sydthebeat

Effects wrote: »

I have to put in a wheelchair ramp!

I wouldn't mind having to make a plan for a provisional ramp but I have to lose garden space to provide the ramp.

you are not required to put in a ramp

you are required to provide sloped access to the main door.

if you or your contractor dont know the difference you should ask someone who does.

Effects

sydthebeat wrote: »

you are not required to put in a ramp

you are required to provide sloped access to the main door.

if you or your contractor dont know the difference you should ask someone who does.

Perhaps I mean sloped access when I say ramp. Our garden isn't that big, which is why we wanted to avoid having a sloped section. There's about a 600mm difference between the level at the road entrance and the front door.

Gumbo

Effects wrote: »

Perhaps I mean sloped access when I say ramp. Our garden isn't that big, which is why we wanted to avoid having a sloped section. There's about a 600mm difference between the level at the road entrance and the front door.

You could just slope a 900mm section around the perimeter to the door and still have your flat garden remaining with steps up to the entrance area.

sydthebeat

Effects wrote: »

Perhaps I mean sloped access when I say ramp. Our garden isn't that big, which is why we wanted to avoid having a sloped section. There's about a 600mm difference between the level at the road entrance and the front door.

it only has to be sloped from where someone would alight from a car...
so lets say you park the car at the front of the house. Usually youd have 150mm (6") between the path level and floor level. Thats only 3 m at a slope of 1 in 20. its easy them to hide 6" level change in your garden

ustari

God forbid someone in one of these "starter" homes becomes paralysed or someone in their family does.

Never understand someones frustration with WC access bathrooms. Imagine how tough it is for these people already and then having to contend with a modern house that doesn't account for them. Must be horrible for someone in a WC to visit a house and then not be able to use the bathroom without huge help.

sydthebeat

ustari wrote: »

God forbid someone in one of these "starter" homes becomes paralysed or someone in their family does.

Never understand someones frustration with WC access bathrooms. Imagine how tough it is for these people already and then having to contend with a modern house that doesn't account for them. Must be horrible for someone in a WC to visit a house and then not be able to use the bathroom with huge help.

or even to be told "you cant use the front door, you may go around the back"

ustari

sydthebeat wrote: »

or even to be told "you cant use the front door, you may go around the back"

Yes, building currently and want anyone that comes in a wheelchair to be able to come through the front door like everyone else.

It's so backward in new builds to make people use the back door imo, really second class citizen stuff.

Also, people seem to forget that parents/grandparents often end up using wheelchairs as they age and often move in with you.

PhoenixParker

ustari wrote: »

Yes, building currently and want anyone that comes in a wheelchair to be able to come through the front door like everyone else.

It's so backward in new builds to make people use the back door imo, really second class citizen stuff.

Also, people seem to forget that parents/grandparents often end up using wheelchairs as they age and often move in with you.

Even if they don't use wheelchairs they may need help going to the bathroom even if it's just a shoulder to lean on as they sit down. Having a bathroom that can comfortably accommodate two adults means that's possible. They may also have a walking frame which again can more easily be accommodated with a bigger bathroom.

Step free access to the house is useful for buggies and furniture delivery as well as wheelchairs. It's also useful if someone has balance problems or is generally unsteady on their feet. It's more comfortable for anyone carrying something.

The regs may say wheelchair accessible but that's really the least of it.

Gumbo

PhoenixParker wrote: »

The regs may say wheelchair accessible but that's really the least of it.

+1

A pregnant woman is temporarily disabled, the man with the walking stick or the person that has a vision impairment, hence the enforcement of colour schemes in large public places that people don't realise get inspected by your local Building Control Department.....all come under Part M.

_Brian

Not Much hope for the disabled to be easily integrated into society when I see so many so reluctant to put in even the most basic of access and basic sanitary facilities.
Same people probably think that kerb drops and wheelchair accessible public transport is a waste too.

Peregrinus

At any point in time, people with a disability are a minority. But the fact is that the majority of us, at some point in our lives (mostly in older age) will suffer some material degree of disability. And as life expectancy is extended this will be more and more true.

The accessible toilet on the ground floor isn't there for the convenience of the occasional disabled visitor to the home; it's there so that if the person living in the house incurs a disability, they don't have to leave. It's there so that if an older person with limited mobility is looking to downsize their accommodation (after their family has grown up and left and after, possibly, being widowed) there'll be a reasonable stock of suitable houses. It;s not there for the benefit of an exotic and afflicted minority; it's there for the benefit of a very large cohort of the population who are at risk of developing a disability. It's there for you, in short.

Penn

A few years ago my grandfather became infirmed and had to move in with my parents. Our house was built in the early 80's.

At times they struggled due to the limitations of the house. Trying to squeeze the wheelchair through a tight hall and doorways. Struggling with the narrow bathroom when it came to washing him or helping him use the toilet. Even in the bits where he could walk with a walking frame, trying to walk behind him to help him but not being able to get past to help open doors etc. We even had to build a timber ramp which we could place over the steps at the front of the house when getting him in & out of the house, but because you need it on hand in an emergency, means they constantly had this makeshift timber ramp in the spare room.

The Part M regs aren't just for the now. They're for the if & when.