These are the bathrooms from our apartment.
This is the larger one:
The tub is a nice length, and it has a shower mounted on the long wall. There is no curtain or rod, of course. Do you like the step up just past the sweep of the door? For those of you not familiar with European plumbing, that is the toilet tank high on the wall, and the Italians feel it absolutely necessary to install a bidet even in such a small space.
The second bath is even better:
First, geometry. Don't let the tile fool you. The floor does drain properly. It just looks funny in this picture because walls are never square in buildings this old. The shower has an acute angle in the back corner.
Yes, that is a shower. It is roughly 2'x2'. Those are not 2x4s, they are stone that looks like 2x4s!
Notice the square item to the left of the shower. That is the washing machine! It is a very convenient place to put your shampoo and shower gel, but you do have to step into the shower to load the laundry.
Now think for a moment about electricity and water. The outlet for the washer, along with the switch and outlet for the sink, are in easy reach of the shower stream. GFCI? What is that? To put things in context, there is only one circuit breaker for the entire apartment.
Finally, mind your step in this bathroom as well:
Love from Italy,
Michael
Michael, is there a concern for water conservation over there? I suspect the step-up is for the plumbing, but at that short of a step up, it may not have any slope to it. One benefit to posting the water closet so high on the wall is that the seat can be scooted closer to the wall to save even more space. I like that idea.
ReplyDeleteThere has always been a concern for water conservation here. The Romans had to build aqueducts to water their growing cities, and even in a little city like Todi they built cisterns to capture the rain that fell.
DeleteWe have not received our first water bill, but my understanding is that conservation is enforced by the price of water. But even here they are in an unusual drought and there are notes in various businesses explaining their accommodation to the drought conditions.
Yes, those steps up are certainly for the waste lines (the supply being cemented into the floors and walls). In the two meters (max) across the room they only need 5 cm drop.
The other reason to mount the tank high on the wall is "pressure assist". Supply pressure is low, and the lines in the floors and walls are small.
Michael
Your "new" bathrooms at home will seem palatial when you get back!
ReplyDelete@Kris: I don't think they are coming back!
ReplyDelete