Can a Door Open Directly From Bathroom to Kitchen?
Q.
My friend has an outhouse attached to her house and is currently in the process of knocking a hole through the kitchen wall direct to the outhouse and turning this into a toilet/bathroom.
This will mean that when finished she can open one door from the kitchen directly into the bathroom. Are there not health and hygiene regulations that state two doors should be between the kitchen and the new bathroom?
(L.G, 21 April 2009)
A.
As with so many questions about house conversions, the answer is yes, no, 'it depends' and 'you'll have to ask'. It's impossible to give a definitive answer to a specific situation but we can certainly give guidelines.
Health, Hygiene and Extensions
Firstly there aren't really any health or hygiene regulations that are applied to houses and extension builds. There is a section on hygiene aspect in the building regulations though.It does seem that in the past this section of the building regulations made it necessary to have two doors in between a kitchen and a toilet. But although it's quite easy to discover what the current building regulations are, it's not as easy to discover what they used to be.
Two Doors No Longer Appear Necessary
Certainly some experts believe that this was dictated in building regulations but has now been relaxed, and others think that it was an interpretation of building regulations that was incorrect, and today's interpretation is different.Either way, it means that your friend now has a chance of doing what she wants without having to somehow work it so that there are two doors between the kitchen and bathroom with toilet. As long as there is a basin where people can wash their hands before returning to the kitchen then one door is sufficient. If there's no toilet in the new bathroom then it would be more likely to be approved with only one door.
Building Control Application
The not so good news, although it's not a deal-breaker, is that your friend must go to her regional authority to get building control approval regardless of the way she wants to do it. This is because moving a bathroom and the installation of a toilet are both jobs that require building control approval, whether or not there are two doors or one between the new bathroom and the kitchen.So the answer at the end of all that is that your friend probably can do what she wants but she will have to discuss it with building control and get approval. She can find out more about making applications under building regulations on this site.
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Fatima - 30-May-22 @ 4:41 PM
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Gaz - 19-Jan-21 @ 2:26 PM
what can happen if a downstairs toilet is put in without permission / regs ?
mazz60 - 9-Oct-20 @ 12:01 PM
We had a wet room and toilet built on the end of the kitchen one door into the wet room and the only rear door out is through the wet room every time we go into the garden was the planner wrong it was council work and it is a strange way of getting to the garden.
Dotmac - 25-Jun-20 @ 5:30 PM
We have a commercial property and want to move a door. The door is a second door to a toilet area. The second door with the move would open into a kitchen area - is this still line with building regs? The door would still be same dimensions for wheel chair use.
Amahan - 28-Feb-20 @ 8:20 AM
Hi. We have recently had an extension with a toilet. We have an opening window in the toilet. Does this toilet require an extraction unit?
Stuart - 5-Feb-20 @ 11:07 AM
Hi we have put an extension on the back of thehouse to include anensuitewe have a wide opening into the ensuite where patio doors once were . My question is do I have to have doors or could I put a glass screen with an open section? What are the building regs on this? Or If I put double doors would they have to open out?
Nick14 - 3-Jul-19 @ 5:31 PM
Hi ,it's a 3bed semi detached house.we have a toilet in the kitchen (which is not hygienic),I would like to convert it as a utility room or a store room.do we still need approval .kindly advice.
Shanty - 9-Jun-19 @ 3:19 PM
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Laura - 5-Mar-19 @ 11:02 AM
Could you please confirm that a loo(furthest from the door)shower/ and basin in a room next door to a kitchen does not require planning regulations as there is a basin where hands can be washed
Fish - 21-Jan-19 @ 9:13 PM
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Taz - 20-Oct-18 @ 1:02 PM
Maza - Your Question:
My elderly parents are living in a house which has never been modernised so therefore the bathroom is downstairs and you walk straight into it from the kitchen. Apart from the fact that that it's damp and absolutely freezing I also think that this is the cause of a lot of sickness for my parents. Is there anything that can be done about this?
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Not really...they could look into local grants to improve insulation and therefore heating?
ExtensionBuild - 6-Feb-18 @ 2:21 PM
My elderly parents are living in a house which has never been modernised so therefore the bathroom is downstairs and you walk straight into it from the kitchen. Apart from the fact that that it's damp and absolutely freezing I also think that this is the cause of a lot of sickness for my parents. Is there anything that can be done about this?
Maza - 5-Feb-18 @ 2:26 PM
I work in a very big public building, i have recenty been informed that the resturant staff have been tipping greece down the sinks which is causing the Customer toilets
To block up! Is this possible? Could the kitchen sinks be connected to the toilets in any way?
Teddy - 2-Jan-18 @ 6:10 AM
Kittyshop - Your Question:
I have an extension with an existing bathroom attached but it used to be a wet room so is quite big. It contains a shower toilet and sink and has a window. If I move the sink across by about 1.5m I can put a partition in but was wondering if it would be ok to use the other section (where sink is now) to put a kitchenette in and let it all out. The window would still cover both areas.
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You should check with your own local planning and building control department about this as we don't have enough information to comment really.
ExtensionBuild - 27-Jul-17 @ 2:10 PM
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Kittyshop - 24-Jul-17 @ 5:45 PM
do you need doors from toilet from sleeping and eating area i have just one
cn - 19-Jan-17 @ 6:15 PM
It may comply with current Building Regulations but. it is not a good idea to hear someone on the WC! smells etc. when opening a WC compartment or bathroom with a WC directly onto a Kitchen/Living room etc. The exception may be an en-suite bathroom/WC/shower room situation.John Clinch Consultant
JonnyorJC - 13-Oct-16 @ 12:16 PM
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In a new building built in 2015 should the workplace toilet doors off the main reception have two doors or one? We have just started in our new building and the smell of human waste is entering into the reception as we only have one door into the 2 meters by 1 meter toilets.
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Check with your local building control officer but in general the rules is that toilets must not open directly into a room where food is handled.
ExtensionBuild - 10-Oct-16 @ 12:49 PM
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Taffjohn - 7-Oct-16 @ 11:59 AM
Shabbap - Your Question:
I'm in a flat toilet door is in my kitchen it's got no fan no opening window no fan in kitchen plz help where can I complain
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ExtensionBuild - 16-Sep-16 @ 11:24 AM
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jeroz - 24-Mar-16 @ 11:52 AM
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jeroz - 24-Mar-16 @ 11:41 AM
Building Regulations 1976P3 Sanitary accommodation - not to open directly on to a kitchen, living/dining room, or workroom.Don't know when it changed, but it wasn't a good idea.
J - 28-Nov-12 @ 3:12 PM
I have just had a kitchen/dining extension built and this now means the bathroom will open into the kitchen. My installer says I will have to have 2 doors between the kitchen and bathroom, this would mean I would lose 3 feet from the size of the bathroom. There is an extractor fan in the bathroom and a friend tells me I no longer need 2 doors as building regs have changed.
Who is correct please.
Many thanks
halipaly - 20-Jul-12 @ 10:13 AM
This is not a comment but question. Do you need two doors leading to a toilet from a eating area?
woody - 13-Jul-11 @ 11:07 PM
