Would this be a deal breaker for you?

essie14

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 12:14 am

I know many people who added first floor bathrooms. In the neighborhood where I grew up many houses didn't come with it but almost everyone added one.

amother

Royalblue

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 12:55 am

I live in a rental in London with no toilet on the ground floor.

the houses were built before indoor toilets so either,
1. There are no ground floor toilets
2. or there is a tiny toilet under the steps, squeezed into a corner etc.

Remember, space is a premium here.

Even if we were to add a toilet downstairs it would not be comfortable for adults (cold and tiny)…

But it can be super annoying coming home and needing to go but Aldo you have kids and shopping and dinner to deal with too and you don’t want to make a whole trip upstairs….

amother

Clear

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 1:37 am

Definitely a deal breaker, was at my moms house the other day and DC3 needed the bathroom and went upstairs by the time she got to a bathroom it was too late and I had to clean up a mess. Also not sure about you but when I was a kid and I came home from school I flew to the bathroom so an extra flight of stairs would’ve killed me.

ysydmom

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 1:39 am

super important to have a bathroom on the main floor as people get older stairs get harder and if you want your house to be sustainable when you when you are older than you need a full bathroom and bedroom on the main floor. Many people don't have this and then when they get older they renovate to add this either for their parents/ in laws or for themself.

I wouldn't buy a house without a space for a full bathroom and guest bedroom.

Bnei Berak 10

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 3:48 am

I don't get it. What were the interior decorators/interior architects *thinking*?? Seriously. That we all enjoy to climb stairs when we need to do our business?

Rappel

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 4:04 am

Well, there's an advantage to Israeli homes which I never considered before: there's always a bathroom nearby!

amother

Seafoam

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 4:08 am

I'm currently in an apartment so it's not an issue yet, but we're looking at houses in Marine Park, and most of them don't have a downstairs bathroom or a master bathroom. I think that if we do buy a house, I will be running up the steps as soon as I get home for a bathroom.

amother

Royalblue

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 4:09 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

I don't get it. What were the interior decorators/interior architects *thinking*?? Seriously. That we all enjoy to climb stairs when we need to do our business?

These are houses built before indoor plumbing. They were thinking about the nearest outhouse..

Alternative

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 4:21 am

I wouldn’t mind in terms of my family. IME usually parents prefer to use their own upstairs master bathroom, and kids above age 7 or so also prefer their own upstairs kids’ toilet.
Little kids are an issue, but it’s a stage that passes.
The thing that would bother me are guests, but if the basement were designated for guests then it’s fine.
Of course it’s not accessible for the disabled, but unfortunately most homes aren’t.

DrMom

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 4:27 am

Not a deal-breaker if everything else about the house/location was fabulous, but I'd definitely look into the feasibility of adding a ground-floor bathroom.

Is the ground floor really small compared to the other floors? What kind of weird architect designs a house with no bathroom on the ground floor?

Bnei Berak 10

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 5:45 am

DrMom wrote:

ITA
A toilet on ground floor (doesn't have too be large) and a small sink for netilat yadayim is a must.

doodlesmom

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 5:46 am

The toilets in a house is usually and indication of when it was built.

At first there were outhouses so no toilet.
When toilets were invented, just having one indoor toilet was a luxury. Who needs more?

Then we got spoiled and figured it makes sense 1 per floor.
Nowadays a house built without a master en-suite is almost unheard of.

And guest get a separate bathroom….

mikayla18

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 6:04 am

When we bought a house, I don't think anything was a deal breaker except having "all the rooms" ex. Kitchen, living room, dining room, bedrooms (we came from somewhere that had a small main room and then 2 teensy bedrooms). We are blessed to have a teensy mini 1/2 bathroom on first floor for guests, one en suite bathroom upstairs and iyH making a guest situation in the basement now. Its hard for now because besides for immediate family, I dont love when people shower at my house etc...I don't know your Financials etc but for me when I was buying a house, I was just grateful to be buying a house.

lamplighter

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 6:39 am

I don't know of any homes were I live that don't have a bathroom on the main floor and they are not new construction. There also aren't any split levels around here. I know some of my friends and relatives live in homes with split levels and it is a few steps up or down to go to a bathroom.
It was non negotiable to me but it also wasn't an issue, there are no houses like that here.

amother

Thistle

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 6:51 am

It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if there were a sufficient amount of bathroom on other floors.

amother

Blue

Fri, Mar 17 2023, 7:19 am

Not a deal breaker. I now a few people living in houses like that and they’re okay with it. Not their favorite thing but they make it work. Guests go to the basement bathroom.

At least it feels private, some houses have bathrooms right off the dining room or kitchen and you wonder if everyone hears you doing your business.