What The House? What is a Jack and Jill Bathroom?

What the House is That??

To kick off her summer sloth, my teenage daughter recently started watching a TV series she referenced as “an old series called 90210.” I was excited to potentially rehash some old storylines until I realized she was talking about an already finished remake of the 90s version that I watched. Wow. I’m old. Some of my first experiences with house envy happened when I would watch Brandon and Brenda Walsh hash out dramatic moments of teen angst in the shared bathroom that connected the twin’s bedrooms.

In real estate the term ‘Jack and Jill bathroom’ is thrown around for all kinds of bathroom arrangements, but typically it means a bathroom with two doors and is accessible from two bedrooms. Most Jack and Jill bathrooms have two sinks as well. In a home with multiple children, this kind of bathroom can be convenient to help hide the typical ‘kid mess’ that can sneak up on you, because it’s rarely visited by guests. But how many bathrooms can you add to your listing when you are describing a home with a Jack and Jill bathroom?

Jack and Jill BathroomIn a recent listing appointment, I visited a home with a beautifully executed example of a Jack and Jill bathroom. The bathroom was located between two bedrooms upstairs and was split into 3 separate rooms. The two outer rooms (connected to the bedrooms) each had a private sink and toilet and the middle room contained a shower/bathtub.  The homeowners had considered this arrangement as two bathrooms because there were two toilets. I could feel the disappointment when I mentioned I was pretty sure it wouldn’t count that way. In this situation it actually counted as one full bath and one half bath.

How this is calculated seems to vary by region. In this area a full bath is determined by how many bath/showers exist. Typically a bathtub/shower needs to be present for a full bath listing, but in the New Braunfels area it is very common to have a full bath listing with only a shower or only a tub. If you want to get technical the main types of bathrooms are:

Full Bathroom (1 Bath):
A full bathroom should contain a bathtub, a shower, a toilet, and a sink.

Three-Quarter Bathroom (3/4 Bath):
A three-quarter bathroom should contain three of the four aforementioned items. This could mean a stall shower, a toilet, and a sink.  It could have a tub instead of a shower, but this setup is probably a lot less likely.

Half Bathroom (1/2 Bath):
If there is no shower or tub, this is considered a “half bathroom.” This basically makes it a room with a toilet and a sink. This is sometimes referred to as a “powder room” or “guest bath” or even “water closet.” Usually half bathrooms are found on the ground floor of a house where there aren’t any bedrooms nearby.

A Jack and Jill bathroom can be seen as an asset or an inconvenience depending on the size of the house. If the house is large and will accommodate a big family then the Jack and Jill bathroom could help attract buyers. But the lack of privacy could be seen as a negative in smaller homes that do not have a guest bathroom in a common area of the home. I always envied those Walsh kids; I’m sure my brother and I would have grown up to be best friends if we had only had a Jack and Jill bathroom!

Keller Williams Realty-Heritage
Licensed Realtor
clair@casanewbraunfels.com
830.237.3109
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Summary
Article Name
What The House? What is a Jack and Jill Bathroom?
Description
What is a Jack and Jill Bathroom? How does it effect listing or selling your home?
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Comments

  1. Michael Irwin says:

    I have an upstairs Jack and Jill bathroom do two suites, each suite has a private vanity next to bathroom door with plenty of storage. Bathroom contains toilet tub and shower. Downstairs there is another bathroom with only a toilet and sink plus some storage.