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Fun post. We have 4 bathrooms and there are only 2 of us in our home. We love having every one of those bathrooms - they all are handy to have when we have overnight guests, parties, etc. Our house has two stories and a walk-out basement and there are bathrooms on all 3 levels. We have a nice home, nothing too fancy but having a bathroom or two on each level is very convenient. I'm not particularly fond of cleaning all those bathrooms each week but love it when they are all clean and sparkly.
In fact many houses at the 1900's mark had no bathrooms. The comfort station was out back in the outhouse, sometimes referred to as the Johnny, Aunt Loo or Uncle Samuel. A good wash up was via a galvanized bucket heated on the kitchen stove. Was how all the farm houses did it in my kiddy dazes.
Today is like everything else. Excess for the hay of it. Some of it may be people feel they can't wait because of busy schedules. Some might like the idea of having their "Own Bath". Plus they try to build enough baths so you never have to go up or down a level to answer the Call of the Wild.
I would think you want at least 1 and a half baths at the bare minimum. Tough World when your only hopper is out of commission. Full baths are probably over kill in many situations. Half bath can be build in a closet sized area. I need to build another half bath just to avoid always having to go up stairs during waking hours.
Not to worry 8700 square foot mansions will probably peak out around 20 baths. You will have a full time job just cleaning them.
We just finished a 8400 sqft home. There was one full bath for each bedroom, so that puts it at 6 (three bedrooms upstairs, two in the basement, and the master bath) and two powder rooms, so that puts it at 7 bathrooms. Damn glad I do not have to clean them. I just get to look at em on paper lol.
We just finished a 8400 sqft home. There was one full bath for each bedroom, so that puts it at 6 (three bedrooms upstairs, two in the basement, and the master bath) and two powder rooms, so that puts it at 7 bathrooms. Damn glad I do not have to clean them. I just get to look at em on paper lol.
8400 sqft and seven baths?! Holy cow
I know there are even much larger homes than that built all the time, don't get me wrong, but goodness Either they have a lot of kids(or other live-in family), a lot of guests, or.....
I personally wouldn't want that much house to maintain and find more modest homes much more "homey". But of course not everyone shares my tastes
I'm buying a 1642 sq ft one story for just me and I consider two bathrooms the minimum (which is good because that's how many it has). The second bathroom has a shower with glass enclosure and marble tile instead of a combo bath/shower -- I'm figuring overnight guests would appreciate the slightly better shower.
I will have two televisions. The main one for the living room, and a portable that I use in the kitchen, at my nook desk, while soaking in the master bathtub, in the garage, occasionally in the bedroom, and in the front bedroom which will be the guitar and workout room. How? Wireless TV. It's a great thing.
I am looking at buying a historic house, built in 1785. A previous owner built an addition with one full bath on the 2d floor. This bathroom has no shower but one claw-foot tub. Then, not sure when, a hallway closet on the first floor was converted to a half bath. This half bath is very, very tiny, the size of a closet. My previous home was new with 3 BR and 2.5 baths so I immediately thought of knocking out a wall in the half bath, adding a glass shower closure, yadda, yadda, yadda. But then I had to ask myself: Why I would do this? I mean, knock down old 214-yr old plaster walls and so forth? Instead, I will keep it as a tiny 0.5 bathroom and even have fun with it--do something like replace the ugly, single bi-fold closet door with wood ones that look like the rest of the original 1785 doors and find some little metal plates that say "W.C" (for water closet).
If I do decide to add a bath, it would be on the 2nd floor near the other full bath and a BR. But it's really not that big of a deal to me right now.
BTW, I can't quite figure out where the outhouse (or whatever it was called in 1785) is located on the property.
Yeah, when we first bought our house we tinkered with the idea of converting the "trunk closet" on the 2nd floor to a master bath, as it really isn't a good use of space today, and backs up to the existing bath so the conversion in theory would be easy. And I'm not certain that still isn't a viable option one day.
But we decided to wait on that project and just see how the house worked out for us without a major change to the configuration. After all it has been the way it is today for 80 years.
Regarding your "outhouse".... if you do find it, interestingly there are people that will pay you for permission to dig it out. It turns out that along with its primary purpose, most outhouse pits were also used as general trash/refuse dumps, plus sometimes things just got dropped in there and as you can imagine were left
So, many years later after all the nasty stuff has turned to nothing more than good dirt, these outhouse diggers like to dig them up and see what treasures and artifacts they find. Apparently they really find interesting things that tell a bit more about life during the time.
Some find this practice a bit "icky", but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. After 100 years, it is just dirt
Yeah, when we first bought our house we tinkered with the idea of converting the "trunk closet" on the 2nd floor . . . But we decided to wait on that project and just see how the house worked out for us without a major change to the configuration. After all it has been the way it is today for 80 years.
Glad to hear we're on the same page! Doesn't hurt to just think about these things!
Quote:
Originally Posted by al_roethlisberger
Regarding your "outhouse".... if you do find it, interestingly there are people that will pay you for permission to dig it out. It turns out that along with its primary purpose, most outhouse pits were also used as general trash/refuse dumps, plus sometimes things just got dropped in there and as you can imagine were left
Okay, I was getting totally icked out when reading this and then see how interesting it all really is. I did not know this!!! Maybe I'll open up the grounds and charge admission . . . you know, have people search for the archaeology-poop pit.
Actually, there may be more than one spot where the outhouse sat. Back in the civil war days in the town where I grew up, there was an individual that made a living digging the holes for outhouses, and carefully filling the old hole so that it remained sanitary. The local doctor of the time opined that the one man had probably done more for the health of the town than he, the doctor, had.
Actually, there may be more than one spot where the outhouse sat. Back in the civil war days in the town where I grew up, there was an individual that made a living digging the holes for outhouses, and carefully filling the old hole so that it remained sanitary. The local doctor of the time opined that the one man had probably done more for the health of the town than he, the doctor, had.
Very, very interesting stuff. I am learning quite a bit about outhouses this morning. Thanks!
Actually, there may be more than one spot where the outhouse sat. Back in the civil war days in the town where I grew up, there was an individual that made a living digging the holes for outhouses, and carefully filling the old hole so that it remained sanitary. The local doctor of the time opined that the one man had probably done more for the health of the town than he, the doctor, had.
Yep, and those same folks I mentioned above would probably also point out where other likely locations would have been. After all, they did "fill up" over time and then the latrine was moved.
Apologies if this thread is now bordering on gross
How about this change of pace? As a young woman living in Texas where her husband worked in the oil-fields, my great-aunt once shot a rattlesnake in an outhouse!
Al
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Good grief.....
Either they have a lot of kids(or other live-in family), a lot of guests, or..... 
Yes indeed, there often is "more than one"
