A few of you asked what program I'm using to create my 3D layouts. I'm using SketchUp, a free program from Google. I must say it is quite easy to use; I figured it out through trial and error. I just have the basics down; I have seen some FABULOUS models elsewhere.
We thought through our priorities, and decided that the dogs could sleep in a bathroom/laundry room, that we didn't REALLY need a side back door AND a back back door, and that a bathroom really would be nice. We already traded for a stackable washer and dryer to help with our plans.
A snag came up when we realized the trap door for the crawl space is right where we wanted to place a wall; we compromised by shrinking the bedroom by a foot. It's now a 10' x 13' bedroom; the largest in the house by FAR, and with no closet eating up space inside it. I am also concerned about placing a sink over this trap door... is this a good idea, or a disaster waiting to happen?
Here are two ideas; look at how far they came from my last attempt! The trap door is the square on the floor of the laundry/bathroom area.
Basically, I divided the space up into a 10'x13' bedroom and two 7'x5' spaces, one a walk in closet and one a laundry or bathroom. I removed the side back door, and added our salvaged French doors to the bedroom.
I can't decide about doors... should the closet and laundry room have their own separate entrances from the bedroom (I'll likely do pocket doors for at least one of them), or should I have only ONE door that into the bathroom, and then a door from there into the closet? I drew the plans with a separate door for each.
Whether we do the bathroom will depend on the ease of plumbing. In the little bit of research I've done, it sounds alternately like the easiest thing in the whole world and like I've asked to move the Empire State Building. It doesn't help that I don't really know what needs to be done except we need the 4 inch drain and we already have plumbing in the wall...
What are your thoughts on these floorplans? Any ideas on how hard or easy it might be to install a new bathroom in a wood framed house over a crawl space, using an existing wet wall (kitchen)?
7 comments:
This looks great, and the stacked washer/dryer helps a lot. So could you really easily move the trap door? I think you might need to get in there, so you wouldn't want to totally block it, but that seems like something really easy to put in the closet and then permanently close up the old one.
I agree with Jen - if you could move the trap door over to the closet side it may save you some headaches.
As far as doors - I think I'd opt for pocket doors for both the closet and the bath. I don't know how "do-able" that would be though, cause it looks like they'd both have to slide into the center. Is that possible?
The bathroom looks a bit unbalanced with placing everything on that one wall. I understand you are trying to minimize the amount of work, but you may want to think of how you would really optimize the room w/o having to place everything on this wet wall. If you could find a way to put a shower that cuts into the back of the walk-in a bit the extra bathroom could really improve function and resale. This would let you keep all of the planned room you have in the bathroom now. It may cost a bit more, but the value you are adding may be worth the extra plumbing costs.
I agree with the comments about not placing the sink over the crawl space door and trying to move it to the closet space. Also, if possible it would be nice if you didn't have to access the laundry through the bathroom, but not sure if you can work out this layout.
I have a bathroom that's roughly 7x5 feet, and it really does make sense to put everything on the one wet wall, especially if you're trying to maneuver with laundry baskets and everything. The room is really to be more functional than decorative.
I agree with the others about moving the trap door to the closet.
I think a laundry next to the closet is a major time saver. My designer neighbor put a washer/dyer combo (LG WM3431HW Washer/Dryer Combo) unit right in her closet, freeing up more space in her bath.
I'd definitely move the trapdoor to the closet if you can- it'll save a ton of potential heartache down the road to to do it now.
And if it's possible I'd opt for one door from the bedroom to either the bath or closet and a pocket door from that to the other area for privacy (that's what we have).
I agree with everyone - relocate the trap door to the closet if at all possible. Then have the door to the closet be a pocket door between the bathroom and the closet.
That door will help offset the weight on the one wall of the bathroom.
What about moving the washer/dryer unit into the closet? It will make plumbing a bit more difficult, but it will free up lots of floor space in your bath. You could even put a small linen cabinet over the trapdoor, since it could be moved if access is needed. Moving the washer/dryer out of the bathroom would also improve the aesthetics of the bathroom, IMO.
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