Little room can be big advantage
Come on, you know you want one. Who wouldn’t welcome an extra bathroom, for guests or just for, well, a little added convenience?
The Victorians called them “powder rooms,” because they provided places for women to remove the shine from their noses. These days, they’re also called half baths.
But whatever you call them, they’re typically small. The national average is 4 feet by 5 feet, says Wendy Glancy of Creative Specialties International, a division of Moen Inc.
That’s big enough for a toilet and a sink. And small enough that there just may be an existing space in your house that could be transformed into a powder room.
Perhaps a closet near the front door, or maybe one tucked under the stairs to the basement? Location is important, because there’s plumbing, heating, soil-line access and building codes to consider.
With powder rooms, limited space can work to your advantage.
“Because its size is typically smaller than other rooms in the house, it provides the opportunity to be a bit more creative and daring,” Glancy says.
“Plus, you can make a significant decorating impact with little time and expense, and change the look often to keep it fresh.”
Sound tempting? Then there are a few things to consider from the outset.
First, this is not a do-it-yourself job. You can pick the space and make up a wish list of what you’d like inside it, but you’ll need a designer to come up with a plan that will meet your expectations and building code, and a contractor capable of following the plans and the rules.
Let’s start with design. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, a design fee is compensation to the designer for advice, consultation, ideas or development of a bath design or space planning.
The fee varies, but can be expected to be in the $50- to $75-per-hour range. Some designers apply all or part of the fee toward the project’s total cost.
The Web site Contractors.com says powder rooms can be categorized as standard grade, economy grade and premium grade. Premium grade has top-quality fixtures, economy grade is designed for tighter budgets, and standard is in between.
To determine the base costs of installing a theoretical powder room in an existing space (4 feet by 5 feet by 8 feet), we used the Web site’s calculator. We picked out everything required to complete the half-bath.
Since no new walls are needed to enclose the space, that reduces costs substantially, even though the existing drywall would be replaced with moisture-resistant green board.
Because the space is above an unfinished basement, flooring work would not mean replacing a ceiling below after cutting into it for plumbing, wiring and heating.
For fixtures, we chose a one-piece white toilet and a vanity with drop-in sink. (Stephanie Witt of Kitchens by Stephanie in Grand Rapids, Mich., says a fixture’s price depends a great deal on options, such as type and quality of the faucet valve, quality of the finish and warranty length.)
A pedestal sink would have been cheaper, and charming, but that leaves storage issues with towels and other supplies.
Factor in, too, a medicine cabinet with sconce-style lights on each side; an exhaust fan, light and heater; a chrome towel bar; a glass holder; a soap fixture; and a toilet-paper holder.
Standard-grade tile will cost $4 a square foot. There will be a six-panel interior door, 2 feet by 6 feet, 8 inches. Ceiling and walls will be painted.
Estimated cost: $7,691.
The economy version of the same bathroom would be about $500 less. The premium version is $9,500 and change.
These are base costs. If you’d prefer to install wainscoting along the bottom half of the walls, it will add to the price.
How can you lower your costs? At the front end, there is demolition. Your contractor is going to arrange for disposal of materials and will include those costs in an estimate. But if you have experience with such things, you might be able to handle that part on your own.
The decorating you likely can handle yourself. Have the contractor prime the walls and ceiling, and you can do the finish paint work, such as a sponge effect on the walls above the wainscoting. You also can paint the wainscoting.
And you can shop for accessories (towels, waste baskets, wall decor, etc.) to suit your budget and your taste. Anything goes, flea-market finds to fine linens.
Remodeling magazine’s annual “Cost vs. Value” report does not specifically address half-baths. But for a mid-range bathroom addition (with tub), the average return nationally is about 95 percent at resale.
If you live in a two-story house with only one bathroom, on the second floor, having a half-bath on the first floor will add to the salability.
Especially if yours is the only house on the street that has one.
Dimensions to remember
Door. A clear opening is at least 32 inches, meaning a minimum door width of 2 feet, 10 inches. The door should not interfere with the safe use of the fixtures or cabinets.
Room height. There should be a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 80 inches.
Floor plan. There should be a clear floor space of at least 30 inches from the front edge of all fixtures to any opposite fixture, wall or obstacle. The distance from the middle of the sink to the nearest side wall should be 20 inches. The distance from the centerline of the toilet to any other fixture or wall should be at least 18 inches. Flooring should be slip-resistant.
Lavatory height. This may vary between 32 and 43 inches, depending on the users. The countertops should have clipped or rounded corners. Provide adequate, accessible storage for toiletries, bath linens, grooming and general bathroom supplies at point of use.
Mirror. Place above or near the lavatory, at a height that takes users’ eye level into consideration.
Toilet-paper holder. Should be 8 to 12 inches in front of the edge of the toilet bowl, centered at 26 inches above the floor.
Source: National Kitchen and Bath Association, based on code requirements
Getting a fix on fixtures
For our theoretical powder-room project, we sought out prices for some typical half-bath features:
One-piece white porcelain toilet, $225.
Vanity, 21 inches in diameter by 42 inches wide, with a 20-by-18-inch sink, $700 (includes laminate countertop). A pedestal sink would have cost $375.
Wide-spread faucet set in polished chrome, $128.
Medicine cabinet, 22 inches by 22 inches, $125.
Exhaust fan with light and heater, $208.
Chrome towel bar, glass/paper/soap holder, $150.
Light sconces, two at $60 each.
We priced out other necessary materials, such as:
Moisture-resistant “green board” for walls, $10 per 4-foot-by-8-foot sheet.
Moisture-resistant cement backerboard, to go underneath tile floor, $10 per sheet (3 feet by 5 feet by 0.5 inch).
Tile (ceramic and mosaic), in sheets (12 inch by 12 inch); $4 per square foot, 20 square feet required, plus adhesive, grout and sealer.
Source: Manufacturers
Internet assistance
All sorts of Web sites contain information to help you plan a powder-room project. Here are a few:
Cost planning: www.contractors.com.
Design: National Kitchen and Bath Association, www.nkba.org.
Insulation: www.owenscorning.com; www.certainteed.com.
Green board, backerboard and wainscoting: www.usg.com; www.gp.com; www.jameshardie.com.
Electrical: www.nesf.org.
Heating and cooling: www.phcc.org.
Tile: www.flooringguide.com; www.floridatile.com; www.daltile.com.
Plumbing fixtures, mirrors and lighting: www.kohler.com; www.americanstandard.com;
Exhaust fans: www.broan.com.
Accessories: www.bedbathandbeyond.com.
Storage: www.holdeverything.com.
Paint: www.behr.com; www.mabpaints.com.