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

[The Tool Tyrant]

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?

 

[madison069]

My new shop has one, but i need to repair the water line going to the shop. Currently I have no clue where the water line is damaged so I got some detective work to do.....

 

[kTHREE]

I have none in mine, I wish I had a big *** double utility tub and a urinal.

 

[Uncle Jimbo]

I will not build one without a sink and stool. A shower will likely be included in the plans as well. I've been in too many that didn't have a bathroom, where the owner wished there was one, to not have one in mine. The shops that do have bathrooms are very nice and I've never heard anyone say, "I wish I would not have added the bathroom."

 

[Movover]

If you were building new I would say 100% YES at least plumb it in, no one wants to go into the house when you are all dirty to take a leak. And a double sink is always a good thing

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

Jeeez...way to be a 'Debbie Downer' Ducksface...it's a simple 'YES or 'NO' question. If it's that difficult to include a bathroom in a garage or shop wherever YOU live, I'm sure glad I don't live there. I thought San Diego was tough...but wherever you are has it beat hands-down!

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.

 

[driftpin]

Full bath off the hallway from the 2 car attached garage to the house. The laundry/pantry is opposite the full bath. Very convenient & dirt stays out of the living quarters.

 

[ZipSnafu]

I do not have a bathroom in my shop. I would of had to spend some big bucks to get a separate septic or pump it up hill. Would I want one... yes.

 

[ryan77]

ducksface hit it on the head, to many restrictions to make it reasonable, personally I'd just bury a 55 gal barrel in a gravel pit and not tell anyone, but I'm way out in the country.

 

[matt_i]

Another consideration is, if you live where the ambient drops below freezing, you are pretty much committed to keeping the heat at 35F or greater, at all times.

 

[redmondjp]

Another consideration is, if you live where the ambient drops below freezing, you are pretty much committed to keeping the heat at 35F or greater, at all times.

True. If you design it with an enclosed bathroom, you can keep that space heated with a small electric heater and not have to pay to heat the entire shop. And then you complicate things by adding a utility sink in the shop area!

 

[PelicanPines]

Cat litter bucket in the corner...

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I built my shop in 1991 with a 10 foot by 14 foot area segregated from the remainder of the 1200 square foot shop. That area is divided into a water heater closet, bathroom with toilet, sink and shower, and "office" space. The area is heated in the winter with a single 220 v baseboard heater. The office space is for shop manuals, a small desk to sit at when researching something, and a collection of petroliana. I still haven't added a hot water heater. But I love being able to go to the bathroom, wash grime off my hands, get some wash water, etc without walking the 30 feet to the house through the garage and laundry room to get to a bathroom. The shower was put in in case I ever have an accident and need to flush my eyes or body in a hurry. If you can afford it, I highly recommend an in-shop bathroom. My wife loved it, too, because it was more convenient when working outside.

 

[vettex2]

Mine has a toilet , laundry sink, W/D hook-ups and a water heater..
When I bought the place I thought it was odd that they left a toilet in the garage.
When I went to move it I found out it was plumbed in.
No walls. It's ok though, I'm the only one in there.
I was thinking of maybe hanging a circular shower curtain or something similar.

 

[forAK]

Yes - full walk in shower also to take care of the mutts instead of the house bath.

 

[zmotorsports]

I guess I'm odd man out here, nothing new, but my old shop did not have a restroom in it and I am not putting one in my new shop that is currently under construction.

My personal reasons are as follows; my shop will only be 45 feet from the back of my house and I have a half bath just inside the back door of the house, I also would have had a lot more permitting to do in order to tie into the sewer system and lastly, $$$ cost. I had my contractor buddy give me an estimate and it was approx. $8k additional just to tie into the sewer, run the plumbing and this is not including the extra permitting. Maybe I am being a tight *** but when I am already spending $100k on a shop I have to draw the line somewhere and to be honest, I don't want to give up the real estate just for a restroom. I was fine without one in my last shop and will be fine without one in this shop.

My wife, bless her heart, told me to do whatever I chose but I am not having a restroom in the new shop. Space was the #1 reason of needing a bigger shop and I am very space conscious and not wanting to waste any of it on this build.

Would it be nice? Yes. But to me it just isn't worth it money wise, cost or hassle wise.

Just my opinion though, again I realize I am in the minority on this topic.

Mike.

 

[sunman76]

Yes, small 6ft x 8ft in the corner with a toilet and a small utility sink.

 

[teamextreme]

No way I'd put a bathroom in a shop, for all the reasons listed by z ^, but primarily because it takes away space from the SHOP, it's not a beauty salon.
You guys are all either incontinent, or lazy if you can't walk to the house to take a leak

 

[Ray916MN]

Don't have one and don't wish I had one. Workshop is close to the house with a convenient full bath, utility sink and laundry room near to the closest entrance.
Hate cleaning bathrooms, don't want to worry about freezing pipes and would prefer to have the extra space, as opposed to the convenience and cleaning of a redundant bathroom.

 

[sunman76]

Lazy

 

[sunman76]

It's a compressor room with a toilet and sink

 

[PelicanPines]

Working hard in your shop?...

Too far a walk to the house to do a number?...

Think NASA...

Adult diapers.

 

[OldracerJones]

I built a 3/4 bath (has a shower) and it has saved me many hours over the years not having to go to the house. It also serves as a storage location for my pressure washer, electric drain snake, golf equipment, hat storage and rags storage for the shop. Keeps the mess out of the wife's clean bathrooms too. Also used it to showcase all my pictures of aircraft I've worked on over the years.

 

[rburke65]

I am 250'.....300' away from the house but I would have had to pump sewage up hill to septic tank and then things get really involved, so I voted no.

 

[Onewolf]

We included a full bathroom when we built our detached garage/workshop. And I am SOOOOO HAPPY about that decision. Once I start hosting operating sessions on the model train layout it will be an even better decision. Imagine 10-15 old dudes with peanut size bladders drinking beer and needing to pee every 5 minutes having to traipse into my wife's house.

 

[48RON54]

I wish I had one.....but I'll list a reason I haven't seen mentioned yet.........Primarily I work on cars.......... I ruined brand new carpet in no time walking into the house to use the restroom or wash my hands. Plus all white doors everywhere so if I accidentally brushed my greasy grimy hands on them they left marks...........

Thankfully I'm single so neither is a huge issue.....but it would be nice to not have ruined carpet and dirt/oil smudges on all the doors/doorframes I have to go through to get to the restroom in the house.

 

[GH85Carrera]

One reason we bought the house we are in is the bathroom in the garage. It is hooked to the central heat and air so it stays nice in there.

It is just wonderful to wash up some after mowing the yard before I go inside for a shower. I will never live in a house without a bathroom in the garage again.

Working on the cars is so nice when I can go wash my hands when the get dirty.

 

[4 FN 27]

Yes without exception...my house is 700 feet away fro the shop.

 

[denis4x4]

No body has mentioned composting toilets. I have an Envirolet with a 110v fan. Since I had an outside water supply, teed the supply line and brought a line inside. Drain is a dry well. It's located between my shop and an exercise/spa room with sliding doors accessing it from either side.

 

[fsae0607]

I only have a 2-car. So I just use a home crapo 5 gal bucket and dump it in the plants and rinse with the hose when I close up shop. For doo doo I gotta go inside.

 

[CGT80]

I wish I had one.....but I'll list a reason I haven't seen mentioned yet.........Primarily I work on cars.......... I ruined brand new carpet in no time walking into the house to use the restroom or wash my hands. Plus all white doors everywhere so if I accidentally brushed my greasy grimy hands on them they left marks...........

Thankfully I'm single so neither is a huge issue.....but it would be nice to not have ruined carpet and dirt/oil smudges on all the doors/doorframes I have to go through to get to the restroom in the house.

This is a great reason. I work out of a single car garage and have an enclosed breezeway next to it, which has a big utility tub with hot water. There is also concrete around the back of the garage, enclosed in the back yard, so I rarely open the roll up door to the front. At the utility sink, I have a kresto hand cleaner dispenser. That stuff works great so that I don't track all the dirt into the house when I have to go in.

My dream setup would be a huge shop, separate from the house, with a bathroom and small shower. A compressor/storage room could go next to it and a utility sink in the shop.....and while we are at it, maybe a drinking fountain in the bathroom, where it would stay clean. Throw some snacks in the office drawer, and you could stay out there for hours at a time.

 

[larry_g]

Put me in the no column. One of the joys of living in the country is stepping out the door and watering the grass. Another point on living on the farm is that there barns as well as the shop and not going to put a toilet in all of them. Our house is built with a 'dirty entrance' where we can come in, shuck the dirty cloths, and right into bathroom. All of this is perty much off limits to friends. It is a country way of life.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[RVDan]

I live on a city lot. My accessory building isn't allowed to be habitable and apparently a toilet makes it habitable in their opinion.

 

[Strouty]

I wish!

 

[southalabama]

Wish I did.

 

[dfiler2]

I wouldn't be without a bathroom in my shop, but it is about 3 blocks from home. I found the old concrete sink at a second hand store and then poured the countertop mainly because I had always wanted to try one. The toilet is behind the door.

 

[AJO]

Yes, you gotta have a place to rest ur elbows and plan the next move!

 

[Ray-CA]

Yes, we built our garage/shop with a bathroom. There's a toilet and a compressor in the room. The sink is out side the bathroom.

Ray

 

[n20junkie]

When your covered head to toe in body filler/fiberglass dust and you have to walk 80ft through snow tp get to your house, you quickly wish you had a bathroom. I personally need an utility sink for a ton of reasons, might as well add a pisser.

Plus you can have all of your friends over with no reason to enter the woman zone when you guys down a keg of the good stuff.

 

[vettex2]

This is a great reason. I work out of a single car garage and have an enclosed breezeway next to it, which has a big utility tub with hot water. There is also concrete around the back of the garage, enclosed in the back yard, so I rarely open the roll up door to the front. At the utility sink, I have a kresto hand cleaner dispenser. That stuff works great so that I don't track all the dirt into the house when I have to go in.

My dream setup would be a huge shop, separate from the house, with a bathroom and small shower. A compressor/storage room could go next to it and a utility sink in the shop.....and while we are at it, maybe a drinking fountain in the bathroom, where it would stay clean. Throw some snacks in the office drawer, and you could stay out there for hours at a time.

best reason to have at least a toilet.