Now remodeling our four bedroom, two bath home. About bathrooms, does the UBC or any relevant code absolutely require a bathtub? We now have two bathrooms, one with shower only and one with conventional tub and shower. I like the idea of showers only and skip the tub. Combining a shower with a bathtub makes an unattractive compromise anyway.
Can I do away with bathtubs forever?
Pete
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Replies
The only arguement i've heard for a tub is resale, but there is now a trend to just have showers and do away with tubs.
AFAIK no code says you need a tub.
Build it to suit yourself, and enjoy it!
Build it to suit yerself my azz
I was arguing with an inspector about which side should be hot or cold on a tub valve.
Since I don't fill the tub while I'm in it I wanted the hot on the left while standing outside the tub, & he wouldn't pass it.
& to the OP the code requires a tub or a shower or both, so you can go without a tub.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Sorry but I agree w/ the inspector on that one. hot on the left (when facing the fixture) is a "standard". It is assumed that hot will be on the left and changing that could create a scolding hazard, imagine a three / four year old kid playing in the bathroom and they decide to play in the tub.
Edited 4/3/2006 9:34 pm ET by MSA1
True but
how many 3 & 4 yr olds know hot on left cold on rightDo you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Children may not, but elder people will know. Ah, that is a problem you didn't think about.
But it was my house.
& code says the hw can't be over 120 degrees
I have mine @ 135 degrees - so the McDonalds coffee lady should stay away from my tub.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
how many 3 & 4 yr olds know hot on left cold on right
My grandson had the stereo, TV & VCR figured out before he was 3; which side the hot water is on wasn't much of a challenge...
Very true, I should have said 34 yr old lawyers.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
ROFL!!
My son is 10 months old & he already knows which button turns off the TV & which combination of printer button prints out a test page - I have to unplug it now to save ink & paper...
(not trying to start anything - just agreeing that kids are smarter than we often give them credit for)
Edited 4/4/2006 1:10 pm ET by Soultrain
You have any kids? My three year old little girl works the DVD player and has no problem getting around the bathroom fixtures. They may not know left from right but they know which valve to point to if I ask which one is hot.
Yup------ 11yr old & 4yr old & they know which one is hot.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Yes, but does the four year old look for the "H" or just know its on "that side"?
I don't have an "H" or a "C"
I have a red & blue on a couple of my faucets
& chaud & froid on others.
Mainly he always checks temp with finger tips before jumpin right in.Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
You been buying your supplies from France again.You know why they put 'LeCar' on those Renaults (or were they Peugot's) back in the 80's, so they could tell them apart from their lawnmowers.
LOL
Hansgrohe damn things are too expensive but free is free
I installed them in a house by Bill Gates back in 96' then interior decorator # 8 came through & said "oh these faucets have to go there too shiny" I said yeah we call that chrome.
So boxed em up sat in my garage till I bought this house in 99'Do you look to the government for an entitlement, or to GOD for empowerment. BDW
Good grief! Not even your own choice of which side is hot!!!???!!
Thanks for the help! Not worried about resale for now.
I think from a resale standpoint, it is a bad idea not to have one bathtub someplace. Bathing kids, dogs, hanging clothes to dry.
Would a clawfoot tub someplace work?
Thanks! We are well past the time of kids and dogs, but I see your point. And a clawfoot would look good in the garage, but not in the house (which is more on the modern side). Could wash the kids in the sink, maybe. Tried to wash the dog in the tub once, long ago. Only once: dog hair plugged the drains.
I know that this isn't your question, but I wanted to point it out anyway. You are hurting your resale value if you don't have a tub anywhere in the house. With 4 bedrooms, your home is presumably meant to house a family, and young children need a bathtub. Also, if your area is like mine, the shower baths may not even show up when doing an MLS search. My house had 2 baths, one with shower only, when I bought it. However, because the shower counted as 3/4 of a bath, it didn't pop on a search for 2 bath homes, it was only in looking at the MLS detail telling how many were upstairs and how many are downstairs that I found it. This may not be important to you, as you are living there now and should have the home you want, but for many of us resale is a consideration, even if it isn't the main one.
Good luck with your remodel.
Do not truly remember, but we bought the house listed as two baths, even though one had shower only. You raise an interesting point with the MLS listing. Thanks!
If you eliminate the tub, I would leave the shower stall at least 60" wide. This way, if you ever decide you need a tub, you could add one without too much work.
Speak the truth, or make your peace some other way.
I can't address the code question, but I can tell you that as sure as hell if you lose the tub, the day will come (or more likely the night) that you will be sick and chilled and badly need to warm up, and neither the shower nor the electric blanket will get the job done in a timely manner.
"the day will come (or more likely the night) that you will be sick and chilled and badly need to warm up"Here we have women, a good one is better than a dozen tubs.If you are building your home for you, skip the tubs, Makes sense to me.
I can't even stay in a hotel that doesn't have a tub, and that's harder than you might think in Europe. DW must have at least one bath a day, and I don't think I've seen her shower in the 15 years I've known her. So, yea, include a tub somewhere!
Pete, just did the same thing and made the upstairs bath a large tiled shower. I'm not concerned about resale, since almost every person who has visited thought it was a good idea. I did make the shower 60" so someone can add a tub if I ever do sell. For the the one time a year I want a bath I go downstairs, even my 6 year old prefers showers now.
If you ever get hemorrhoids or some other medical condition that you either need to soak or can't take a shower you will need a tub.
I've seen a small 3' sq. tub that act as deep shower pan but at least it's a tub.
Keep in mind that this is a bachelor saying this, but I'd personally think you'd be eliminating a family with small children from buying your house: exactly what you probally don't want to do with a four bedroom. If you're planning to live in it forever, and don't forsee having kids/grandkids, you could probally get away with it, but...