by Meranda Watling

When Mark McKenzie bought his Indianapolis home 11 years ago, one selling point was its abundance of bathrooms. One feature in the fifth bathroom hooked him: a urinal.

"It sounds like a dumb guy thing, but every guy would like to have a urinal," McKenzie says. "It's a conversation piece." He also finds it more convenient than a toilet.

Indianapolis-area plumbers say they receive a fair number of inquiries about the guys-only luxury. "We're getting more buyers because America is staying home more," says Bob Richards, owner of highly rated Bob the Plumber in Tipton. "They're spending more money on comfort."

Beyond comfort, some men think about cutting water costs, says Beth Rovazzini, president of highly rated B & W Plumbing and Heating Co. Inc. in Speedway. A urinal uses about a gallon per flush - half or less the water of a standard toilet. But she says the savings isn't a driving factor in this region. "Our water's so inexpensive, we can't recoup our costs the way you might in California," she says.

Most requests for urinals are in men-only spaces, such as the "man cave" or workshop, says Richards, who has a urinal in his basement. "Some married men want them, and most wives do not," he says. "Women usually think it's crazy or silly. It's just another thing they've got to clean." But he adds that some women reconsider when they realize that men may be missing the target with standard toilets. Still, few inquiries lead to installation, he says.

The cost and re-plumbing required keeps urinals out of most remodels, Rovazzini says. It can cost from $600 to $2,000 to put in a home urinal, depending on the style and location. "It takes a 3/4-inch waterline, but most people have a 1/2-inch," she says. "It would require reworking your plumbing."

Some waterless urinal options don't need as much plumbing, but they do require changing chemical filters every few thousand uses.

Rovazzini says homeowners also should consider maintenance, including the potential for smells or urine salt buildup. "Urinary salts act like calcium," she says. "It just builds up."

It's most expensive to retrofit an existing bathroom, but it's easiest to place a urinal in a new bathroom or area with easy waterline access, such as near a mechanical closet or laundry room, Richards says.

Angie's List member Chris Lord of Indianapolis says his wife's given him the OK to add a urinal to a full bathroom remodel of his basement. "Some of my neighbors were like, 'I can't believe you're putting one in,' " Lord says. He hired highly rated Russell Leatherman Plumbing in Indianapolis to do the sewer-line work, but Lord is installing the urinal and doing most of the work himself to reduce costs. As for maintenance? "I told [my wife] I'd be the one cleaning it.