Outdoor toilets and pool changing rooms in Dubai

An outdoor toilet or pool changing room is often only a few square metres, but it holds almost every service a bathroom indoors does: water, drainage, power, light and fresh air, plus waterproofing for floors and walls that are wet every day. That makes it different from most garden structures, which are mainly about shade and finishes. The room has to drain properly, stay dry inside its walls, stay cool enough to use in summer, and give real privacy only a few steps from where everyone is sitting. If you want a larger building with a lounge, storage and an equipment room, see our pool houses; this page is about the compact version.

This is where most of the design effort goes, and the main reason the room's position is decided early.

• Water supplyA cold supply from the villa, and hot water if the room includes a shower or basin.
• Drainage connectionWaste from a toilet has to reach the villa's drainage with enough fall; if it cannot, other solutions are needed.
• Distance to existing linesThe further the room is from existing pipes, the more trenching through the garden.
• Inspection accessAccess points so drains can be cleared without lifting paving.
• Shower floorA floor laid to falls towards a drain, so water does not sit in corners or run out under the door.

• VentilationA window, high-level vents or an extractor, so damp towels and the toilet do not leave the room stale.
• WaterproofingFloors and the lower part of walls are waterproofed before tiling, and the shower area higher up.
• Roof and heatA small room in full sun gets hot; roof overhangs, insulation and orientation keep it usable in summer.
• Finishes for wet feetSlip-resistant floors and surfaces that cope with water, sunscreen and pool water every day.
• Power and lightLighting and any extractor or water heater are wired for a damp location.

Our published project galleries do not yet include a finished outdoor toilet or changing room, so the photos here show pool areas from our projects. They illustrate the setting such a room would serve, not the room itself.

Duration depends on the work; a programme is given after the site visit.

• FixturesA toilet alone, or a toilet, basin and shower.
• Drainage routeDistance and depth to the villa's existing drainage.
• Hot waterWhether a water heater or a hot supply is needed.
• StructureA new standalone room, or one built against an existing wall.
• FinishesTiling, sanitaryware, doors and any built-in joinery.