# Bathrooms off kitchens



## Pintor (Feb 1, 2011)

Hi 

I am buying a very old house (100 years old ish). 

The bathroom is split into 2 rooms. The first room has just a bath and basin, but is accessed direct from kitchen. The next area is off the first room and has a WC and bidet but you have to go through the first room (bath and basin room) to get to the WC room ie this area's not off the kitchen.

I have been told this doesn't meet new planning regs. I am planning an extension but have been told we will need to address this. Is this a problem really seeing as you have to go through the bathroom to get to the WC room?

Thanks for any help and advice


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

From a convenience point you should address it, if the house has a habitation license or is registered then you probably could ignore and just renovate, but if your planning an extension that requires planning permission or licensing then you will more than likely need to rectify.

The easiest way to get an answer to this sort of question is to visit your Camras engineers department, armed with some simple drawings of existing layout and ask what you can or can't do and the licenses and procedures required to do it.


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## omostra06 (Sep 11, 2007)

depending on where the extention will be and how it joins/ effects the house layout, the new planning application for the extention should not have anything to do with the old house, they will apply the building regs to the new extention not the complete old house and its layout
so you shouldnt have anything to worry about, apart from getting permission for the extention and how long that takes.


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## MarcoCarrico (Jan 27, 2010)

the issue is about the room that has the wc that cant be directly accessed from the kitchen but if you have a previous room with just a basin it should be no problem. But anyway as an architect I must know what extension you plan to do to be sure.


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## Pintor (Feb 1, 2011)

Hi all

Thanks for the info, here's an update of where I stand... 

I met with an architect yesterday and he is going to the camara with plans for the new extension. However he does seem sure that they will turn it down based on the fact that the rest of the house (being old and full of character) is not friendly to wheelchair users. 

He thinks they will only approve my plans if I remodel every part of the existing house to have full turning circles for a wheelchair. This would mean changing every part of the internal framework which would change all the original character (and at a unaffordable cost 3x my budget!). 

I just want a simple extension - is this really the law and the only way to get the ok to build??? 

I have also realised that my exisiting living room (the room I wish to extend) is marked on my plans as just a terrace. the plans are very old and the living room was probably built on the terrace over 20 years ago. It is small (9 sqmetres) but I guess it will be deemed illegal by the camara. I did mention it at the time of purchase but was told by the notaire not to worry ::confused :.

Interested to know what your thoughts are.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

I'd go and see a new architect, I would still advise you going to Camras engineers department first and asking your questions before instructing an architect.

These should be two separate issues if handled correctly and should be treated as such.


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## omostra06 (Sep 11, 2007)

The architect must want to upgrade his BMW to a Mercedes!! if he is telling you that you need to remodel the whole house as part of an extention application...


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