The arrangement of your home has a big influence on your experience. The space around the bathroom, the direction of the door hinges, the location of the sinks and the walls of the kitchen and bathroom. Now, you’re willing to buy a new home, but as you inspect, you find out the kitchen and the bathroom have a common wall. You’re astonished; so, can kitchen and bathroom have a common wall?
If we’re talking about construction codes, then the answer is yes! There are no laws or architectural codes that limit the installation of bathrooms back to back with kitchen walls or any part of the kitchen.
Some homes have awkwardly designed bathrooms, while some don’t have enough bathrooms to fit the number of family members. These, among other reasons, make bathroom renovations very common among homeowners.
On your journey of home renovations, you’ll adjust the plumbings, open the walls and even go beyond updating just the built-in decor. The more changes you make to your home, the more familiar you become with building and architectural codes. You’ll also get to know more about your sense of style. If you’re changing the location of your bathroom or adding a new one to the house, it’s good you know where that restroom can go and where it cannot.
Some of the most common questions of avid homeowners are: Can the kitchen and bathroom share the same walls? Is it healthy for the sewer line to be close to the cooker? Is it safe to run plumbing back to back with the cooker? Chill, we got you covered in this article! We’ll discuss all you need to know about aligning your kitchen and bathroom on the same wall. Let’s go!
Can My Kitchen and Bathroom Share the Same Wall?
According to the accepted building codes, your kitchen and bathroom can have a common wall. There are no regulations or limitations to installing a bathroom on the wall or any part of a kitchen.
Of course, for any building project, certain codes and requirements guide it. These codes help define what is architecturally necessary and what you need to do to legally get your building permit and avoid a lawsuit in the future.
What are the Building Codes Rules for Kitchen and Bathroom?
Now that we’ve mentioned that certain codes guide every building project, you might want to know those that guide building a kitchen and a bathroom. Here are some general codes for building toilets and kitchens:
- Your Bathroom and Kitchen must have at least one door between them. This means a tiny room or something like that has to be between the two rooms.
- A bathroom must have its hand washing sink installed. We can’t have you using the one sink for your bathroom and kitchen.
- The spacing of the toilet floor should be around 15″ on each side and 21″ in front. You can also use the ADA spacing, which is 30″ on each side and 48″ in the front.
- Pipes on the walls must not touch each other. They’re to be installed several inches from each other with a lot of between wall space.
- Drains are to be designed to flow well. For each foot of pipe, you need a ¼-inch drop for an efficient plumbing
- Sewer lines of the toilets and sinks must have stack vents to allow air to enter the sewer line for proper maintenance
What Do Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra Say About Kitchen and Bathroom Having the Same Wall?
If you asked those following the Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra practices about toilet backing a kitchen wall, you’d likely hear no as the answer.
The Feng and Vastu practices are eastern home design practices that emphasise energy flow and harmony. Because this involves the casual concerns about sanitation, the most commonly accepted answer about kitchen and bathroom walls is they should be different.
In both practices, connecting a kitchen and bathroom wall is considered a bad choice for financial energy. They also believe a kitchen shouldn’t face the house’s main door, and if a kitchen faces the northeast corner of a home, it might affect your career. However, most modern home designs don’t comply with the Feng and Vastu energy-based design codes.
Does Kitchen Backing Toilet Arises Sanitary Concern?
The reason why most people shun away from building a kitchen and a bathroom with a common wall is thinking it’s unsanitary.
However, building codes and architectural regulations prove there are no sanitary concerns in a kitchen sharing a wall with the bathroom. This is because each room will have a well-constructed drain line that is properly sealed.
The only concern is if pipes are touching each other, it might lead to problems like corrosion and other complications. We all know it’s very hard for a burst pipe to contaminate another pipe; this is why building codes don’t prohibit the kitchen and bathroom from sharing the same wall.
If you’re having this type of remodelling, and you found specks of dirt coming out from your freshwater pipes. Don’t panic; it’s not from the bathroom. Rather, it’s probably from rust inside your pipe system or an underground pipe that a current digging burst.
Where should bathrooms be located, According to Vastu?
Whether you’re moving to a new home or remodelling your current one, you’d love to check if your toilets and bathrooms are aligned as per the Vastu codes.
According to Vastu Shastra, having bathrooms that adhere to their codes can do you a lot of good. From chasing away negativity to contributing to your overall happiness and harmony.
Vastu maintained that the toilets attached to bathrooms should be aligned to the northwest. Single toilets, on the other hand, should be aligned towards the west. This is because toilets are used to eliminate waste.
Also, the outlets for bathroom pipes should be directed towards the east or north. The bathroom windows can open along the east, west or north.
The entrance door of the toilet should be along the northern or eastern wall. At the same time, the direction of the toilet seat should be in the west or southeast so that the user will not face the west or east.
Can I Put a Bathroom or Toilet Anywhere in My House?
This is the 21st Century, and most homeowners are no longer following the Vastu codes of building.
You can install a bathroom or toilet in any location in your house. In the past, many homeowners had their dream of having a spacious bathroom crushed because of Vastu practices or because the location was too far from the main drainage of the house.
This mostly happens in basements or under a staircase, where major plumbing work must be done to drag the toilet drains to the main drainage. At that point, it becomes too stressful and too expensive. Therefore, most homeowners will give up.
These days, there are simpler options for homeowners which aren’t available before. They include sewage ejector pumps and macerating toilets.
Unlike normal toilets, macerating toilets flush waste to a macerating unit located behind the toilet or inside the wall. Powerful blades in the unit will liquefy the waste and send it out of the unit through the main pipe that’s tied to the main drainage. Unfortunately, these toilets are very expensive to install. However, they’re considered easier and cheaper than redoing an entire toilet or bathroom.
Can You Put a Toilet Where a Shower was?
Yes, you can put your toilet seat where your shower was previously located if you decide to create more space in your bathroom. This can be done by moving out the bathtub, moving the shower to its location and putting the toilet where the shower was.
Do you Need Planning Permission to Turn a Kitchen into a Bathroom?
Converting any room in your house to a bathroom doesn’t mean you have to necessarily get planning permission. However, it’s good to check what your local authority requires as this can vary from place to place.
Can a Shower and Toilet Share the Same Drain?
Yes, showers and toilets generally share the same drain. However, they shouldn’t be sharing the same waste trap arm. But before draining your shower and toilet into the same pipe, check whether the drain leads to a sewer line or a septic tank.
Which is the Best Direction for the Kitchen?
Vastu had it that the Lord of Fire prevails in the Southeast direction of homes. Therefore, the kitchen should face the southeast direction. If it’s not possible, consider having your kitchen facing the northwest direction.
What is the First Thing you Should see When Walking into a Bathroom?
The toilet shouldn’t be the first thing you’ll see when walking into a bathroom. The shower and the toilet are supposed to be out of the sight line when walking into a bathroom. The sink should also be placed at a distance from the toilet so that someone can be using the toilet while another can be getting ready by the sink.