The guest bath was added in the “Garage Conversion to Living Space” part of the cabin remodel. After the intial framing of the garage was done, we had to find out if we could put a bathroom in the space. The master bath is on the other side of the inside wall of the garage so the proximity of the pipes , drains, and crawl space led us to the right location.
Our plumber determined it was possible to put a bathroom in and gave us a $2700 estimate if we dug out the floor for the drains. They would be updating the copper sections involved in the basement from half inch to three quarter and installing pex wherever possible. Pex doesn’t freeze up which is great for the northwoods of Wisconsin. We raised the garage floor 6 inches, but we still had to break up some of the concrete so there could be a slope to the drain system. The framing of the floor was done first, then we rented a jackhammer to make the drain passageways. After the drains were installed, we insulated then put in the subfloor. We would have liked to raise the floor more but we had to fit a front door with the height we had to work with. Luckily we planned on quarter inch laminate flooring that resembles wood planking.
With a 12 foot by 24 foot garage space, we allowed a bathroom of 5 feet by 7 feet. That turned out to be pretty roomy for a large vanity, a 5 foot shower base, and toilet. We could have had a small closet, but I wanted to keep the small outside door for a garden tool closet outside the house. Steve put in a narrow window that will be on the left side of the vanity. Go to the post Cement counter top for bath to learn about the making of the vanity and counter top.
The shower base was framed in with cement board and the plumbing roughed in. Next was the tile installation. The tile is a rectangular ceramic that looks like aged barn wood. I made Steve add a bench in the shower to make shaving easier and a nook to hold shampoo and soap.
Durock in shower
shower base and tile
The above photo is a finished pic of the vanity and counter top Steve made. We still have to get a mirror above the sink. I love the simple rustic design of the whole bathroom. It feels very modern and there is plenty of room. The baseboards will match the rest of the house (1×4’s) We call the garage conversion, the “West Wing”. Why not!
Other links to posts on this topic:
Garage turned into Living Space