(BPT) - Couples everywhere strive to maintain household harmony despite their differences in habits, financial attitudes and approaches to life's ups and downs. But for many, there comes a breaking point: the bathroom.
This is what's driving many couples to seek a "bathroom divorce," a growing trend when a couple realizes their relationship may benefit from creating two separate bathrooms, rather than unhappily sharing the same one.
A problem in search of a solution
Whether you hold widely different standards of cleanliness, battle daily over the countertop and storage space for personal products, have competing schedules each morning or simply want an oasis to call your own, you're clearly not alone. Prioritizing personal space by wishing for two separate bathrooms is becoming increasingly popular and for good reason.
Although creating an additional bathroom may seem like the perfect solution, for many households, adding a second bath can seem impossible due to layout or plumbing constraints - not to mention financial considerations and the hassles that can come with a full bathroom renovation.
How to become happily 'bathroom divorced'
The good news: It is possible to create an additional bathroom even in situations where space is limited, or where you would traditionally need to break through the floor or dig into concrete - like creating a new bathroom in a basement or former garage. The key is not needing to have the standard, below-floor plumbing you might expect for a bathroom addition.
How is this accomplished? With a macerator pump system, you can transform underutilized or unexpected spaces into full, functional bathrooms.
For example, manufacturer SFA Saniflo offers multiple smart, above-floor plumbing solutions like their Saniaccess 3, which is ideal for adding a full bathroom in a light-traffic area. The Saniaccess 3 is a half-horsepower macerator pump system for installing a complete bathroom up to 15 feet below a sewer line or up to 150 feet away from a soil stack.
Including a two-piece toilet that flushes through a horizontal, rear-discharge spigot, this above-floor system goes beyond merely macerating toilet waste (black water). It can also efficiently handle gray water drainage from two other fixtures, such as a nearby sink, tub or shower. The above-floor plumbing is ideal for repurposing small, awkward or out-of-the-way spaces.
Saniflo products eliminate the need for costly, disruptive construction, making it possible to add bathrooms almost anywhere. The company also offers options that are flexible enough for full bathrooms (toilet, sink, shower) or half-baths, depending on space and needs for any given project.
Best yet, these products require shorter installation time and lower costs compared to conventional plumbing solutions.
Real-life solutions
The Mignon family in Long Island, New York, had only one full bath and a half bath in their home, and desperately wanted another full bathroom to accommodate the needs of their family of four. But the only option was to transform a downstairs mudroom into a full bathroom.
The Mignons didn't want to subject their family to the disruptive renovation of a traditional plumbing installation that would mean digging trenches through their garage floor for proper drainage - a process that could cost thousands of dollars.
To avoid a costly renovation and major construction hassles required by conventional below-floor plumbing drainage, the Mignons instead chose Saniflo's Saniaccess 3 macerating pump system to convert their unused mudroom into their dream en-suite with a full shower, toilet and spacious vanity.
This flexibility also makes it possible to undergo a bathroom makeover in situations such as a condominium or townhouse that might have stringent limitations on renovation. For example, the Hightower couple in Atlanta, Georgia, wanted to renovate their master bathroom, but soon found that the rules of their condo's building association wouldn't allow renovations that would go through each floor's foot-thick concrete floor.
Instead, the Hightowers were able to make the change they wanted through installation of the one-piece, dual-flush Sanicompact Comfort macerating toilet, saving the cost, hassle and inconvenience of lifting the floor 8-10 inches to accommodate below-floor drainage.
Could a bathroom divorce be the secret to domestic bliss?
These practical solutions mean not only making optimal use of space to provide a much-needed additional bathroom, but they come without the household upheaval and budget constraints many bathroom renovations entail.
If the idea of separate bathrooms appeals to you and your partner, explore the possibilities available for your home with macerating pump systems from SFA Saniflo. For more information, visit SFASaniflo.com.
