BATHROOM VENTING

Every Canton Michigan bathroom needs ventilation to prevent accumulation of moisture and mold. A bathroom to be remodeled on an exterior wall, should have a window with an opening equivalent to 10 percent of the bathroom floor area. If your bathroom has only interior walls, building code requires a fan with ducting to exterior space.  Switches or electrical fixtures cannot be within arm’s reach of someone using a tub or shower.

BATHTUBS THE CHOICES

Cast iron and steel bathtubs are heavy, even when they’re not filled with water. Fifty gallons of water in a tub adds another 400 pounds to floor load. Floor joists in older Canton Michigan homes were seldom designed to take such a concentrated load. Should you decide to have a heavier type tub installed in your bathroom remodeling project, we suggest reinforcing floor joists and adding cross bridging between joists. We may also need to double up studs. Even a shower stall can stress floor joists that weren’t designed to support bathroom fixtures. If you plan to have installed ceramic tile on walls, floors or vanity tops, additional framing to the floor and wall to support the additional weight to provide more strength might be suggested. Ceramic tile is heavy and requires rock-solid support to resist cracking.

CANTON MICHIGAN BATHROOM SPACE MINIMUM CLEARANCES TO CONSIDER WHEN REMODELING A BATHROOM

•5' x 4' – smallest two-fixture bathroom

•5' x 7' – smallest three-fixture bathroom

•12" –  center of a toilet to end of a tub

•15" –  center of a toilet to side of a tub

•15" –  center of a toilet to an adjacent wall or shower stall

•15" –  center of a toilet to center of an adjacent lavatory

•15" –  center of a lavatory to an adjacent wall or shower stall

•30" – distance between two lavatories mounted in same countertop

•32" to 34" – usual height for top of vanities

•32" x 32" – width and depth of a square shower stall

•30" x 60" – width and length of standard tubs

•26" – height of  toilet paper roll holder above floor

•21" – depth of standing space while washing hands at a lavatory

•36" – depth of standing space to open a sliding shower door

•44" – depth of standing space to open a hinged shower door

Local Michigan building codes set minimum bathroom dimensions. As usual, Local Michigan code is last word.