Changing Room and Bathroom Shed

[armyb77]

Hello we are very excited to be closing on a house with a nice gunite pool. One of our concerns though is tracking in water all through the house because the bathrooms in the home are not easily accessible from the pool area. Pretty much we have to go through the kitchen (tile), down the hall (carpet) to the bathroom. I can already tell this is going to drive my wife crazy!!

So what I think I would like to do is get a large enough shed built that we could put in a small half bath, and changing room with a dryer for bathing suits and towels. We probably would also like an outdoor rinse off shower. I was wondering if anyone else has built something like this and if they feel it was worth the expense, or is there other alternatives that we haven't considered?

 

[Bama Rambler]

We have a 10' x 10' wash room with a half bath and it's a pretty good size.

 

[BobinBaltimore]

A good portion of the expense (especially if you pull proper permits and do inspections) will be electric and plumbing. Luckily, it looks like your likely location is close to the house, which should keep some costs down. I would identify where your closest plumbing and electric hookups are and assess how easy or hard it will be to tap into those. Framing up a structure should be straightforward. I agree with Bama....10 x 10 is a pretty generous size for a half bath/changing area/wash room. Even 8x8 might do. One item to keep in mind for space planning is how you will segregate the bathroom area from the rest, making sure you have room for a door to swing (or use a pocket door). Also, for the dryer, make sure you have good venting, so that you're not just throwing hot/humid air into the structure. That could make for future mold issues!

 

[armyb77]

Thanks for the response! I also live in Southern Oklahoma (or will very soon), so should I do a Concrete Slab or is a wood sub floor sufficient? I know that when I get the permits pulled the minimum build specifications for my area will be told to me. I think the biggest challenge I will have is not hitting the sprinkler system when making the trench for the plumbing and electrical. I figure is will just be a 60Amp Subpanel, drain/sewage/vent to code, and a cold water line with a point of use hot water tank for the sink and outdoor shower.

Armyb77

 

[JohnT]

I built one with a slab floor and screened sitting area. Wanted the outside bath for the very reasons you do. We love it. We also enclosed our equipment so we'd have a place to store tools and chemicals.

 

[BobinBaltimore]

In my mind, slab is almost always better. Slab is also probably easier to build (assuming you can get the concrete back there without issue), but is less forgiving if you have a future plumbing problem. Wood can be perfectly sufficient, but you need to be careful to ensure that all wood is pressure treated, that you screen for insects and critters, and you may choose to insulate. Use exterior plywood or coat the underside of the plywood with a preservative/anti-mildew. If you do a wood frame, be sure to have a really solid structure under the toilet and dryer, so that they are stable and, in the case of the dryer, don't vibrate the whole place.

Last I checked the National Electric Code (last year), a bathroom needs at least one dedicated 20A circuit to cover lights, one outlet and exhaust fan (you can separate them onto two circuits under some circumstances, but one for all is the minimum I recall as I did that in a bathroom I finished in 2010 and the inspector was quite happy). So, assume that circuit, plus a 15A circuit for general lighting inside the washing/changing area and for maybe an outdoor light. Then you'll need a 15A or 20A circuit for general outlets (assuming they are code-required for a pool house). And, finally, you'll need to cover that dryer. Once you figure all that out, you can confirm they needed size for your subpanel, but 60A sounds in the right ballpark to me. I am NOT an electrician, though.