Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Woo, almost missed this thread. Great job on the work. I love the look. Is it finished now?
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I still have more pix to post... The mini-loo is finished to the extent that it is fully functional and has been in full use for the last 6 months, but there are a couple of pieces I need to complete:
Door - My concept is to make a bi-fold door that works similarly to what is used in telephone booths (remember them?) or airline bathrooms. I still have not clarified the proper materials to use or the approach I will take to insure that it is spray-proof. I have tested some mock-ups and I have enough room, but it needs to be spray-proof and also allow for ventilation. What I am now using is a temporary shower curtain on the inside and a hand woven rug for the outside. The shower curtain is working pretty well for stopping spray, but it is not as elegant as I would wish. The rug-door is actually working well and I am tempted to keep the concept, only replace the flat-weave rug with a tribal hand made pile carpet... it would be more classy but I would need to retain the shower curtain which I don't care for so much. Interestingly, women don't seem to take offense at the rug-door as I would have expected.
Lighting - I thought this would be easy, but it is not so simple. There are issues such as color, contrast, placement, direction and spray-proof that I hadn't anticipated. I have tried several different lights but I am not satisfied with any. I first tried a quartz-halide, good color, but much too bright. I then tried a cute LED but the color was 'iffy' and contrast and light distribution was all wrong. I have seen an LED diffused ceiling light, but $50 price is slowing me down. So, for now I just have a rigged up light that is functional but awful. In the pre-renovated WC, I used an occupancy sensing light which was really great. I want that feature too, but have questions about spray.
Another thing that I want to include is a bidet toilet seat
similar to this. I have provided a spray-proof GFI for power and have also plumbed in a water outlet for it. I have talked to some folks who have lived in Japan and have used these and they think we, in the US, are living like barbarians.
Interestingly, in Japan, bathrooms are not heated, but toilet seats are... what a concept!
I agonized over the need for heat for heating the mini-loo, bare feet on cold stone floor and all that, but just turning on the shower for a brief time takes care of that problem, too.
Another idea I have been trying out, is
not including a vent fan. I purposely mounted the small double hung window very high on the wall, and when the top is open, venting works well due to the chimney effect of the warm air and the tall aspect of the space. The door will need air vents in the bottom for the idea to work. When the mini-loo is dry I close the window. Works good. When the weather here is particularly humid, I've been using a small fan on the floor to speed up drying. I think a properly vented door will take care of this.
Everybody asks about toilet paper getting wet...
I have setteled on using the shower handle (installed in the up-is-off position) as the toilet paper holder. That way you can't turn on the shower without being reminded to relocate the TP.
-AC