Separate bathroom/wc

So, we've been flat hunting for the past week and I have noticed that is not at all uncommon to have separate bathroom and wc rooms.  I first encounter that in this house when I met my husband.  Here I understand because it is a shared house but in self contained flats, what is the point?  I find it very odd for a practical point of view.  The flat we saw today (and fell in love with) is like this so I am not entirely opposed to the idea.  I just wanted to know what your opnions on this are.  Just curious

June

Lots of houses in SF have toilet rooms...thats what I call them!  Weird having to use the toilet in one room and move into the next to wash your hands!  I guess its like anything else, you get used to it!!

Lots of houses in SF have toilet rooms...

I was just about to say the same thing! It was extremely useful when one person was in the shower and another was desperate for the toilet! But it IS sort of annoying (and rather unsanitary really) to have to wash your hands after moving to another room....

My old flat had that - two separate rooms.  They were right next to each other, thought, so there wasn't much of a sanitation issue.  Like someone said above, it's extremely convenient when someone's in the shower & you have to go!  I rather like them, really...

mine is like that!

i love it!  i don't use the toilet when DH is in the room, so for me, if he's in the shower and i gotta go, i can in comfort!!!!!!

I can ony guess that it is because lots of houses in the UK were built before we had such luxuries as indoor toilets, but there was a designated room for a bath.  

The house I grew up in had seperate rooms, as does the house I am in now....I find it very handy.  When it is the same room there is no scope for hour long soaks in the tub.


Victoria

When it is the same room there is no scope for hour long soaks in the tub.

Victoria

This is very VERY true! I love my lush time!!!!

PS: just don't flush when someone is in the shower!   

My parents house (built late 60s) has a sep bathroom & loo upstairs and another loo downstairs. The one downstairs also has a sink so you can wash your hands.   It was VERY useful when we were a family of 4 living there, no waiting about for someone to finish in the shower/bath before you can use the loo.

As an (aspiring) architect I can tell you that it's done (I design houses in America at the moment, and a lot of them have a private WC) it's done to maximize efficiency just as the others suggested i.e. you can be doing your thing without occupying the entire bathroom.

yeah - does seem to be pretty common in the the uk. when i was househunting i found it a bit weird too, but can definately appreciate the practical value of it. also, if the loo is in the room next to the shower/tub it's prob easy enough to knock a wall down.

I had that in my last home in London...I loved it, especially as I was living with just a flatmate not a significant other and COULDN'T use a loo in the same room as the bath if my flatmate was there...

As an (aspiring) architect I can tell you that it's done (I design houses in America at the moment, and a lot of them have a private WC) it's done to maximize efficiency just as the others suggested i.e. you can be doing your thing without occupying the entire bathroom.

But that doesn't explain why you can't have a washbasin in the WC.  Otherwise, you still have to go into the bathroom aferwards to wash your hands.  Assuming that, after you use the loo, you do wash your hands. (I'd hate to look at that door handle with a microscope, BTW).

I know Americans who have a separate room with just a loo and a washbasin, but there is always a washbasin. (My MIL in England has this, as well.)


I always feel a bit uncomfortable when I'm in the homes of people who I don't know very well, who have a "no sink in the toilet" arrangement. Especially if they offer me something to eat or drink.

I always feel a bit uncomfortable when I'm in the homes of people who I don't know very well, who have a "no sink in the toilet" arrangement. Especially if they offer me something to eat or drink.

Are you serious?  If so, I'd like to point out that the presence of a sink in the room where the loo is doesn't guarantee that they've washed their hands.  Perhaps you should take your own food and drink with you if you're that concerned.  Because frankly, that's sounding a bit neurotic.

But that doesn't explain why you can't have a washbasin in the WC. 

Some do, see my earlier post. 

Some do, see my earlier post. 

I know. I said the same in my post as well 

Having a washbasin in the loo doesn't guarantee that people will use it. But I think you would be more likely to use it if it were right in front of you after you zipped up your trousers, rather than if you had to walk into another room (which could possibly already be occupied by someone else.)

Concern about cleanliness after using the toilet does not make one neurotic. Where I used to work in New York, everybody used a tissue to open and close the bathroom door, rather than have to touch the doorknob.  And I stopped eating in salad bars after news reports came out showing that the salads often contained fecal bacteria.