Having a bathroom in your basement is actually a good idea of remodeling the basement area of your house. It not only provides you with the convenience of having an extra bathroom in your house but also enhanced the value of your property. Although it is easier for you to convert the basement into a den or playroom, installing a bathroom to your basement will always be a challenging task and the end result will give you an extra square footage of usable living area within your house. Before you start your basement remodeling project, you need to do feasibility study of adding the bathroom to your basement whether it is suitable or not. Below are some basic tips that will assist you in terms of planning and also installing a basement bathroom to your house.
To install a bathroom in the basement, you need:
- Tape measurement
- Pressure treated lumber
- Hammer
- Drill
- Screwdrivers
- Nails or screws
- Skill saw
- Interior and exterior drywall
- Nails or drywall screws
- Drywall tape and cement
- Sink
- Tub/shower
- Toilet
Installing a Bathroom in your Basement
Install a Bathroom in your Basement
- The first thing that you need to do is to determine the type bath that you want to install at your basement.
- Whether you want to use a full, three-quarter or half, it all depends on the size of your basement room and also the plumbing that they require.
- If the basement room does not have room for a tub, you still need to include a shower as an additional feature.
- Having a bathroom in your basement could help increase the value of your house. Furthermore, if you add a shower or tub in future, it will definitely require you to make a major remodeling of the basement area.
- Whether you want to use a full, three-quarter or half, it all depends on the size of your basement room and also the plumbing that they require.
- You must also decide on the actual size of the bathroom that you want to install.
- Always make sure to decide on the suitable measurement for your basement.
- For your information, an average size of bathroom that has a bathtub is at least 5 feet or 60 inches in width. Meanwhile, the length of the room should be in the range of 8 feet to 12 feet.
- Always make sure to decide on the suitable measurement for your basement.
It is recommended that you choose even numbers for the dimensions of your bathroom in order to make full use of building materials and also reduce cost of construction, plus also the time for building the bathroom.
- First thing that you need to make is the basic wood frame by using pressure treated lumber.
- You need to lay the lumbers at the four walls of the bathroom plus also having studs at 16 inch centers. In addition, you also need to have double 2′-by-4′ located right on the top of your frame.
- Make sure that the overall height of your wall is having the same height as the basement ceiling. Normally, for a standard ceiling, the height is approximately 8 feet. However, not all basements are built with standard ceilings and because of this you must take proper measure of your basement area before doing this task.
- The walls of your basement should also be square in order for you to secure them together by using nails or screws.
- You must be careful when you start to raise the walls to set in place accordingly.
- After they are level and square, they need to be secured onto your overhead floor joist by using either screws or nails.
- You need to lay the lumbers at the four walls of the bathroom plus also having studs at 16 inch centers. In addition, you also need to have double 2′-by-4′ located right on the top of your frame.
According to building codes in most areas, any construction of a basement area need to use pressure treated lumber.
- The next step is for you to decide where to install your electrical outlets and also the plumbing access.
- Firstly, you have to make holes in the wall studs by using a drill.
- Once done, take the wire and feed it through the holes in order for you to connect it with each outlet that you want. For example, the overhead light and the light switch.
- You need to also drill holes for the piping that will access each of your bathroom fixtures that you will be installing. If you have an option of choosing between copper and PVC pipe, make sure that you check with the local building codes first.
- Firstly, you have to make holes in the wall studs by using a drill.
- After that, it is time for installing the interior and exterior drywall.
- The installation should start from one corner by positioning your drywall on the studs before securing it accordingly with nails or drywall screws. You must ensure that the screws that you use are strong enough to hold the drywall in order to reduce damage to your drywall.
- Then, you should continue with the installation of the rest of your exterior drywall before proceeding with the installation of the interior drywall.
- Next, you need to install the ceiling pieces. You must also carefully cut out all interior sections for the usage of plumbing and electrical items.
- Once you finished installing the drywall, you need to apply the drywall tape along with its cement.
- After the cement has dried thoroughly, you can proceed to sand the surface properly before proceeding to paint them.
- The installation should start from one corner by positioning your drywall on the studs before securing it accordingly with nails or drywall screws. You must ensure that the screws that you use are strong enough to hold the drywall in order to reduce damage to your drywall.
- Now it is time for you to install the fixtures for your basement bathroom.
- The first item to install is the tub/shower before other small items.
- After that, you can start to install the sink and lastly the toilet.
- Normally for toilet’s fixtures, you need to use an up-flushing type of toilet. For instance, like the one manufactured by Saniflo known as the Sani-Plus. It is the type of toilet that uses electric and able to pumps your water or waste up to the overhead drain pipe. It is has multi-purpose function that enables you to connect it with the drains from your sink and shower.
- If you are not using this all in one unit type of toilet, you will need to install separate drain systems not only for the toilet but also for the sink and shower.
- The first item to install is the tub/shower before other small items.
- When you have finished installing all the fixtures, you can proceed to install the doorway and finishing the task with the painting work.
- You can simply use a standard interior door that comes with a locking doorknob so that anyone who uses the bathroom will have some privacy and security.
- If you like to install towel rods or hooks, you must make sure that the hanging accessories are anchored to any one of the 2′-by-4′ studs in order to provide extra support.
Always remember that whenever you want to install a bathroom in your basement,
- It is recommended that you choose a shower instead of a tub. The shower uses a much lesser space as well as less water. This will definitely assist you in reducing the workload for your up-flush toilet unit.
- It is also a good idea to place the basement bathroom exactly beneath an existing bathroom above your basement. This is to avoid the need of installing new pipes or drains.
- Another safety precaution to take is for you to use GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets in your basement bathroom so that you would be able to provide protection against severe electrical shock and also assist you in avoiding fires.
- You can simply use a standard interior door that comes with a locking doorknob so that anyone who uses the bathroom will have some privacy and security.
