A wall of glass blocks works well for window space needed in the former closet.
Building a bathroom in existing closet space will require detailed planning. You want the new bathroom to look original to the house design. The flow of the floor plan and placement of doors and windows will take careful thought. Be sure to use upscale materials, especially if the closet area is small, so the new bath will add market value to the home. Design the bath space after you review contemporary bath remodeling projects in home design books and bath remodeling magazines. The colors, fixtures and materials should look appropriate with what's included in new homes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the space you will allow for the bathroom. Use the closet floor space, plus some additional space in a bedroom or hallway, if needed. Draw the house floor plan on graph paper and figure out the best traffic pattern for the new bathroom. Decide if foot traffic should enter from the bedroom, living space or a hallway. Plan to construct a typical interior door to replace any bi-fold or sliding doors on the closet.
2. Look for the best ways to bring plumbing to the space. Route water pipes through the attic or basement, for example. Decide place the toilet and sink drains, so that workers can install these from the home's basement or crawlspace. Figure out if plumbing in the kitchen or a nearby existing bathroom might come through an adjoining wall to the closet.
3. Assess electrical needs and other construction details. Figure out how many outlets and lights you will use, along with any electricity needed for a whirlpool tub or other components. Sketch the room's main fixtures, skylights or other details, so electrical wiring can be routed properly in the new room.
4. Gut the closet back to the studs. Install any new framework needed for enclosing part of a bedroom floor space, for example, using 2-by-4-inch boards. Remove any existing walls that stand in the way of added floor space. Make sure old walls taken down are not load bearing. Build proper support to make sure the new bath perimeter is bearing the house weight as needed.
5. Finish up walls and add fixtures before flooring the space. Install new drywall, paint the walls and ceiling and seat the toilet, bath-tub combo, and sink vanity, for example. Connect the plumbing and electricity before installing flooring last. Lay tile after everything else is in place, so the tile will not be scratched during the building process. Use flooring and wall paint that harmonize with the adjoining room or hallway where the closet stood.
Tags: floor space, bath remodeling, floor plan, space will
