Kids Ensuite Bathroom vs Upstairs Laundry Room

sapper

Hi - we are currently planning a refurbishment of our 5 bed semi. We have 3 young kids 10 and under. Space is tight downstairs and we currently live with bags and coats thrown into corners and all over the hall, so as part of the refurb we would like to convert our downstairs utility room (small approx 2.5m sq) into a cloakroom.
Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms for the kids + playroom and up in the attic room our bedroom with an ensuite. One of the kids rooms has an ensuite which isnt really used, and if it is its used by just my daughter. Given space is tight I think this is an extravagance and I would like to convert that into an upstairs laundry room. So moving from having 1 main bathroom+2 ensuites+1 downstairs WC to 1 main bathroom+1 ensuite+1 downstairs WC + 1 laundry room
Our builder and a few other professionals say we are wrong to get rid of a bathroom but I think the upstairs laundry would be a much better use of space instead of a bathroom for one child. If it turns out to be a problem in 10 years we can convert it back...
Has anyone done this kind of thing? Does anyone swear by having an ensuite in a kids bedroom? Or an upstairs laundry?
THanks

tuisginideach

When you say an upstairs laundry room, what do you mean - washing machine/dryer etc? Will you still need to carry wet clothes downstairs to hang on the line? Or is it an airing area/ironing room/storage?

As a mother of 'en suites' - they are a pain - my teenagers are supposed to clean their own - the only time I clean them is if a visitor is coming to take over their room for a night or two. Other than that, I do not enter their en suites! Lethal!

sapper

tuisginideach wrote: »

When you say an upstairs laundry room, what do you mean - washing machine/dryer etc? Will you still need to carry wet clothes downstairs to hang on the line? Or is it an airing area/ironing room/storage?

As a mother of 'en suites' - they are a pain - my teenagers are supposed to clean their own - the only time I clean them is if a visitor is coming to take over their room for a night or two. Other than that, I do not enter their en suites! Lethal!

Hi would be a room with a washer and dryer stack where shower is now. For the most part we air dry on inside clothes horses not so much on the line outside. Good point on the cleaning thanks

Fiona McP

I think you've answered your own question! With three kids and all associated paraphernalia, a cloakroom is a godsend. An upstairs utility makes sense if you can also dry the clothes upstairs - saves you lugging them up and down the stairs. And with three (or 2.5) bathrooms elsewhere in the house, you will manage fine. If you're looking at the next 10+ years then design for what suits you as a family, not what other people think is best in theory.

Candlemania

I have very little space in my 3-bed semi and no utility room, so that's what I came up with - a washing machine and a tumble dryer inside a hot press. Finally I don't have to go with the laundry anywhere - from the washing machine I shove it straight into the tumble dryer (make sure you have the low temperature one, so it won't shrink your clothes) and that's it.

You will probably wonder what I've done with the tank? - I got rid of it (as well as the one that was in the attic), as I didn't need it any more. We installed this small gas combi boiler and it's providing hot water "on demand", i.e. straight away and as much as I want. It also eliminated the problem of low pressure in the shower and the need for an electric shower. One of the best things we've installed at our house!

sapper

That’s brilliant - I’m looking into getting a combi boiler as well (the immersion tank/hot press currently backs on to the en suite) but it’s another thing people are warning against. Talking about mains water pressure being low. I’d love to get it done as part of our refurb - how much did it cost to do that?

tuisginideach

I don't know anything re gas-fueled tumble dryers (or whether the gas supply you have would be suitable) but a friend has one and thinks it's fantastic.

Cakerbaker

I love this idea! Some points / questions though would be about access to the room and noise. Will you have to go into the bedroom to get to it? Will you be limited on when you can use it, from a point of view of popping into and out of the room (thinking teenager with friends over and mam/ dad in and out to do the washing or them having a lie in Saturday morning and you wanting to get through the weeks washing)!

Also will having the noise of them upstairs limit when you can use them to mornings / daytime?

Tails142

We have moved into a house with suspended timber floors downstairs including in the kitchen, the washing machine is in the kitchen and vibrates some amount on the spin cycle, stuff shakes off the kitchen counter. I can only imagine having a washing machine upstairs would be as bad or worse?

listermint

I'd avoid drying clothes indoors .

It's extremely bad for respiratory problems and will cause damp .

Its one of the worst things you can do with your washing. It's fine occasionally but should only ever be

Candlemania

sapper wrote: »

That’s brilliant - I’m looking into getting a combi boiler as well (the immersion tank/hot press currently backs on to the en suite) but it’s another thing people are warning against. Talking about mains water pressure being low. I’d love to get it done as part of our refurb - how much did it cost to do that?

What/why are people warning against? Buying and installing the gas combi boiler was something over 3k, I don't remember exactly. But this one thing resolved all the problems we've had in the house we were renting before (also a 3-bed semi).

Now we have boiling hot water in the tap in the kitchen (probably because it's closer to the boiler) and hot water in the upstairs bathrooms whenever we need. We don't have to wait, like we used to, until the water heats up in the tank. It was never possible to fill the bath tub with hot water, as it used to run out by the time the tub was half full.

The heating is finally working like it should (controlled by the gas combi boiler) - we have a constant temperature in the house, thanks to portable thermostats. In the previous house, the thermostats were installed above the radiator! So as you can imagine, it was impossible to rely on them. We had to turn the heating on and off manually, or it was set on the clock, but it was always either too hot or too cold in the house, it was never comfortable.

And the best of all, our gas bills have significantly decreased...

Candlemania

Tails142 wrote: »

We have moved into a house with suspended timber floors downstairs including in the kitchen, the washing machine is in the kitchen and vibrates some amount on the spin cycle, stuff shakes off the kitchen counter. I can only imagine having a washing machine upstairs would be as bad or worse?

There is some level of vibrations when on the spin cycle, but it's only when the spinning is at its fastest, so it lasts maybe 2 minutes maximum.
But I much more prefer to have the washing machine in the hot press than in the kitchen. It's an aesthetical thing - in my opinion, this appliance just doesn't look nice in the kitchen. And then comes the carrying of clothes up and down, which I don't have to do anymore:)

the_sonandmoon

Unless you have concrete floors upstairs, this can be a nightmare. They vibrate something awful, shake the floor of the entire storey.
I assume you'd be getting the whole room tanked in case of leaks.
They are so heavy, getting them replaced would be really difficult (delivery men would likely object to having to bring them up/down).

If you want to avoid carrying loads up and down the stairs, would you consider installing a chute/dumb-waiter system?

the_sonandmoon

Id definitely be in favour of removal of en-suites though. To be fair, I'd have en-suites removed altogether though - I do not need to sleep in such close quarters with my husband's bathroom activities, and would prefer he not have to witness mine!
My sister has en-suites in every room, and she hates it. It's just more toilets to clean, keep stocked etc. The stink out of her teenaged boys room is bad enough without him sleeping/studying/gaming in the stench of his bathroom as well!

Candlemania

the_sonandmoon wrote: »

Unless you have concrete floors upstairs, this can be a nightmare. They vibrate something awful, shake the floor of the entire storey.

Nothing is falling off the shelves, so it's not too bad. Except for the mentioned 2 minutes on the spin cycle, you can barely hear the washing machine working, as it's behind a closed door - as oppose to the noise you hear when it's in the kitchen.

Have you ever had a washing machine on the first floor?

the_sonandmoon wrote: »

I assume you'd be getting the whole room tanked in case of leaks.

Same chances are that your immersion, attic tank or one of the radiators leak.

the_sonandmoon wrote: »

They are so heavy, getting them replaced would be really difficult (delivery men would likely object to having to bring them up/down).

I wouldn't create problems that don't exist. If they can bring it into an upper duplex apartment, they can bring it onto the first floor, too. Or you can ask a member of your family/neighbour to give you a hand.

I was just giving my opinion on what works for me.

the_sonandmoon

Candlemania wrote:

I was just giving my opinion on what works for me.

Sure, if it works for you, great!

I was just passing on the advice I was given (by civil and forensic engineers, builders, and people who had considered doing the same) when I was considering it too. I decided against it.
I had an upstairs bathroom tanked to facilitate a wet room shower, so I'm not opposed to these things, just passing on some considerations that helped me to make my decision.

the_sonandmoon

There could also be insurance implications for any damage caused by the spin cycle. Regular first storey joists wouldn't be designed to withhold the impact of the vibrations (even if they do only last 2 minutes) over time. I imagine it could cause vulnerability to the joists. Any damage caused (structural, leaks etc.) may not be covered by your insurance. Just a thought, I could be totally wrong...

Candlemania

Any insurance experts here?

Anyway, from my experience, insurance in this country is a sham. It's ok when nothing happens, but when it does, your premium will skyrocket (to cover the costs of what they've paid you out) and you can't even change the insurer, because no other company will do it for less after you've had a claim.

Yamanoto

sapper wrote: »

Hi - we are currently planning a refurbishment of our 5 bed semi. We have 3 young kids 10 and under. Space is tight downstairs and we currently live with bags and coats thrown into corners and all over the hall, so as part of the refurb we would like to convert our downstairs utility room (small approx 2.5m sq) into a cloakroom.
Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms for the kids + playroom and up in the attic room our bedroom with an ensuite. One of the kids rooms has an ensuite which isnt really used, and if it is its used by just my daughter. Given space is tight I think this is an extravagance and I would like to convert that into an upstairs laundry room. So moving from having 1 main bathroom+2 ensuites+1 downstairs WC to 1 main bathroom+1 ensuite+1 downstairs WC + 1 laundry room
Our builder and a few other professionals say we are wrong to get rid of a bathroom but I think the upstairs laundry would be a much better use of space instead of a bathroom for one child. If it turns out to be a problem in 10 years we can convert it back...
Has anyone done this kind of thing? Does anyone swear by having an ensuite in a kids bedroom? Or an upstairs laundry?
THanks

You mention discussions with your builder 'and a few other professionals' - have you had any input from a decent architect? Well worth a sit down with one if you're spending a decent sum and want to get it right going forward.

It may be that space can be reconfigured & design solutions suggested to allow for storage, whilst still retaining or even enhancing your downstairs utility. If you plan on living in the house in 10 years time but are looking to refurb now, I'd be looking at a plan that doesn't require any converting back at some point down the line.