repl. tub w/ shower stall in only bath?
I performed a few searches, but couldn’t really find anything of relevance. Please point me somewhere if you know of something.
The time is soon approaching when I will need to remodel my 50 yr old pink bathroom. In the dream phase I am considering ripping out the tub and replacing it with one of those trendy, spacious tiled shower stalls. I have only enjoyed a soak 1-2 times in my 5 years in this house probably because I’m a big guy and you just can’t get fully submerged and stretched out in a normal tub. This is the only bathroom so far in a 1.5 story Cape Cod (I could add a bathroom in the upstairs or the basement, but I wouldn’t count on it).
What can any forum members tell me about their experience/opinion regarding this? Am I blowing my resale? Would one of those walk-in, elderly tubs be a viable compromise?
Replies
You are making resale a bit tougher/longer, if that's a big issue for you. Probably not greatly reducing resale value per se. Going with a HC-accessible unit would help offset that, but only if the rest of the house is reasonably accessible.
You probably should check with your local BI to be sure that you won't be in violation of code (probably not, but better safe than sorry).
Do it.
First, make your home suit you. A lot of people never use their tubs, and I think a lot of homes suffer from trying to follow unspoken rules.
Second, I'm not convinced there would, necessarily, be any resale cost associated with deviating from the typical configuration. Exciting shower may resell better than boring tub. But cramped and ordinary shower won't. I think the most common buyer you might lose would be young families. However, the gotta-be-a-tub years are a short percentage of the life of a family and a lot of people are wowed by design.
Do it for sure if some of the following are true:
- Your area appeals to buyers with progressive design tastes.
- You have a great location (will always sell with reasonable ease).
- If necessary, the cost of a new bath to next owner would be small percentage of total purchase price.
- You have enough space to really make the shower a real showpiece flexible enough for adult, couple (hmm) and family use.
Can you design a shower with enough elbow-room for a parent to shower with a young child, or lean over from a seated position to sponge/splash bathe a kid sitting in/on a separate molded plastic-tub or inflatable mat? Consider extra and creatively configured faucets (high and low). Maybe instead of creating a constrained bowl in which to submerge, create a larger area safe for waterplay.
For a verdict, consider asking a real estate agent who really knows your local market.
Edited 11/22/2004 11:44 pm ET by hacknhope