We are designing a new master suite including a master bathroom. The sink which my fiancee is now using is much too low for his comfort. I want to build his new vanity so that he doesn’t have to crouch down to brush his teeth ! How much higher than a standard cabinet should it be?
My bathroom cabinet (and I suspect his current one also) is 31" in height. He is 6’-5", and the distance from the top of his hipbone to the floor is 4 feet (even). The distance from his bellybutton to the floor is 44". (Yes, we had lots of fun measuring! :D)
If I’m 5’-6", and find the 31" cabinet comfortable, should I just add 8 inches to his new one? Or, ergonomically, is it a linear relationship? (It’s 40" from my hip-bone to the floor ~ in other words, the 11" difference in our heights is 3" from hip to skull-top, and 8" from hip to floor.)
IANAC either, but I think you can have your countertop at whatever height you desire. Just be sure to measure carefully so that all the plumbing fits in correctly. Since you say the work isn’t going to be inspected, who’s going to do the work? Maybe you should ask someone at Lowe’s or Home Depot for advice? Good Luck.
And I’m sure you’ve already considered this, but odd fixtures tend to lower the resale value of a home. Of course, if you plan on spending a few decades in the place, then the convienence factor may be worth it.
We are in a kinda odd predicament. We plan on marrying later this year, and together we have 4 teenagers. Neither current house is large enough. Since mine is in a subdivision, where a lot of remodeling will not be cost effective, one solution is to remodel his house and rent mine out. However, he and his brother plan to subdivide their property sometime within the next 5 years; his house essentially has a date with a bulldozer. Therefore, what improvements we make there will not be very expensive, unless we can take them out and put them in a future home. So, resale value is not of concern.
I’m thinking of more than convenience, you should see him contort himself to wash his face. I’m afraid of his back going out !!!
Therefore, what improvements we make there will not be very expensive,
A custom made cabinet is very expensive, however, just one might not bankrupt you. You might consider standard cabinets made for handicapped people; they are slightly higher and as affordable as regular cabinets. No special plumbing needs, just a longer sink tail piece. When I built our house, my wife, a nurse, suggested we make every thing accessable… 3 - 0 doors throughout, handicapped bath cabinets, etc. Works great and really doesn’t look all that different. Good luck!
I don’t think you have to get a custom made cabinet. I am reasonably sure that there are at least two heights of premade bathroom cabinets available. The older types (in my house that was built in the 80’s) seem very short to me (5’ 10" tall) and uncomfortable to use. I just built a one room studio and in the bathroom I put in a significantly taller cabinet that I found at Home Depot. It’s much more comfortable. I don’t have the height measurement, sorry. The sink I have here is 8 inches below my bellybutton and its a good height, so I would not use that rule of thumb. I think that is way too high.
So my advice would be to go to Home Depot or Lowe’s with your fiance and look at the floor models to see the difference in height. Also, I think the slightly taller one is best because it’s easier for you to go a little higher than for him to reach lower.
He will be building the cabinet himself; so, finding one of the correct height is not a problem.
We are going to make a split situation where my sink is comfy for me, and his sink is comfy for him.
He brushes his teeth often, twice a day usually, and trims his beard at the sink as well. So, yeah, he will be there often enough for it to be comfy to him.
I would’ve thought the easy way to figure it is measure against your body, as it’s a comfortable height for you - where on your body does it reach? Is it your hip, your navel, your groin, your shoulders, your knees?
Whereever that is, make it the same level to his body.
My cabinet hits just above the pelvic area, and it’s a very comfortable height. About 3 or 4 inches below my belly button.
You say he does a contortionist act washing his face? Why don’t you have him bend over to a level that is comfortable for him and see how far his face is from the ground? Then make the sink a foot or so lower than that.
I myself am 6’4", and I’ve found that it doesn’t bother me in the slightest having the sink and such at regular heights/sizes. Don’t get cheap toilet seats - those break easy when it’s 3 in the mornign and you just plop yourself right down and the seat’s made of plastic… stink.
I think that shower heads are usually at 7’ off the ground - mine is.
My bathrood mirror is big, cheap, simple, unframed glass - it starts a couple inches above sink level (splashes) and goes to 6’6" off the floor.
6’6" here. The best solution I’ve found is to have a kneeler in front of the sink. Puts everything right at hand, and lets you see the bottom of the mirror with no problem.
Though I’m very impressed with your plans to make a split-level double sink. Now there’s committment…
When I had my master bath redone, the kitchen and bath folks who did it, instead of using a “bath” vanity, which puts the countertop at about 31", just used a lower cabinet designed for kitchen use, which puts the countertop at 35 or 36", depending upon the thickness of the top you add to it. They said they routinely do that for master baths these days, using the lower vanities only for other bathrooms, where it’s more likely that kids will be using them. I’m about 6’1", and the height works very well for me.
You’re very welcome, one thing many people don’t think of is how far you have to lift the water from the tap to splash your face without losing most of it. Taller cabinets also mean more storage space underneath. For the sink, the kind that are sunk into the contertop are best as they let you sweep water off the top into the sink and don’t have that ridge where gunk collects. Go for at least a 6 inch high backsplash guard it saves a lot of headaches.
