My wife and I are considering a very small addition for our home. The end goal is to add 1.5 bathrooms and a small laundry closet. Based on your experience, is 4'x4' finished space sufficient for a half bath? How about 4'x8' for a full bath? I know we'll have to get a bit creative on the full bath, I have found a 4'x5' corner tub that seems like it would work, or perhaps a smaller clawfoot.

I just wanted to gut check my thinking.

Thanks and happy holidays to all!

Keep in mind the toilet location when you sit. A basic alcove for a toilet is 36".This is so you can wipe yourself easily and get your arm around to do so. Now If there is a wing wall thats closer than 18" to center of toilet it shouldn't not go past the center of the seat from that back wall the toilet sits against.( arm to bend around and wipe) when there is toilet beside a tub and things are tight every one wants to center the toilet between the wall and the tub which is fine but check the measurements from wall to center of toilet.Pedestal sinks are a good usage in tight bathrooms. Keep in mind on the swing of the bathroom door. And what would be in the way to swing the door in or out and how much the door can be shifted one way or another way in the entrance wall and if you swing it out how is the access and what is in the way to close it. If you want to get the feel go to the garage and tape out the bathroom layout on the floor Be crazy enough and get some cardboard and tape them toghter for a scale reference. I know this maybe sounds dumb, a bathroom might look good on a drawing if you get one but things get missed when there's a tight space and you need to spin around in there. In just square feet a big bathroom and a small bathroom have basically the same thing toilet,tub,vanity. You still pay about the same for the plumbing and just more for wall,ceiling, The main items are still there. You can get a lot of opinions here but cardboard it cheap. And a prove method. You might rest easier that way on the worry. Just because it all fits in that space when you look at it doesn't mean you fit in that space. I hope this helps

Since your tub is 4x5 you already know a 4x4 room won't work. I have done some 5x7 full baths and that was as tight as I want to go and still meet code and a good design. If you can't do a CAD design draw a scale drawiong on graph paper. Remember that a toilet needs 15" clearance on each side measuring from the center of the bowel.

Ballenger:

The room is 4'x8', so, the tub would work, wouldn't it?

Do you have any drawings from those 5x7's?

I did a bathroom some years back in a 4x8 and it worked well. A 30"shower stall and pedestal sink and toilet. But the door was the key. Draw a rectangle in front of you. on the right side was a 30"shower with a built shelf beside it ( 48") to the left of the shower back wall was a pedestal sink ( shelves to right) to the left was a toilet facing the shower. The door to get in in the 8' wall to the right and hung 4" to the left of that shower and sung out.

Maybe a misread you, I thought you were considering a 4x4 like your earlier experience, that won't work obviously if the tub is 5' long. 4x8 seems like it is large enough however you may have a funky layout with the tub and toilet on the same wall. Try the layout, I don't picture a good working design that meets code. A tub and sink or toilet on opposite walls will not have sufficient passage.

The half bath will be 4x4, but the full bath will be 4x8.

I found a decent standard tub that is 46.5x27. Seems like it could go along the 4' wall and still leave me plenty of room to fit a lavatory and a toilet. No?

Don't make your full bath smaller than 5'x8'. Otherwise, you will hit your head on the wall when sitting on the toilet. However, you can purchase 48" tub (Kohler, plastic, self-rimming, price around $800.00) .

I have seen 4'x4'powder rooms. However, toilet will seat about 18" away from the opposite wall. Advice: consider using wall hung toilets (Geberit frame, Stark fixture ). They protrude only about 16" from the wall. As far as small wall-hung sinks go: Use Porcher or Catalano sinks. They are great for tight spaces.

Another option is to eliminate the tub and go with a shower stall, you can go down to a 30x30 neoangle corner stall that really saves space.

We are absolutely restricted on the 4' measurement, unfortunately. We need to have a tub because when we remodel our master bathroom, we anticipate removing the tub and going with a nice shower. For resale purposes, and for kids, we want a bath tub.

I'd opt for a four foot bath tub. Good luck, Tom