Should You Install a Urinal at Home?

I know what you're thinking. "A urinal in my house? Really?" You probably get the whole man-cave thing that boys will be boys. Other than that, what possible benefit could a urinal offer in your house?

Number one (get it?), taking the urinal concept from the pub, rest stop or gym to your home can help you save space. It's also a time saver and, yes, a conversation piece that may just last a lifetime. Here's how to make the design work in your home.

A pit stop in the workshop is an awesome idea. When it's set next to a utility sink, you don't have to go into the house all dirty from your project, and you don't have to lose momentum on your train of thought. If the shop is in a garage and doubles as an entry for the house, it's also a great place for taking off dirty boots or cleats and getting cleaned up before entering.


For households where there may be an issue with mobility or another health situation — now or in the future — a urinal may foster independence. In some cases it might easier for someone to pull himself out of a chair to a standing position than to go from sitting to sitting. A urinal may also make a bathroom more accessible for someone without mobility issues.

Yes. I've seen it happen. My former father-in law had MS, for example. Going from up to down or vice versa and dealing with catheters were torturous for him. What's more, if it is the lady of the house who needs the toilet much of the time, the gentleman may need a place in the main bath to use while she is occupying the commode. Also note the grab bars around the commode in this photo.


While a conversation piece for sure, a well-placed, to-the-floor urinal is also a snap to keep clean. Women complain that men aren't 100 percent accurate. Well, it's pretty hard to miss a urinal that descends into the floor.


Dream on.


For vacation homes and rental properties, like beach and ski houses, a urinal makes using a common bathroom in mixed company easy, private and clean. Plus it can save on floor space where two places to use the bathroom are required but space is limited.


If your son potty trains on a urinal, he will be considered cool — as will the parent who installed it — pretty much forever. While I wouldn't recommend remodeling one into a home's main bath, installing one in, say, a basement can make perfect sense for some families.

See more of this boy-filled house


When your bathroom is a work of art, style and panache, why not? It's about the experience. But the experience doesn't have to cost a bucketload of cash. And you don't need a degree in art history to have style. You can order a typical, functional and relatively affordable urinal from a big-box store for under $200.

But as with any bath fixture (or car, truck or tool) you can also run with it. Amp up the style and customization, and the price tag voltage can zap up into the thousands.


While this bathroom is dripping with sexy style, done up in black and with a stainless steel commode, the urinal is also what universal designers call zero clearance.

And while this stall-type urinal looks cool, it also takes up precious floor space. Inches matter in every bathroom remodel I've done, and someone in a wheelchair would need turn-around space. (This unit doesn't comply with the 60-inch turn space that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires in commercial and government buildings, but it borrows the concept and applies it to a residence, where space is almost always an issue.)


Waterless urinals may also be a solution for busy bathrooms and big families — with mostly boys, of course. A wall-mounted unit can go for as little as $250. You'd still have to connect the drain to a properly vented drain stack, but you wouldn't have to add a water supply. And waterless urinals are nearly silent, because they don't flush.

Plus, waterless urinals save thousands of gallons of water annually. They need to be maintained, however, and periodically cleaned. But even a bunch of boys could handle that.

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