Can You Have a Bathroom Next to a Kitchen?

It is a yes and no answer. No, designers avoid placing bathrooms near the kitchen whenever designing a house. The bathroom and kitchen must not be placed on the very same wall, as a basic guideline. On the other hand, having a restroom next to the kitchen is possible. Placing these two rooms near each other can have various advantages, including reduced water usage, guest comfort, and much more. Even if it’s constructed in this manner, make sure you have an adequate circulation of the air system. It’s possible to get any room next to any other space, regardless of its use, if you only take the architectural and design aspects into account. Only the recognized procedure and the aesthetics engaged in it may be used as grounds. Moving on to personal preferences and dislikes, this becomes a touchy subject. Your level of concern about others’ opinions may perhaps rise to a new level.

Is it a Feasible Design According to the Building Code of the United States?

The International Residential Code does not address the possibility of building a kitchen and a bathroom side by side. The United States Building Regulations, which state that a bathroom can indeed be adjacent to a kitchen as long as there is a door between the two rooms, are generally followed by general practice.

The International Residential Code (IRC) is the predominant building standard that outlines the standards that must be followed when constructing a new home or expanding onto an established one. If you are building a home from scratch or remodeling an existing one, you must comply with these rules. The International Residential Code (IRC) makes no mention of this issue whatsoever and hence does not stipulate that a kitchen and bathroom cannot be situated adjacent to one another.

Be that as it may, despite the fact that the IRC guidelines have indeed been implemented throughout all 50 states, numerous states have made modifications or introduced their own specifications. As a result, it is imperative that you research the construction regulations of your state before deciding to put a bathroom next to the kitchen.

Do You Need to be Concerned with Sanitation if a Toilet is Next to a Kitchen?

When it comes to renovations of this kind, unsanitary touch is the worry that comes up most frequently. Because there are no hygienic considerations from an architectural perspective, building regulations do not oppose a toilet and kitchen sharing a wall for the simple reason that it is more convenient. The drainage connection will be well-built and well closed, just like each freshwater line leading to the kitchen and bathroom will also be designed properly and completely sealed.

The only thing that has to be worried about is avoiding the lines from coming into contact with one another, which could also lead to deterioration and other problems. You could see why the building code permits this design feature when you take into consideration how uncommon it is for one pipeline to infect another pipeline after it has ruptured, which is pretty much unheard of.

Any debris that is detected in the pipelines that carry freshwater typically originates from rusty flakes that are already present in the pipe system or through a pipeline that is further away from the area that was located beneath and ruptured as a result of recent excavation.

Can a Toilet be Near a Kitchen?

Historically, there were building regulations that stipulated that there had to be a minimum of two doors separating the kitchen from the bathroom. It seems that this guideline has been less strict throughout the years. If you want to install a bathroom next to the kitchen, you should inquire with the person in order of building in your area about any limitations that may apply. In any event, you will be required to acquire their approval before moving forward with your plans.

The evidence received from the ground suggests that people construct a toilet in close proximity to a kitchen primarily out of necessity than for any other purpose. When there is a restricted amount of room allocated, you are ultimately forced to give in to such demands. There are numerous situations in which an old person needs to use the restroom, and the only part of the house that has one accessible is the area close to the kitchen.

What are the Benefits of Having a Bathroom Next to the Kitchen?

Convenience

Possessing a bathroom on the ground floor, or at the very least one that is closer to the living room area, is incredibly handy. This is true if you have children who won’t even tell you they need to use the restroom until their eyes are watering, or you simply despise having to make your way upstairs while you are in the middle of preparing food.

If there is no other area downstairs for a bathroom other than beside the kitchen, then it is to everyone’s interest if they are permitted to construct the bathroom in this spot. In addition, a bathroom located downstairs adjacent to the kitchen is typically more probable to have space available for it than a bathroom located downstairs close to the living area or dining area.

Water Efficiency

Placing a bathroom beside a kitchen makes it easier to create the water infrastructure of that level, which in turn makes it more effective. This is one of the advantages of getting a bathroom beside a kitchen. Because of their proximity to one another, the two locations do not require as many pipes to convey fresh water through the areas and bad water out of the locations, respectively. Additionally, the range that water would have to traverse would’ve been cut down significantly. All of these benefits, taken together, usually result in a simplified water system, which in turn makes things simpler to do repairs and upgrades.

Accessibility 

There are a lot of houses that need to have a bathroom on the ground floor because the owners have elderly people living there or people who use wheelchairs and are unable to easily get up a staircase. These individuals’ standard of living may be significantly improved if they were granted permission to construct a bathroom adjacent to the kitchen in the event that there was no other suitable location for a bathroom downstairs. 

What are the Drawbacks?

Accessing the Kitchen to Reach the Bathroom

If the kitchen and bathroom are next to one another, or if the kitchen is an area of the open planning process and you would not have to pass further through kitchen and get to the bathroom, therefore the design that you have chosen is much more user-friendly. Nevertheless, having a restroom that is positioned at the other corner of a kitchen that does not have an open concept is not only illogical, but can also be off-putting for visitors and prospective purchasers if you are attempting to sell the property.

Combined Kitchen and Bathroom Smells

The likelihood of bathroom smells spreading through the kitchen is by far the most evident drawback associated with situating your restroom in close proximity to your cooking space. This isn’t just unattractive, but also has the potential of becoming unclean.

Even though the bathroom has an exhaust fan, there is always a possibility that odors from the bathroom could make their way into the kitchen. There is also the possibility that the plumbing system somewhere outside the kitchen could rupture, or that clogged drains will produce an odor that is both pervasive and disagreeable.

Ensuring the Bathroom Door Closed at All Times

If the kitchen and bathroom sit adjacent to one another, you are much more inclined to maintain the door to the bathroom shut at all times, when you’re not using it. Whereas if bathroom consists of nothing more than a toilet and a sink, then there shouldn’t be a problem with this at all. Nevertheless, if the bathroom also has a bathtub or showering area that is utilized on a regular basis, then the habit of always having the door closed might result in a number of significant complications.