I’m working on a house that will be renovated for resale.
Bathroom is about 9′ x 9′ – not enough room for separate soaking/jetted tub and a shower.
Any opinions on a jetted tub & shower combo? More trouble than it’s worth?
I realize most people never use the tub, but it’s a resale and everyone seems to think they have to have one.
Replies
What does your floorplan look like. Sometimes you can do amazing things with small BA's if the layout is right... and the entry is right. But yeah, that does sound like a challenge. I'd rather have a 6x12.
JohnT8,
I'll post some pictures tomorrow. In the mean time I have attached a very basic sketch.
I really don't want to move a bunch of fixture locations. The wall that the door swings into is an exterior wall with 2 gorgeous stained glass windows so there aren;t many options that wall.
The other 3 walls are somewhat fair game.
Scott
I've converted your doc-embeded pic into a jpg. Also attached a re-arranged version, which might well be too much work for what you're wanting.
But I'm not a fan of the toilet being the "showpiece" as you're walking into the bathroom. I'd rather have the vanity (with its mirror) straight inside the door. Especially if the adjacent wall has stained glass which the vanity might mirror.
Sadly, I don't have an answer to your original question, but my reply will bump you back up to the top of the postings.
For my own 'muddling, whether I put a jet tub in depends on the projected profit from it. If you're dealing with a $50k house that you'll maybe clear $5-10k on, then it probably isn't worth putting in too many luxuries. If I could only put in a very few luxury-type items, I'd put them closer to the door folks first walk in. I've heard it said that many people make up their mind in the first minute or so of walking into a house, so put the "wow" factor there.
Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it. ;)
jt8
John,
Thanks for your suggestions. This house has the wow factor on the first floor. It's an early 20th century home with a great foyer/hall. It has 4' high paneled quartersawn white oak wainscoting which follows the 5' wide staircase up to the second floor.
We're planning on refinishing floors and applying new paint, wallpaper, light fixtures, etc. to the entire house. Both bathrooms on the 2nd floor need redone as well as the kitchen.
I agree with your thougths about the "throne" occupying the prominent position in the bathroom. Since it is the masterbath and I don't want to get carried away with reworking all the rough plumbing, I'll probably leave things where they're at.
Maybe someone else will chime in with a whirlpool tub idea. As it stands now, I'm leaning towards just putting in a standard cast iron Kohler and Americast from American Standard.
Scott
Guess I'll chime in with my personal opinions. Take it with a grain of salt, since I only put in a couple bathrooms per month.First, I don't have any problem with your combo idea. We do those all the time. It's a good way to get what you want the easiest and most space effective way many times.Second, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about resale value based on a soaking tub, though I've heard the same thing from many customers. Must be getting this information from realtors? TV shows? Actual experience? Dunno. But I hesitate to remodel my own house with anyone but myself in mind, though I plan to stay a while.Next, consider using something for a second floor bath besides cast iron. Yes, we can get it up there but we're going to charge for it. And I'd sure hate to see it flying down the stairs dinging up all that fancy woodwork!Can you put in a fancy shower here and use the tub in the other bathroom? Or vice versa?
Edited 1/3/2005 5:53 pm ET by Mad Dog
I'm sure we could do the shower in one and a tub in the other bathroom.
I added garage with master suite above last year on my own house and we opted for a Maax one piece 5' acrylic shower unit with all the bells and whistles. The unit has about 20 nozzles, showerhead and hand wand. So far so good. I just hope the thing lasts.
When you say fancy shower I assume you're thinking of a tiles unit with multiple heads etc. ?
By the way, what's your opinion of Americast by American Standard? Anything else you could recommend in the way of tubs that isn't cast iron?
Check out the products on this site.http://www.warmrain.com/frontfit_index.htmWarm Rain makes excellent tubs and showers in both acrylic and gel coat. In fact, they're the only manufacturer that makes a soaking tub strong enough to hang by the rim with no bedding. They've just introduced a series of tub/shower combinations called "Front Fit" that are made as 3-piece units for remodelers. They're available as standard tub/showers or with deeper soaking tub and whirlpool/shower units.Paul
Thanks for the link.
Some interesting products. It appears this is an upper midwest product as all distributors are located in that region. I suppose I could get something shipped to Pennsylvania.
Not sure about that particular item. I'm not a fan of American Standard fixtures in general, especially toilets and faucets, but don't know about the c.i. tub.Guess it depends how "high-end" you're talking about. I'm starting to get the idea though. It sounds like the most important thing for your needs is resale value versus cost effectiveness of getting it installed. I can't help you much with that but yes if you want a fancy shower with lots of heads in it, they seem to be popular with people who have lots of money. Maybe they're dirtier?
Mad Dog,
What brand products do you normally install? I'm looking for a recommendation on the tub, I'll likely tile the surround area.
Our company is big on Kohler. I think their stuff is good in general, but sometimes it can be a pain in the ### too. I've put in some jacuzzi style tubs by Pearl that seemed quite nice, can be had with colored lights for special effects. I don't think you'd necessarily have a problem with an Am Stand tub, shoot it's just a hunk of iron right?
Actually the "Americast" is some sort of composite I think.
Weight is somewhere between steel and cast iron. Supposedly better insulating qualities and a little easier on the back carrying it in.
I think I'll go with Kohler though for brand name recognition. Kindof like Anderson windows. though I'm not real impressed with Anderson......