Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 2Jan 13, 2014 12:56 pm Oh gosh the bane of my husbands' existence. We went to every home project builder and asked for this to be done and they all said it was impossible. In saying that downstairs where everything is tile the step up is hardly noticeable, upstairs where it's floorboards into a tiled bathroom the difference is pretty significant. Good luck with your search - I know Metricon & Masterton can't / wont do it. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 4Jan 14, 2014 4:12 pm We don't have a "step" into the bathroom etc. However - we had one hell of a fight to get them to do our showers without the hob. Hobs are old fashioned and unnecessary. They also help cracks and water leaks IMO. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 5Jan 14, 2014 4:14 pm One of the builders (custom smaller builder) we looked at did it as standard in his builds! Sometimes I wish we had the money for one of his houses. Researching a build in South Australia from Sydney. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 6Jan 14, 2014 4:21 pm KGsGirl One of the builders (custom smaller builder) we looked at did it as standard in his builds! Sometimes I wish we had the money for one of his houses. So - am I missing the point - are your bathrooms and laundry above the rest of the floor - ie you can stub your toe as you go in ? I remember when we started our plans they tried to tell us we had to have this enormous drop from the house to the deck/al fresco. We argued a bit and finally found out they could fix it by simply doing a single pour for the lot. You do need a drop - but it can be manageable. I think many builders are so set in their ways they don't want to change - meet your needs. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 7Jan 14, 2014 5:25 pm Saint Mike KGsGirl One of the builders (custom smaller builder) we looked at did it as standard in his builds! Sometimes I wish we had the money for one of his houses. So - am I missing the point - are your bathrooms and laundry above the rest of the floor - ie you can stub your toe as you go in ? I remember when we started our plans they tried to tell us we had to have this enormous drop from the house to the deck/al fresco. We argued a bit and finally found out they could fix it by simply doing a single pour for the lot. You do need a drop - but it can be manageable. I think many builders are so set in their ways they don't want to change - meet your needs. It changes their calculations - both cost and supply. It means more work. I can sort of understand why they can't/won't change things but it does get a bit frustrating on occasion because for many of us, this is the one chance we have to get our home right. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 8Jan 14, 2014 5:40 pm Pure laziness really, if the customer wants to pay for it there should be no problem! It's only a matter of the slab being stepped down at pour stage. Agree re hobs I really dislike them! Who were the smaller builders that included it? Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 9Jan 14, 2014 5:40 pm Pure laziness really, if the customer wants to pay for it there should be no problem! It's only a matter of the slab being stepped down at pour stage. Agree re hobs I really dislike them! Who were the smaller builders that included it? Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 10Jan 14, 2014 8:45 pm We wanted our sliding doors out to the alfresco to be recessed so our children would not trip over but was told they don't do it anymore. I'm glad our bathroom and ensuite showers will have no hob and we have bamboo flooring up to the bathroom and laundry. It will be interesting to see how that pans out. Built the Avoca @ Aquilo, Bonnells Bay http://avocaonaquilo.blogspot.com.au/ 12/10/13 $3K Deposit 31/10/13 Consolidated Tender 11/11/13 Colour Selection 18/02/14 DA approved 19/02/14 Electricals Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 11Jan 14, 2014 9:27 pm I'm almost certain that Sekisui House told us that it was standard to have the floor levels the same (ie they designed them that way) Also we spoke to a builder about renovating our place the other day and he said he does this as it is standard to have the floor level of the bathroom to be lower (he seemed to be indicating that is a building standard) so that you don't flood the living areas and that the water goes to the lowest point... Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 12Jan 15, 2014 6:37 am Not sure about flooding. Most laundry/bathrooms have an outlet in floor for overflow - should that EVER occur. Just as likely in kitchen IMO - but its not stepped up or down. The alfresco step down was atrocious. We asked why and got some silly - policy - answer. When we pointed out the display houses weren't done that way - things changed. There are reasons for things - but not for builders just doing it because they always have done it that way - or it's easier for them. Ask them why they can't do it ? AND - don't accept silly answers - make them explain why. If it is important to you - just say - do it my way or I'll go elsewhere. We did this on our driveway - and - as if by magic - they suddenly thought they could do it - and they did - a good job. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 13Jan 15, 2014 6:54 am This is something I hadn't even considered but it's certainly on my list of things to ask now. Thanks Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 14Jan 15, 2014 8:25 am We requested this. It wasn't any extra cost, but due to many factors we have ended up with tiles higher cause people don't read the plans and put rooms completely in the right spot. Don't even get me started haha
The tiles are only higher cause we have vinyl planks. If you have tiles in main area or wood it would prob be smooth transition as it is. Otherwise it would be a drop down Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 15Jan 15, 2014 9:03 am Saint Mike KGsGirl One of the builders (custom smaller builder) we looked at did it as standard in his builds! Sometimes I wish we had the money for one of his houses. So - am I missing the point - are your bathrooms and laundry above the rest of the floor - ie you can stub your toe as you go in ? Yep hurts like all s&%t when you kick it. I can't tell you how many times we've asked if this could be changed, but project builders told us no. I think we'll have to put door snakes to stop the kids stubbing their toes at night. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 16Jan 15, 2014 9:15 am Novice8 Saint Mike KGsGirl One of the builders (custom smaller builder) we looked at did it as standard in his builds! Sometimes I wish we had the money for one of his houses. So - am I missing the point - are your bathrooms and laundry above the rest of the floor - ie you can stub your toe as you go in ? Yep hurts like all s&%t when you kick it. I can't tell you how many times we've asked if this could be changed, but project builders told us no. I think we'll have to put door snakes to stop the kids stubbing their toes at night. My parents house (where we are living at the moment) has a lip of maybe 10-20mm from the tiles in the hallway up to the tiles in the bathroom. It has never been an issue that I know in our house, and I'm a pretty clumsy person. Unless you were walking around shuffling/dragging your feet around you shouldn't stub your toe on it. Researching a build in South Australia from Sydney. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 17Jan 15, 2014 10:50 am More of a looks thing for us as well as I have sight issues so any less step is a good thing! One thing to consider though everyone if you will be using 600 x600 tiles they will be raised up higher than normal tiles as they are usually not glued but laid on the same bed as the bathroom so then end up the same height...if you were to drop your bathrooms down then you ( I think in theory) would end up with a height difference the other way. Re: Cost of stepping down bathrooms/laundry to match floor l 18Jan 15, 2014 10:50 am More of a looks thing for us as well as I have sight issues so any less step is a good thing! One thing to consider though everyone if you will be using 600 x600 tiles they will be raised up higher than normal tiles as they are usually not glued but laid on the same bed as the bathroom so then end up the same height...if you were to drop your bathrooms down then you ( I think in theory) would end up with a height difference the other way. The requirement is for a waterstop to be installed to the entries of the room, (a small aluminum 'L' angle to retain the water to within the room) can't see if they have… 1 1938 This is a very tight fit, I'm not sure if you'll be able to achieve what you've described. Would you consider accessing the separate toilet from the laundry? If so maybe… 1 11253 |