Ups and Downs of Adding a Bathroom to Your Minnesota Home

Adding a bathroom to your Minnesota home or any other home can be a big decision.  It can be desirable to have a bathroom in the basement when nature calls.  However, in some cases, adding a bathroom to your home's basement may not be so practical, especially if gravity is not on your side.  Therefore, you must ponder the ups and downs of this addition. 

In most every bathroom, you have to create "fall" or you have to give your wastewater a push.  Between all the pushing and falling, you could end up spending a lot of money.  Wastewater from the basement's shower, sink, tub and toilet must get enough slope to drain effectively and properly. 

Attaining the proper fall may require removing and rebuilding small sections of the basement slab.  It can be a big process for some homes. 

When installing your basement toilet, you help give gravity an extra push.  Therefore, installing a pressure-assisted toilet with a pressure valve will assist in forcing waste through the pipes and into the sewer line.  Using a pressure assist toilet can help you avoid removing portions of your foundation. 

To help save money on pipes, drainage and ventilation, try adding the toilet and other water-using appliances against an outside wall.  This will help reduce pipe usage and ventilate sewer gasses properly. 

Adding a bathroom to your basement will also add value to your home.  This is always a good selling point when it's time to sell your home.