Bathroom In The Shop...Yes or No????

[padroo]

I built my detached garage back in the mid 80's and put the plumbing in the floor for a toilet sink and shower and never made a bathroom out of it.

 

[MushCreek]

Like a lot of questions- It depends. I'm of a certain age where my bladder doesn't hold as much as it used to, and the urge comes on FAST. My shop is 125' from the house, so it's a bit of a walk, especially in bad weather. I have a full bath (toilet, sink, shower) plus a work sink. In my area (upstate SC), they had no problem with me putting a full bath in an outbuilding. No added taxes or anything. It's tied into the house septic tank.

I have no problem 'watering the bushes' from time to time, but I need water to wash my greasy hands as I wrench on old iron. Since my shop isn't heated, I turn the water off for a few months in the winter, and I miss having the plumbing when working out there on mild winter days.

 

[FANTM58]

Yes I'm breaking ground on my house and shop very soon
.and I'll have a 1/2 bath in the shop. Both are ran to a septic
System. And a mop sink .

 

[ATC]

For those worried about zoning restrictions and such....just get a self contained composting toilet (like what's in RV's) and put it in the corner. If you gotta pee....just go in the sink or outside.

 

[Mike.VA]

My reply to you is a YES!

I am having one installed in my garage and it will make it complete. I look at it this way:
- it is a stand alone building
- it has space for (will have) a sink, frig, TV, chairs, microwave, counter tops,oven, & cabinets with munchies
- it has work space (a shop), work space ( parking area for toys) and more work space

So why not have a bathroom? Mine will even have a Shower!!

You want to walk back to the house, take off your shoes, ask the princess to open the door, since your hands are so dirty you can't touch a thing - get real here.

A bathroom to wash your hands, clean up, and so forth just sounds like a good idea.

 

[ddurrett896]

I'm planning a bathroom to keep everyone else out of my house - especially during parties!

 

[My Old Tools]

It's a hard thing to get a permit on.
Existing house septic must be so oversized as to accommodate an 'apartment' and I believe must be rated for five additional people.

Or

The city requires a seperate hookup and all the add-on fees like garbage and welfare supplement.

Or

Zoning on R1 does not allow for a second remote bath because many turds will turn it in to a seperate living area and rent it out.

Or

The toilet changes it from a garage to something else like a day room, so your insurance gets squirrels in it.

Or

I have heard but not verified:
No toilet allowed unless you put in a kitchen is a rule some places. And a kitchen makes it a guest ghouse and guest houses are disallowed.

Or

Covenant negates any outbuilding with a toilet.

Or

Our covenant(and I'm sure many others) disallows outhouse toilets. I would lose in court as a detached garage with a toilet is an outhouse toilet. .

I doubt an attached garage has much of a problem with having a toilet in it except for designated code size and door and venting and such.

Don't ask, Don't tell....

 

[My Old Tools]

I did the rough in for a half bath when I built mine, but never got around to hooking it up. I'll do the same in the new shop and likely finish it out to at least a shop sink and stool. No rules on any of this where I live now or where I'm moving to. Always check before you buy.

 

[glentre]

I wanted a bathroom in my 30 x 38 under construction and even roughed in for one which had to be inspected by the plumbing dept. That triggered a visit by the health dept who then designed a disposal system consisting of a 1,000 gal combo settling and pump tank to pump the waste up to my higher septic tank. This is a costly job that just isn't in the budget. I'm 77 and have to pee more often than ever but the garage is about 100 ft from the house which has no bath close to the outside door. Guess Gatorade bottles are in my future.

Glen

 

[moriboy]

I have a full bathroom in my shop. I takes up very little space and when you gotta go, it's really nice. I hardly use it now, but my time is coming.

My dad, who is approaching 70, does not have a shop bathroom. For 30 years he's been talking about putting one in. I don't think it'll happen now. I can tell you he's miserable when nature calls, the weather is bad, and he has to wander up to the house to go #2. Some days he can't move fast enough.

 

[Organized_Garage]

There is not one in there and now too costly to do but I'd like a fulltime bathroom in ours, not only for me being too lazy to walk the few feet to the house but also for (more often than not) when we have friends and family over outside on the patio in the summer. The barn usually ends up being the entertaining spot anyways.

I will on occasion utilize the bathroom in our motorhome which is parked inside. So in a roundabout way, I guess we do have a bathroom in ours.

 

[FRSMech]

Back when I worked in a garage we would piss in the shop sink half of the time rather than walk all the way to the back to the real toilet so I plan to put in a decent sized sink that is conveniently at urinal height. Two birds - one sink.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CarModels]

Yes.

 

[tinker rick]

Yes, but only because there is living area above so plumbing was there. Why not.

 

[sberry]

It would make a big difference with house design, I can see where a guy is working alone, its convenient out the back of a house etc.

 

[kasander]

I was originally planning on making my garage upstairs into a future studio apartment and installing a sink downstairs. Now I am leaning towards a toilet downstairs too, in case I never get around to finishing the upstairs. Pouring my slab next week, so I need to decide. I think I will stub out for every possibility and decide later. Need some plumbing help though. I posted on my garage build thread, can anyone help me out? http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6354643#post6354643

 

[James-W]

Having a bathroom in the garage would be nice, but in my case the cost to do it would have been far too much money to make it practical. I would have needed to rip out part of my driveway to run the water and sewer lines and once the water/sewer lines were in, have the driveway repaired again. Then too, the garage would be taxed differently and the insurance is different too. Don't ask me why it's that way, it just is.

 

[myredracer]

Question, do YOU have one in yours... [snip]...?

Yes! I would never go without one now that I've experienced the convenience and joy of having my own personal mancave toilet.

I designed/built our house from scratch and have an attached workshop/garage with suite above. I tucked a 2-piece bathroom under the stairs to the suite so doesn't impact the floor space except for maybe the loss of some wall space due to the door. Wasn't on the original plans but the inspector had no objection when he saw it in fact he said it was a good idea. Technically doesn't meet Code requirements for headroom above the toilet.

(Not sure why GJ doesn't rotate my pics even my photo album has.)

 

[Showkey]

My new to me house and shop is 20 years old.

Shop has a bath plumbed in and has never been finished out by the last three owners.
I use the water connection and outside hose connection. It is connected to the septic. I could pee in the 4" pipe but the house 50' away or the woods also works.

The unfinished bath makes a much better compressor room, storage room and guess the past owners agree. I would never spend money or the sq. ft. on a shower in a garage. Every time I think of installing the toilet........I rethink why ?????

When I purchased, the insurance companies never asked if my out buildings had bath rooms.

 

[sberry]

I agree, some places just are not practical. My place has some businesss in it, I have a bathroom/vanity from my office for general traffic and also a sink and urinal off of the shop floor and an bathroom shower above my office in an apt which I still use at the executive facilities.

 

[UpstateNY]

My shop and house is in the middle of a hardwood forest, no neighbors. If I need to take a whiz I just step outside and whip it out and impress the local mammals. 60' to the house if I need to use a toilet. No way I would want to waste the space in the shop.

 

[sberry]

I actually have 2 utility sinks. A wizzer keeps a lot of traffic out of the bathroom that doesn't need to be there.

 

[Dirtdoctor]

Huge yes here. I have a double utility tub in my garage that I use daily and plan on adding a urinal because keeping the dirt and grime out of the house bathroom is really nice.

My dad has a full tiled bathroom with walk in shower, toilet and urinal for his shop, uses it more than the house bathroom it's so nice.

 

[vettex2]

I'm planning a bathroom to keep everyone else out of my house - especially during parties!

Good one!

 

[vettex2]

some of you may want a

 

[rockettgpw]

Absolutely Yes, I have a 40 x 27' steel framed shed six paces from the house and I love having the bathroom in the shed.
The initial need for the b/r in the shed was knowing that we would be demo-ing the back of the house with the original lean-to bathroom in preparation for the monster extensions to the house.
When the slab was laid I stubbed in the pipes for toilet, basin and shower all tucked into a 3' x 10' corner of the shed closest to the old house terracotta drainage. The space taken by the b/r is compensated by a full width mezzanine above it (10 x 27')
As the big house job got closer I framed up the area in rondo studs,piped up the hot and cold with feeds to a good sized kitchen sink in the shed beside the bathroom.
The block is near level so drainage fall was not a problem
Hot water is from an outside mounted instant gas heater unit.
The shower doesn't get used so much now as there are two bathrooms inside but I keep it ready for when I've been working on a particularly crappy job and don't want to mess up my nice bathroom.
The shed b/r is all tiled with vanity cupboard and exhaust fan and was nicer to use than the 1920's one we demoed.
A big bonus is washing my hands with warm water and washing degreaser off parts with HOT water, stuff dries a lot quicker when its hot.
The biggest **** is that I have to leave my beautiful shed as the house will soon be sold and at the expected price it will go for I cant imagine the new owner using the shed for much other then storing toys in and even worse... turn it into a... man cave. Nooooo...

 

[G-ManBart]

Okay guys, I've seen a few threads showing future shop/ garage plans and yet they didn't include a least a half-bath, which I personally would not do without...especially after having one now.

Question, do YOU have one in yours or if not, do you wish you did?

I put the drains in my shop for one, and have built a room that will be both the bathroom as well as the utility room, but haven't gotten to the point of adding the plumbing or fixtures just yet.

We bought the property next to us, knocked down the house, but kept the septic and city water, so we sited the building using the corner of the original house to line everything up with the septic tank.

I decided to go with a full bath and plan to add a clothes washer/dryer as well. I figure it'll be nice to finish whatever I'm working on, shower and change into clean clothes before heading back into the house. I guess my wife will have to find something to say other that "you're stinky" when I come back from the shop

 

[BreeStephany]

If and when I eventually build a shop, ideally I would have a shower, toilet and a double tub sink with foot activated valves, kind of like medical scrub sinks.

 

[MushCreek]

Another reason I have running water in the shop is for a hose bib. I can wash cars and other things without breaking out 150' of hose. Running water- might as well add facilities.

 

[Evilunclegrimace]

I have lines run to my 26' X 36' shop in the backyard. The Township required a $50.00 sewer tie in fee so I paid that when I applied for my $35.00 building permit. Now I just have to finish installing the fixtures and I'll be able to keep the mess out of the house.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I have a potty, sink, and shower in my shop. Tiled, painted, decorated. Since it's right under the house, it's also the second/backup bath for the house.

 

[btdobie]

I was thinking about doing one when I ran gas line, but once I started checking the slope I realized I was going to need a lift pump so I decided against it.

 

[kj_mustang]

Half bath under the stairs in my shop. Toilet, sink, and air compressor in there.

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

 

[gearhead1]

I would love to, but the effluent has to be pumped to a drain field several hundred feet away. The shop is between the septic tank and drain field so I'd have to put in another system.

I do plan on collecting rainwater and having a sink.

 

[crewchief888]

i dont have one in the garage, and wouldnt want one even if i build a bigger garage.
having running water would force me to heat the space in the winter, and i'm not out there 24/7 in the winter.

a few years ago i rented a "shop", it was more of a storage building, but served my purpose getting my mud truck, and a friends jeep out of both of our garages, and gave us a place to work and hang out for a while on a sat or sunday

no heat, no running water, and 2 light bulbs
gas station was a 1/2 block away, so it took some co-ordination and planning when nature called.

 

[onewheat]

Didn't put one in, don't wish I did. I do wish I would have made the garage about 10 feet wider though - still wouldn't want a bathroom in it though. I don't want to give up the real estate or have to clean it. I have 4 others in the house to choose from.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I didn't.. The wife didn't want me to put one in, and I didn't feel the need.

I can take a leak pretty much anywhere in my yard and not worry about anyone seeing me.

 

[dw1]

Okay guys, I've seen a few threads showing future shop/ garage plans and yet they didn't include a least a half-bath, which I personally would not do without...especially after having one now.

Question, do YOU have one in yours or if not, do you wish you did?

You can always rough in the underfloor plumbing and come back later and finish when you are ready. I have a small 4' x 8' bathroom tucked away in the corner. I have a toilet and urinal in there. I have a tub sink right outside the door. (My barn is a mile down the street from my house, my bathroom definitely beats a bucket)

 

[Jon_E]

Garage is only 50' from the house, which has a toilet and 3-bay commercial sink in the basement laundry room. No big deal to run inside for #2. As for #1, out behind the garage is out of sight of the house. I suppose I could use a bucket of sawdust and put it on the compost pile every so often. I do plan on having a small slop sink but it will be plumbed to a gravity fed rainwater collection tank. Might even run the supply through a tiny electric water heater. I'll dump it into a bucket and right outside on the lawn. Another poster mentioned foot valves - that's a great idea but costly.

 

[greggscarshop]

My shop is a little over a 100' from the house. I'm looking at one of these. Made for basements but will pump over 150' on level or near level ground. A bit pricey but I will save a lot on plumbing. Just need to cut in a 1" line from the toilet to the nearest sewage line to the side of the house. It has provisions for sink and shower drains also. I'm still investigating, any thoughts

https://www.upflushtoilet.com/colle...cts/saniflo-sanitop-macerating-upflush-toilet