Quote:
Originally Posted by SVOboy
I think most of us know that showers are a fairly decent energy hog...
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Not at all off topic is the bathroom (actually '
wet room') that I have been working on for some months now.
At 700 sq. ft., my house is fairly small, so anything I can do to conserve space makes a big difference.
I'm not one who thinks that a bathroom is a tropical luxury paradise that can be an escape from worries and cares. I discovered a Scandinavian approach which combines all the bathroom functions into one efficient space commonly called a 'wet room'. Since the room is a shower, the floor and walls need to be water tight. This is accomplished by using a waterproof plastic membrane, sandwiched between layers of concrete, and topped with tile.
So here's a photo of the room, shot from the ceiling. The dimensions of the room is 32 inches wide by 52 inches long by 84 inches high. That's about 50% larger than a phone booth (
remember phone booths?).
A. This is where the sink goes. I found a very stylish small sink with a nicely finished waste line, so it will be nice looking. To the upper-right of the "A" is water inlet and sink waste out.
B. This is the bathroom drain. For the finished floor, I figured .25 inch to the foot minimum slope.
C. Not part of the room exactly, this is a plastic pipe that carries phone & data cables from the 2nd floor to the basement.
D. Installed, but hardly visible is a water line for the
Toto Washlet which will mount on the toilet. I decided to go with the Japanese convention and not heat the bathroom, The shower will provide enough warmth for the floor tile, and the Toto Washlet features a heated toilet seat.
E. GFI power outlet for the Toto Washlet.
F. This is a
Geberit in-wall dual-flush toilet carrier. I have a Toto wall-hung toilet that will bolt to this carrier. The carrier has a flush water inlet and also a waste line outlet.
G. This is the shower controler. I have it covered with foam pieces to save my scalp while I'm working in this close space. Shower outlet is too high to see in photo.
H. This was the original toilet waste line hole, before I decided to go with the wall-hung toilet. I plugged it back up and epoxied it to within an inch of it's life.
I. This is my shoe for visual scale.
J. This is the door opening. Width is 22 inches by 74 inches high.
K. The shower controller had an optional tub outlet, so I ran it down to about 12 inches above the floor. I have attached a pneumatic hose fitting for yet-to-be-defined-purposes.
(Not shown is a small opening window above the toilet carrier. The top of the window is right at the top of the room, and may be enough for ventilation. I have allowed room for a power vent if I need to add it later.)
To a certain extent, a smaller bathroom will be a less expensive bathroom. But in my case, I set such extreme conditions for the size and function that the cost was higher.
(* No small benefit of this bathroom arrangement is that every time the shower is used, the bathroom gets washed down. *)
Regards,
-AC_Hacker
P.S. - Today, the pre-pan goes down. Photos to follow.