In recent years, many apartment owners during the renovation make redevelopment and combine a toilet with a bathroom. There are many reasons for this choice, first of all, the desire to save usable space by combining space and demolition of the partition.
Sometimes when redeveloping an apartment, it is possible to include in a new room and some part of the corridor. Properly thought-out design of the combined bathroom in addition to all the necessary plumbing devices allows you to place, for example, a washing machine or a boiler, and in general it is more rational to organize the layout of the room.
Bathroom combination
Most of the "Khrushchev" apartments built in the Soviet era had their own combined bathroom of 4 square meters. m area, which in the conditions of a total housing shortage was considered a luxury, despite such a small size. In more modern standard buildings, the installation of a separate bathroom has become the norm, but the premises of the bathroom and toilet are still designed in minimal sizes, limiting the possibilities of their comfortable arrangement. For a while it suited everyone. But in recent years, for owners of standard apartments, a bathroom combined with a bathroom has often become the preferred option for redevelopment of rooms for personal hygiene, despite the fact that using a combined bathroom is still less convenient than separate.
In addition to the additional space that can be rationally used, there are other positive aspects of combining the bathroom, for example, saving finishing materials and money by eliminating the partition.
Legal issues
Before embarking on an independent project development, it is necessary to resolve some legal issues. The biggest difficulty is obtaining permission for redevelopment and the conclusion of a special examination confirming that the wall to be demolished is not a supporting structure. Before completing these documents, you should not think about the future design of the combined bathroom and proceed to the merger of the rooms.
Self-development of the project is excluded if during the redevelopment the load-bearing structures are affected, common house communications are changed, plumbing equipment with increased energy and water consumption is installed. The project in this case must be carried out by an organization that has the appropriate licenses.
If the bathroom is small ...
It is impossible to turn the modest design of the combined small bathroom into the design of a beautiful and comfortable bathroom without breaking the main stumbling block - the usable area limit. This problem is solved by installing compact plumbing designed specifically for small rooms and taking up less space than conventional devices. Cantilever sinks and toilets, as well as showers, also save space. It is advisable to make a hidden pipe routing, then the interior of the combined bathroom looks more attractive. Using existing installation systems, all hygiene devices can be easily installed in a new place in accordance with the redevelopment project.
Showers to save space
Installing a compact shower instead of a bathtub is the most popular solution for a small room. This idea is especially good for those who are forced to consider every centimeter of free space in order to more rationally place all the necessary plumbing devices.
From the point of view of saving space, the corner shower cubicle fits most optimally into the design of the combined bathroom. Now there are many options for such cabins, both simple, consisting only of a pallet and a door, as well as multifunctional ones, with hydromassage and other amenities of comfort. However, in a small space it is usually possible to place only the most modest booth.
Equipping the shower area, many choose a deep pan, which under certain circumstances can act as a mini-bath, while others do without a pan at all. In the latter case, the base of the shower and the rest of the floor in the room are laid out with the same material, which allows you to visually increase the space. Such a decision will make even the design of the combined bathroom in Khrushchev’s, a notorious legacy of the Soviet era, more modern and aesthetic.
Zoning of combined bathrooms
The design of the combined bathroom provides for the delimitation of the zones of the toilet and the bathroom, and this can be done using the architectural or visual method. In the first case, this is done with the help of a podium device, a multi-level ceiling, decorative niches, partitions or other techniques adapted in the interests of design.
The visual zoning method is more mobile and less expensive. If desired, you can always replace the boring demarcation elements, the role of which is played by easily moving objects: high racks with a large number of drawers or shelves, decorative screens, water-loving plants, and the like. A good effect is provided by color differentiation, in which individual zones are emphasized by accessories and finishing materials of a certain color. You can enhance the visual impression with the help of light and decorative lighting elements.
Basic finish requirements
Increased requirements are placed on the finishing materials in the combined bathroom, so they must have special properties:
- reliable degree of moisture resistance;
- resistance to acid-base environments;
- ease of care;
- environmental cleanliness;
- resistance to the formation of fungi and mold;
- ability to resist corrosion and durability;
- resistance to temperature extremes.
Wall and ceiling materials
The choice among a large number of finishing methods and modern materials that are possible for use in the bathroom is limited only by its parameters. Ceramic tile, the material that is most often used for finishing hygienic rooms with high humidity, has the full necessary properties. In addition, the combined bathrooms use high-quality mosaics, natural stone, agglomerates, wood treated with special compounds and coated with waterproof varnish. Actively intrudes into this list a new material - patterned tiles made of Bohemian glass.
The easiest way of all types of ceiling finishes - painting with
moisture-resistant paint on a latex, acrylic or silicone base. There is a variant of pasting the ceiling surface with glass wallpaper, polystyrene foam tiles and other moisture resistant materials. False and suspended ceilings were widely used. Their design allows you not to spend time and money on leveling the base, and in the resulting free space you can hide some communications. For decorating the ceiling in small bathrooms, plastic is considered the most practical material. With a sufficient area of the combined room, it is possible to arrange a ceiling from mirrors or stained-glass windows.
The flooring in the combined bathroom should be not only beautiful, but also practical. The most comfortable will be a non-slip floor made of moisture resistant, pleasant to the touch and attractive-looking material.
Conclusion
The combination of a typical bathroom and toilet results in a more spacious combined bathroom, which is not at all difficult to turn into a convenient hygienic room. Of course, you will have to spend time developing the design and thinking over planning details, choose beautiful plumbing equipment and furnishings, carefully consider every little thing. And then, after the repair is completed, the bathroom will be transformed so that no one can recognize the former boring standard rooms for hygiene procedures in it.