Finally Putting in a Bathroom!

[bad_idea]

Been holding it for about 7 years now. Will be nice to wash up before I go in the house. The room is 7'x10'. My Quincy 325 is in one corner. Putting in a deep sink and toilet, no shower. Installing a 1500w in-wall heater, no AC. Installing a book shelf and dewalt battery charging station. Putting in an outlet in the corner diagonal to the toilet for a fan. Plan to put a point of use water heater on the wall, by the ceiling, above the sink.

I am at the point of insulating and closing the walls. Looking for suggestions on what else I need to lay in there now.

 

[logical]

I'm not sure I'd want to be inside a 7x10 room when the air compressor kicks on. Why is that and battery chargers part of your bathroom decor?

 

[mike93lx]

I'm not sure I'd want to be inside a 7x10 room when the air compressor kicks on. Why is that and battery chargers part of your bathroom decor?

Might help motivate him to get off the can and back to work.

With the room insulated, if the compressor runs much at all, it will add a good amount of head, so a separate heater likely won't be needed, especially on the NC coast.

 

[thammel]

Sounds good! All I can say is that my 2 regrets about my garage are: 1) no shower and 2) compressor not in separate space.

 

[bad_idea]

The compressor is in the bathroom as it is the only insulated room in the building (for sound control). I don’t plan to camp out on the *******, no boss out there to hide from. The bathroom has an exterior and interior door that creates a good cross breeze in the summer. Doors will both be open if running the compressor much in the summer.

Battery chargers are in the bathroom as that is the only conditioned space in the building. I learned couple winters ago, when temps dropped down below 30, that lithium ion batteries do not charge right in cold weather. One of my 5 amp hour packs is unbalanced and doesn’t work right. Have to open up the pack and charge each group individually to rebalance, not something I’m comfortable dealing with. The chargers are in the house now, but I look forward to moving them back out to the shop. Hate walking in the house every time I need to change one out.

I know a shower would be nice, for those times when you get a fluid bath from a vehicle. But it just wouldn’t work in this garage. I’m installing a rear drain toilet and discharging out the side of the building above grade to avoid cutting concrete. Will be piped into the septic tank from there. Sink will be right beside the toilet for easy drain piping. No room to fit a shower near the toilet and sink. I’ll make do going in the house for a shower. Might plumb an outside shower down the road, would be nice for the pool.

 

[dcg9381]

The compressor is in the bathroom as it is the only insulated room in the building (for sound control).

Can you do a small concrete pad on the outside of the building, enclose the compressor? Darn things are loud.

Battery chargers are in the bathroom as that is the only conditioned space in the building. I learned couple winters ago, when temps dropped down below 30, that lithium ion batteries do not charge right in cold weather.

Charging lithium batteries below freezing can damage them. My bigger batteries have "smart" BMS systems so they will not take a charge below freezing, but I dunno what power tools do. You could stick 'em in a box with a "heating pad" (they build these for RV water tanks), but I get keeping them in the bathroom if that's the insulated space.

No room to fit a shower near the toilet and sink. I’ll make do going in the house for a shower.

If your really want a shower look up "wet bath". More common in Japan but you see them used in RVs from time to time. Won't work with an air compressor and a bunch of electrical in there though. You elevate the floor just a bit to get that same "side drain".

Keeping the existing design, I'd put a "fan timer" and make sure that you've got a thermostat that will go cold enough (40-50 degrees). GFI everything in the bath.

 

[larry4406]

....I know a shower would be nice, for those times when you get a fluid bath from a vehicle. But it just wouldn’t work in this garage. I’m installing a rear drain toilet and discharging out the side of the building above grade to avoid cutting concrete. Will be piped into the septic tank from there. Sink will be right beside the toilet for easy drain piping. No room to fit a shower near the toilet and sink. I’ll make do going in the house for a shower. Might plumb an outside shower down the road, would be nice for the pool.

If cutting concrete is the sole concern, I would get over it quickly. A masonry blade in a junk circle saw will cut the top 3" concrete nicely, then hammer out the rest. Plumb, patch, and move on.

 

[carlaisle]

If both doors are open aren't you defeating the purpose of putting the compressor in the sound insulating room?

Refrigerators keep cold out just as well as they keep it in. Pick up a small refrigerator off the curb for your batteries. A thermostat and small light bulb will take care of the low temperature problem.

If you do the exposed waste line outside, protect it well. One bump with the mower can create a lot of unwelcome repair work.

 

[Jacko264]

Just a bit of a warning a mate of mine had his garage destroyed from charging a dewalt battery the battery burst into flames
I keep mine in a steel locker now

 

[Steve W.]

Sounds good! All I can say is that my 2 regrets about my garage are: 1) no shower and 2) compressor not in separate space.

1) When I was planning construction, I never really considered a shower (and don't regret not installing it), mainly for lack of room. Also, I was reading (probably here, on GJ) that the AHJ might scrutinize the project a bit more carefully if a show is installed, probably for the possibility of renting out the space.

2) My compressor is under the stairs to the upper floor. The 'room' is enclosed and insulated. Also happens to be just on the other side of one wall of the bathroom. Compressor is relatively quiet anyway, but having a wall in the way makes it that much quieter.

.

 

[bamawildcat]

I've done about the same as you OP, down to it has an inside and outside door. Stiebel Eltron water point of use water heater, 1800 watt wall heater etc. Only thing I would recommend is you say deep sink. I would trade it out for a single laundry/utility or seperate hand washing and utility sinks. A utility sink can also have a faucet with a hose connection, making it easy to connect a hose for hot water (at a limited flow rate) all around the shop.

 

[bad_idea]

I've done about the same as you OP, down to it has an inside and outside door. Stiebel Eltron water point of use water heater, 1800 watt wall heater etc. Only thing I would recommend is you say deep sink. I would trade it out for a single laundry/utility or seperate hand washing and utility sinks. A utility sink can also have a faucet with a hose connection, making it easy to connect a hose for hot water (at a limited flow rate) all around the shop.

I ordered this sink from Home Depot. I think we are talking about the same thing? It doesn't come with a faucet, but I plan to install one that has threads for a hose, if water is needed in the shop.

 

[bad_idea]

If both doors are open aren't you defeating the purpose of putting the compressor in the sound insulating room?

Refrigerators keep cold out just as well as they keep it in. Pick up a small refrigerator off the curb for your batteries. A thermostat and small light bulb will take care of the low temperature problem.

If you do the exposed waste line outside, protect it well. One bump with the mower can create a lot of unwelcome repair work.

I have had the compressor in that room for about a year now. Built the room a couple years ago. Installed the compressor last year. The door to the interior of the building leads into the room for welding/fabrication. When in that room, usually wearing ear plugs. You have to walk from the bathroom, through the weld room, to the rest of the shop where I have two bays for working on cars. It is a Quincy 325, they are fairly quiet - can carry on a conversation beside it while it's running. In the auto repair area of the shop, you can hardly hear it even with the doors open. For the majority of use, no need to have the doors open - compressor doesn't run enough to get hot. Really only worry about room temperature when sand blasting, running a burr motor or air grinder - activities that require hearing protection anyways.

 

[mike93lx]

I ordered this sink from Home Depot. I think we are talking about the same thing? It doesn't come with a faucet, but I plan to install one that has threads for a hose, if water is needed in the shop.

Since the plumbing isn't in, I'd install a hose bib instead of relying on the faucet. At a height that it can spray directly into a 5 gal bucket

 

[dcg9381]

Just a bit of a warning a mate of mine had his garage destroyed from charging a dewalt battery the battery burst into flames
I keep mine in a steel locker now

There were issues with early adoption of Lithium Ion. I was an early adopter (RC aircraft) - you did have to be careful.. Those batteries generally did not have management systems and you could very easily start a fire.

LiFe04 has a lot less hazard and BMS' have gotten a lot smarter.

Most common problem now with "commercial" power tools and Lithium is that a cell dies and the whole thing "needs replacement".

Lead Acid has done a lot of damage to cars in my last 40 years - off gassing, corrosion, leaking - no fires, but they're no cake walk.

I own 16 x 5Wh LiFeo4 batteries, numerous LiPo batteries (which are the dangerous ones), 6 Makita modern tool batteries. The car has ~75kWh LiPo.. I sleep just fine.

But the OP has discovered a "known issue" - you do NOT charge lithium below freezing.

 

[nadogail]

One of the most important things in my workshop is the toilet.
Many of my visitors have commented about how nice it is to have the handy toilet room.
My water heater is under the sink.

 

[bad_idea]

Under the sink does make good sense. My thought was the power outlet should be above the water. But the water heater near the floor makes sense from a flooding perspective. I guess outlets are regularly placed under the kitchen sink for a garbage disposal.

 

[bad_idea]

Since the plumbing isn't in, I'd install a hose bib instead of relying on the faucet. At a height that it can spray directly into a 5 gal bucket

I'm surface mounting pex piping, if I find myself wanting a hose bib I'll cut one in. Not a terrible idea.

 

[mike93lx]

I'm surface mounting pex piping, if I find myself wanting a hose bib I'll cut one in. Not a terrible idea.

The walls are open... Why surface mount?

 

[no704]

Put in a bidet, and hook it up to the unloaer on the compressor !

 

[bad_idea]

The walls are open... Why surface mount?

Paranoid about leaks. Would rather have all of the piping easily accessible for future modifications. My garage is geared more towards functional than aesthetically pleasing.

 

[bad_idea]

Put in a bidet, and hook it up to the unloaer on the compressor !

For all of the work I've done overseas, I've never used a bidet. Concept weirds me out. Would rather use the three sea shells.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Might help motivate him to get off the can and back to work.

With the room insulated, if the compressor runs much at all, it will add a good amount of head, so a separate heater likely won't be needed, especially on the NC coast.

I agree. My true 5 hp compressor will heat an 8x20 insulated and drywalled room above 90 degrees. I have a thermostat controlled sidewall fan to help remove excess heat. I am in eastern NC.

 

[OccupantRJ]

The compressor is in the bathroom as it is the only insulated room in the building (for sound control). I don’t plan to camp out on the *******, no boss out there to hide from. The bathroom has an exterior and interior door that creates a good cross breeze in the summer. Doors will both be open if running the compressor much in the summer.

Battery chargers are in the bathroom as that is the only conditioned space in the building. I learned couple winters ago, when temps dropped down below 30, that lithium ion batteries do not charge right in cold weather. One of my 5 amp hour packs is unbalanced and doesn’t work right. Have to open up the pack and charge each group individually to rebalance, not something I’m comfortable dealing with. The chargers are in the house now, but I look forward to moving them back out to the shop. Hate walking in the house every time I need to change one out.

I know a shower would be nice, for those times when you get a fluid bath from a vehicle. But it just wouldn’t work in this garage. I’m installing a rear drain toilet and discharging out the side of the building above grade to avoid cutting concrete. Will be piped into the septic tank from there. Sink will be right beside the toilet for easy drain piping. No room to fit a shower near the toilet and sink. I’ll make do going in the house for a shower. Might plumb an outside shower down the road, would be nice for the pool.

If you don’t have enough fall for the drain to the septic tank an in ground grinder pump can be used to pump waste through a 2” line to the tank. I have a Liberty unit for my shop rest room and it has worked very well. It pushes waste 100 feet to the tank. I have mine sunk flush with the ground with half a plastic barrel upside down for a cover.

 

[bad_idea]

I agree. My true 5 hp compressor will heat an 8x20 insulated and drywalled room above 90 degrees. I have a thermostat controlled sidewall fan to help remove excess heat. I am in eastern NC.

Not a terrible idea, I like it. I may do that in years to come, but for now I'll roll with the manual option - open both doors and let the breeze do the work.

 

[bad_idea]

If you don’t have enough fall for the drain to the septic tank an in ground grinder pump can be used to pump waste through a 2” line to the tank. I have a Liberty unit for my shop rest room and it has worked very well. It pushes waste 100 feet to the tank. I have mine sunk flush with the ground with half a plastic barrel upside down for a cover.

I've got plenty of fall, septic tank is maybe 20' behind the shop.

 

[mike93lx]

Paranoid about leaks. Would rather have all of the piping easily accessible for future modifications. My garage is geared more towards functional than aesthetically pleasing.

Is the plumbing in your house exposed?

 

[Codyboy]

My shop bathroom has a shower and toilet in the bathroom. The sink is outside of that and can be used and not have to go in the bathroom.
I also put an outdoor shower in in case of getting really filthy and don't wan to use the other shower.
I still need to pour a pad for it so I don't have yo stand on pallets. Lol