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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to consider buying a house without a bath?

36 replies

Frightchen · 16/10/2013 13:52

I think I am being unreasonable and am pretty much expecting to be talked out of it.

I'm looking to move house; I don't like my current one and for various reasons the timing is such that if I want to move, sooner would be better.

I've found a nice-looking house (well, nice for my budget) with a huge garden, not too far from work/family/friends. The only drawback I can see is that it has a shower room and separate WC. This wouldn't be a problem if it was just me, but I'm planning on TTC in the next year or so, and I'm thinking that a newborn wouldn't need a bath - can clean in a baby bath/over the sink, but once future baby becomes a toddler then not having a bath is going to be unworkable, isn't it?

OP posts:
Thurlow · 16/10/2013 14:21

Oh, you can get lots of different things for your baby to lie on or sit on in the shower until they're old enough to stand under it themselves. We used a bath seat and the shower head in the bath for months, mainly because it was so much quicker than running a bath slattern mum

DoJo · 16/10/2013 14:26

You can get small, square baths that are about the size of a really deep shower tray, and have the best of both worlds - lovely for a nice deep bath if you want one, or a shallow bath for a toddler and still practical for showering.

PrimalLass · 16/10/2013 14:37

I am sure there will be a way of rejigging it to get a bath in.

FortyDoorsToNowhere · 16/10/2013 14:53

I couldn't live without a bath, I would have to put one in.

Original poster
Frightchen · 16/10/2013 15:03

Thanks for confirming my thoughts...

I haven't viewed the house yet. It looks like the shower room and the toilet aren't huge, but I'm wondering if the wall between them could be taken down and the whole thing turned into a bathroom.

The shower room (according to the floor plan) is a diddy 4'10" by 5'7", but a quick google has revealed that baths are roughly 5'7" (ish) so knocking down a wall, filling in a door and budging the sink over should leave enough room for a bath; just have to add bathroom-renovation to the budget.

I'm going to have to view it aren't I? And then I'm going to fall in love with the lovely big garden... Shall have to remember how much I like baths, and how much my niece and nephew like playing in the bath.

Tea's suggestion that the sale might be on the condition a bath is put in is a good one... Could use it as leverage to knock a bit off the price if the rest of the place is good (that way I get to pick the suite, rather than having whatever the sellers pick).

OP posts:
Blondeshavemorefun · 16/10/2013 21:23

like others i couldnt be without a bath, was bad enough when my dp redid our bathroom and had no bath for 2 weeks

also though took a few weeks to get shower in as out of stock and i missed a shower

therefore i like both a bath and shower Grin

Dp who does Property Maintenance and based in Kent if you are near us, he would be happy to come out and quote if you did decide to buy

GKS&B - sorry shameless plug Wink

and yes taking out a bath and replacing with a shower does devalue your house, esp if a large place as famillies want bathrooms and baths :)

ColderThanAWitchsTitty · 16/10/2013 21:28

my toddlers sometimes have a bath as a treat but generally are in the shower with me or I throw them in by themselves

ananikifo · 16/10/2013 21:43

I was about 8 weeks pregnant when we made an offer on a house with no bath. There is room for one but the bathroom is newly renovated and we aren't in a position to pay to have a bath put in. The lack of a bath tub was my main uncertainty in deciding on this house.

Neither DH nor I are bath people. When we've had a bath tub, I've gone years without taking baths. I did Internet searching and asking and I'm now convinced the baby really won't know the difference. Apparently there are countries in Europe where it's normal not to have a bath. You just use a baby bath, then go in the shower with the baby/child to wash them, then the child showers on their own. They won't miss sitting in a bath surrounded by toys. It's more something adults miss because of the image in our heads.

My baby isn't born yet but we love our house and I'm confident that it was the right decision. I don't think a bath tub should be a deal breaker at all.

Preciousbane · 16/10/2013 22:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Topseyt · 16/10/2013 22:09

Not a deal breaker for me either. I love my showers and only occasionally have a bath. Also, my parents took the bath out of their house and replaced it with a shower. It is fine, and no sad loss.

We do have a bath in our house (the shower is over it), and it does get sporadic use as a bath. I used it much more when the kids were very small, as I just bunged them all in together to make things easier. They have always liked showers too though, even when young. As babies I quite often bathed them in the kitchen sink. No problem.

SHarri13 · 16/10/2013 22:27

It'll be fine. Out house didn't have a bath when we bought it. My eldest was our only child at the time and he used to bath in a big bucket (from wicked but they're sold as toy buckets some places). We did eventually put a half size bath in and now we have three boys I think we'll convert a bedroom into a big bathroom once our attic rooms are done. No bath is totally do-able especially with one child.

Has a flexi-tub been mentioned yet?

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