convert 2 closets into 1 bath. 3/1 becomes 1/2?

Question

i have 1 bath house.   i want to convert 2 closets and make house 2 bathroom.   if rooms dont have closets they dont count as bedrooms.   what qualifies as a closet?  ie attach a small stand up storeage to the wall?

reason i want 2 bath is i think it will raise the value and havong only 1 bath is pretty obsolete.   i do have basement i could put it in.  but then i would need a pump to get toilet/shower to sewage line.   input appreciated.   what is the kowest cost anyone has been able to add shower and toilet and sink?

Mike Parks · Answer

is this your own home or an investment property? If its your own home I wouldnt worry about it. If its a rental, than I DEFINITELY wouldnt worry about it. Your return on adding a bathroom isnt going to be greater that the cost to add it.

Gene Jordan · Answer

Is it possible to turn one bedroom and closet into the bathroom, laundry room, and storage and end up with a 2 bedroom, 2 full bath home with a laundry room and lots of storage?

If not that route, then would you consider converting one bedroom and closet into a full bath and making the leftover space an office? A tenant or buyer may still use the "office" as a bedroom for a small child. You'd still end up with a 2 bedroom, 2 full bath home.

My last idea would be to build small closets along the walls of the bedrooms that do not have the window, then convert the closets between them into a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and stand up shower instead of a tub. A variant would be making that bathroom a 1/2 bath with just a toilet and a sink, then adding a separate shower in the basement.  This would make the bedrooms considerable smaller, but you would end up with 2 baths.

Jon Holdman · Answer

Is 4.5 x 11 the space for the two closets?  So the bedrooms themselves are what, 11x12 or so?

Tough to make a bathroom less than 5" wide on the inside since that the length of a standard tub.  But a 5'x8' bath is do-able.  You could do that and put to small closets back to back.  They would be tiny, but they would be closets.   But 5' wide does mean moving one of the closet walls, if 4.5' is the current inside dimension.  And that could mean an inspector would make you upgrade that bedroom to arc-fault breakers and mandate proper egress windows.  I can't give you a very good guess, but I'd put it at $3000-5000 assuming you hire someone to do it and don't run into any major issues.

Eric Bowlin · Answer

@Kirk R. A Closet isn't defined in the IRC to the best of my knowledge but your local state or county codes may define it.

David Niles · Answer

Without a closet, the bedrooms are now not legally considered bedrooms.

Your costs are impossible to estimate without first knowing how close supply and waste lines are to the closets.

To me, your trying to fix one issue by creating additional ones.

Joel Hogan · Answer

@Kirk R  Your state and/or local codes may define what is required. I would contact your city or county inspector in your town.

Roy N. · Answer

@Kirk R.

What are the dimensions of the closets and bedrooms?

If the bedrooms are big enough you could put a Jack-in-Jill between them and carve out a new closet (and perhaps built-in desk) in each bedroom.

Eric Bowlin · Answer

4.5x11 means those BR are roughly 11x11? You will have to physically build a closet so it can be considered part of the house. Even building a 2x3 closet takes up a huge portion of your already tiny bedrooms.

Perhaps do a half bath and keep the closets butted back to back at the end.

Kirk R. · Answer

@Jon Holdman about 4.5 feet by 11.

@David  Niles water lines are close.   getting to waste pipe out should not be horrible.   just wanting it very low end functional.

@Joel Hogan wondering if there is a standard of what a closet is. i havent looked real hard but have been paying attention

Jon Holdman · Answer

What are the dimensions involved here?

convert 2 closets into 1 bath. 3/1 becomes 1/2?

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