Are you thinking of adding a bathroom to your home? There are a few types of bathrooms to choose from, and each one has its own purpose, and some will be easier to add to your home than others.
A quarter bath is a bathroom with just a sink, while a half bath is a bathroom that only has a sink and toilet or a bath/shower.
A three quarters bath is a bathroom with a shower or bathtub as well as a sink and toilet, while a full bathroom has a bathtub/shower fixture, along with a sink and toilet.
Guest rooms usually have a half bath or a ¾ bathroom, while master bedrooms are connected to full bathrooms.
Adding a half bathroom to an existing room can raise the value of the property up to 13%.
When choosing a home with a quarter or half bathroom, keep in mind the countertop space and the storage space.
Table of Contents
What is a Quarter Bath?
It is pretty common to see a half bath in homes. But not many people have seen a quarter bath.
A quarter bath is a room that only has a shower or bath or a toilet. If a quarter bath has a toilet, then it will not have a sink. It is unusual for a quarter bath to only have a sink.
Contrary to the half bath, if a quarter bath has a bath or a shower, it will not have countertop space or a sink.
This type of bathroom rarely has storage space or extra countertop space. It’s supposed to be a tiny room, almost like a closet.
Houses and apartments that have a quarter bath are usually older and small. If a homeowner was renovating their home and adding on an extra room, they would not choose a quarter bath.
Nobody wants to use the toilet and then have to go to another room to wash their hands.
That means that they will have to touch the doorknob with their dirty hands. If a homeowner adds a quarter bath to their house, it usually has only either a shower or a bath.
If they wanted a quarter bathroom that only had a sink and some countertop space, then it would actually be a powder room.
The average quarter bath is around 20 square feet. Some powder rooms are as small as 11 square feet, but these rooms are extremely cramped.
Cost to Build a Quarter Bath
The cost of a quarter bath is usually just a bit less than the cost of a half bathroom, it would make more sense to add on a half bathroom instead.
A quarter bath is hard to estimate since it is not the type of bathroom that homeowners often request to have installed.
On average, the cost of a quarter bath with just a toilet or a bathtub or shower is about $5,000 to $9,000.
Since a quarter bathroom does not come with a high price tag, do not be surprised if the contractor you hire turns down the job.
Most small contractors make about 20 to 30% profit on contracting jobs. So, if a quarter bathroom costs $5,000, then they will receive a net profit of $1,200.
However, if they get a job for a half bath at $17,000, their net profit will be $3,400 to $5,100. Contractors would much rather take on half bath projects than quarter baths.
What is a Half-Bath?
A room that is a half-bath has many names. Realtors usually describe these rooms as guest baths. Typically, a half-bath will only have a bath or shower, or it will have a toilet and sink.
A half-bath with a toilet and a sink will have a small countertop and no extra storage in or around the walls.
In North America, the average half bathroom is between 16 and 20 square feet. The most common size of a half bath is 3 ft wide by 6 to 8 ft long.
However, you can have a more compact half bathroom whose measurements are 4 ft by 4 ft or a longer bathroom at 6 ft wide and 4 ft long.
Adding a half-bath to a home is a great way to add on a shower or toilet room, especially if you live in a small house or a home that does not have much extra space.
If a half bathroom has a tub or a shower, then homeowners like to add special amenities to make their bathing and showering experience more enjoyable.
They’ll add dimmer lights, speakers in the light system, and a heated floor.
Cost to Build a Half-Bath
The cost to build a half-bath depends on where you live, but the average cost is between $7,000 and $20,000.
The price depends on if the room has a shower/bath or just a sink and a toilet, extra bathroom storage, a single or multiple lighting styles, a window, and the cost of materials in the region.
Adding on a half-bath to a home with an equal number of bedrooms and bathrooms will raise the value of the home by about 9%.
But the value of the home will go up to 13% if the home has an uneven number of bedrooms.
A home with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms is likely to see at least a 12% increase in value when the homeowner adds on the second bath. Adding on a half bath is always a positive investment.
What is a Three-Quarter Bath?
So, if a half bathroom is a bathroom with a bath and or shower and a sink or a toilet and sink, and a quarter bath is a bathroom with a sink or a toilet or a bathtub, then what in the world is a 3/4 bath?
Well, a 3/4 bath is a bathroom that has three out of the four fixtures that make up a full bathroom. So, a 3/4 bath will have a shower or a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet.
So, what in the world is the difference between a 3/4 bathroom and a full bathroom? The fundamental difference between a 3/4 bathroom and a full bathroom is in a ¾ bathroom, the bathtub is not also a shower.
Because of this small, almost insignificant difference, many people think that a bathroom with a toilet sink and a bath or a shower, but not both, is a full bathroom.
The average size of a 3/4 bath is about 32 square feet. But if your home has the space, the size of a three-quarter bath easily goes up to 50 ft.
Cost to Build a 3/4 Bathroom
The price to build a brand new 3/4 bathroom can be anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.
What is a Full Bathroom?
Finally! We have reached the best of all bathrooms in a home: the full bathroom.
As we stated above, the difference between a three quarters bath and a full bathroom is that in a full bathroom, the bath is also a shower, and vice versa.
Not only that, a full bathroom will have much more countertop space and also some storage space.
But what is a full bathroom? A true full bathroom will have both shower and bath fixtures and a toilet, and a sink.
Some full bathrooms separate the toilet and sink from the shower/bath by placing a door between the fixtures, or the sink and countertop will be in their own room, and the toilet and bath/shower are a second room.
If the homeowner builds a luxurious full bathroom, the toilet, bath/shower, and sink with its countertop will each have their own rooms.
A full bathroom may have shelves inside the wall or separate closet space with a door and handle in front of it. It will also have expanded cabinets.
If the full bath is attached to the master bedroom, then it will connect to a walk-in closet in the master bedroom.
The typical size of a full bathroom is around 36 to 40 square feet.
Bathrooms designed as Jack and Jill bathrooms will be larger to accommodate the extra sink and the additional countertop space.
A master bedroom’s full bath is usually 160 square feet.
These bathrooms are meant to be separate spaces intended for the person in the master bedroom. In older homes, the master full is 70 to 100 square feet.
Cost of a Full Bath
The cost of adding a full bathroom to your home is usually around $35,000 but can be as high as $50,000.
Recapping the Cost to Build Each Bathroom
- Quarter bath – $5,000 to $9,000.
- Half bath – $7,000 to $20,000.
- ¾ Bath – $8,000 to $30,000.
- Full Bathroom – $15,000 to $50,000, but the average price is $35,000.
What to Consider Before Adding or Altering a Bathroom
Are you thinking of adding a bathroom to your home? Here are some factors to consider before hiring a contractor:
- If you are short on space, then do not add extra countertop space and storage space in a full bathroom. A full bathroom is already large enough.
- It will be far more expensive to add to a brand-new bathroom, as the contractor will have to build a foundation and find wiring and plumbing connections. Converting an existing space to a bathroom will be cheaper.
- It is cheaper to add a bathroom to the ground floor than the second floor.
- Amenities can take up space; plan for heated floors or a disability-friendly toilet in advance. Do not try to add amenities to the bathroom later.
- Adding a half-bathroom with a sink and toilet near the door is a great way to keep guests from using your home’s main full bathroom.
Conclusion to Adding Bathrooms To Your Home
A full bathroom must have at least one of four fixtures to be a bathroom: a sink, a toilet, a shower, or a bath.
A room with a sink and countertop space is a quarter bathroom, but they are often mistaken for powder rooms.
Adding on a half bath or full bath can significantly increase the value of a home, especially if the home has an uneven number of bathrooms and bedrooms.
If the bathroom has two doors connecting to two bedrooms, it should be a full bathroom.
