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What is it with open toilets in basements in older homes????
They seem to have been quite popular at one time, especially in homes where the back entrance was split with a short set of stairs down to the basement and another short set of stairs into the kitchen. They were always just the toilet, too, never a sink and never walls although occasionally somebody would add a metal shower stall.
I had the plumber cap the one in my basement off and dispose of the toilet. The second toilet (along with a sink and shower) belong on the second floor with the second floor bedroom!
What is it with open toilets in basements in older homes????
They seem to have been quite popular at one time, especially in homes where the back entrance was split with a short set of stairs down to the basement and another short set of stairs into the kitchen. They were always just the toilet, too, never a sink and never walls although occasionally somebody would add a metal shower stall.
I had the plumber cap the one in my basement off and dispose of the toilet. The second toilet (along with a sink and shower) belong on the second floor with the second floor bedroom!
Well my house layout has no bathroom on the first floor and one bathroom on the second floor. My guess was that it was just a cheap alternative to having a second full/half bath. Maybe it was a permit zoning thing? I also learned that when selling the home it's not even mentioned in the listing at all. Alot of houses we looked at had them and none of them mentioned it.
Well my house layout has no bathroom on the first floor and one bathroom on the second floor. My guess was that it was just a cheap alternative to having a second full/half bath. Maybe it was a permit zoning thing? I also learned that when selling the home it's not even mentioned in the listing at all. Alot of houses we looked at had them and none of them mentioned it.
My extra toilet wasn't mentioned either. Maybe if there's no walls or no sink, it doesn't count so you didn't need a permit? I dunno. I suspect these things were put in in 1950s or 1960s when these small houses would have been home to noticeably larger families than they are today.
There are a lot of houses around here that don't have 1st floor bathrooms, either. Mine's just the opposite since there's only 1 BR upstairs and 2 BRs downstairs (my house is a story and a half).
From just the subject line, I though this thread was about an open *pit* toilet aka a hole dug in the ground of an earthen floor basement. Much relieved.
How about I make my response totally useless and suggest getting a larger/taller used/defunct fridge, cut out the bottom and place it around the toilet totem. Shorter go-ers need only open the lower door. Taller both. The upper/freezer door could also be used for light & ventilation. Of course this would be a non-latching magnetic seal fridge. Bonus points if you put the fridge fan-blower and light on a person on the pot sensor. (loved the mirrored (1 way?) glass urban can)
That's how my parents enclosed their basement toilet: Dad hung a circular shower curtain rod from the floor joists, and attached a pair of shower curtains to the rod. Their toilet is open on three sides, necessitating two curtains to go the whole way around.
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