Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get rid of my bath

168 replies

Harveypuss · 05/03/2017 12:44

Posting here for traffic really.

We have decided to revamp the main bathroom in our house. We also have two small shower rooms in the house, which are used regularly.

We are considering ripping out the bath (with shower overhead) and replacing it with a large walk-in shower. It would look great, I'm sure and nobody in our family (us & two teenage kids) ever use the bath. I think the last time the bath was used was when our kids were babies.

However, I've had people tell me having no bath in the house at all would cause problems if we wanted to sell the house in the future (no plans currently, but you never know).

I'm now questioning my decision. What do you think? Do any of you only have showers in your properties? My husband thinks we should just go with it and doesn't see the point in paying out for a revamp and installing a bath that will just not get used, whereas a large walk-in shower would.

Would welcome your views! Many thanks.

OP posts:
stephenisjustcoming · 07/03/2017 08:41

DFiance is selling his house at the moment - the lack of a bath (he took it out to install a big shower) has been the most common 'problem' for buyers. But if you're planning on living in the house for the indefinite future, why not make it comfortable and practical for yourselves, rather than an imaginary viewing in years to come?

FWIW I've got a massive bath that both of us can sit in together and I wouldn't get rid of it for anything. There's nothing like a nice hot bath before bed in the winter or a long soak after a run in the rain.

emsler · 07/03/2017 12:41

I'm buying a house without a bath (hopefully!) but we knocked £3k off the offer we would have otherwise made because we'll need to redo the bathroom immediately to put in a bath!

Chattymummyhere · 07/03/2017 12:57

I don't care if there is a bath or not. Now not having a shower would be a deal breaker for me.

Sure I could put one in but the days waiting for a plumber to come do it and having to soak in my own dirt. Nope.

A lovely walk in shower is a dream we have a over bath shower. The only one who really uses the bath is the baby and I could use a baby bath for her.

skerrywind · 07/03/2017 13:15

Bath is essential.

I love a bath, it feel luxurious. You have to stand up in a shower, and fine for rushed mornings, but a bath is a great place to unwind.
I take in a book and a glass of wine- hard to do in a shower.

OH likes huge big bubble baths, DD loves her scented candles lights loads, and will stay in the bath for well over an hour.
When the were toddlers my kids loved baths, you can't really play with many toys in the shower.

A bath is a peaceful place, cleanses the body and restores the spirit.

JessieMcJessie · 07/03/2017 13:29

Astoria474 call me crazy but I tend to look at the actual room measurements before buying a house, rather than guessing what size they are based on how they are furnished Confused

webSocket · 07/03/2017 16:44

@JessieMcJessie

but first impressions are everything. There's a house near me with a very small kitchen and enormous dining room. It's on the market for £1.2m and has been for nearly 3 years.

An astute buyer will make an offer knowing that the small kitchen can be relatively cheaply overcome but people viewing the property either aren't interested or they are and knock a huge chunk off the asking price.

All those terrible TV programmes where they paint a house with white and de-clutter it before selling an unsellable house show that it takes more than a measuring tape to sell a house.

GatoradeMeBitch · 07/03/2017 16:49

If it's one or the other, I'd rather have a house with a shower and no bath than a bath and no shower.

aquashiv · 07/03/2017 17:55

I want to do the same but have been told it knocks twenty grand of the house

JessieMcJessie · 07/03/2017 18:38

websocket Astoria was not saying she'd be put off by the prospect of doing work to replace a bath. She said that the lack of a bath would support the assumption that the bathroom was too small for one. My point is that there would be no need to work on the basis of such an assumption as the measurements would be available. They're usually on the floor plan. Of course it would be expected that a buyer would negotiate a price that budgeted for the necessary building works.

MummyPenguin2 · 07/03/2017 18:54

I wouldn't buy a house without a bath. If you're not planning to sell it's not an issue though

Astoria7974 · 07/03/2017 19:20

I don't look at a floor plan when I'm browsing through Right Move. I look at photos. No bath, would make the assumption bathroom wasn't big enough, and move on. I'm only going to look at floor plans for properties I'm interested in viewing.

PunjanaTea · 07/03/2017 20:07

Well this thread is proof of the view that a lot of house buyers have no imagination and are put off by work.

I do find it easier to shower my children rather than bath them though. Although the younger one would stay in the shower for hours if you let him which is quite annoying.

It has made me really want to have a bath though.

OP I would say if you're planning to live in the house for ages then just put the bathroom in that suits your needs and is going to make you happiest.

PickAChew · 07/03/2017 21:36

The problem with work that is any more than paint and curtains, Punjana is that it's disruptive and expensive, at a time when you're already having to spend a lot. For us, and for many, having to drop a few thousand on a new bathroom is a few thousand off a potential deposit which might make a house unaffordable because, for us, a bath is essential, rather than nice to have. DH and I and, to some extent, DS1 might be OK with no access to a bath, but DS2 most definitely isn't and probably never will be. So, while we'd be able to wait a few months for our bank balances to recover before replacing a hideous carpet or a tatty or badly laid out kitchen, we wouldn't be able to wait to rip out what might be a perfectly good (and possibly, even fairly new or expensive) shower - it would have to be dealt with as soon as we moved in.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 07/03/2017 22:00

Completely agree Pickachew when you're maxing out your budget just for the house having to then pay for any work can be crippling. It's all good and well saying it's only £1000 as mentioned by someone up thread but all those "it's only x amount of money" all adds up.

So no Punjana it's not lack of imagination it's lack of money to change it.

Iamastonished · 07/03/2017 22:01

"Well this thread is proof of the view that a lot of house buyers have no imagination and are put off by work."

That's a bit harsh. Some people, believe it or not, just don't want the hassle and disruption of changing a bathroom around, quite apart from the expense.

I have lived in a house that was a work in progress and never want to do that again.

Crumbs1 · 07/03/2017 22:22

I'd consider a bath an absolute essential - they are the answer to so many of life's complications. I truly believe baths are curative for stress, insomnia, period pain, marital disputes, aching joints, teenage angst, unsettled babies, back injuries and a thousand other things. Few things cannot be resolved through a hot bath and a mug of tea.

JessieMcJessie · 07/03/2017 23:18

It really is horses for courses. We had our shower room redone and it was a long job as walls were knocked down and rebuilt. During that time we only had a bath for washing (in a different bathroom) with a handheld shower attachment. I was 30 weeks pregnant at the time.it was utterly miserable and I hated every bloody bath I had to have, particularly getting ready for work in the mornings. and the bath is a proper freestanding Victorian one lovingly installed by the previous owners.

enchantmentandlove · 08/03/2017 00:22

We are currently house-hunting, and this has actually put us off a few properties. It may seem short sighted, but the properties were at the upper end of our budget, so we wouldn't have enough money to re-do it for a while, when with a baby I don't feel we can do without one.

Actually one house we viewed without a bath the couple had a baby, which I found a little unusual.

If you don't see yourselves moving though, you may as well not have one.

webSocket · 08/03/2017 07:09

Well this thread is proof of the view that a lot of house buyers have no imagination and are put off by work.

Is that supposed to be insulting?

I'm certainly put off by work needing to be done to a house. It's disruptive and I'm very good at my job. That means I have the means to buy the house I want without having to live on a building site for months.

I don't have much imagination, either in general or interior design. When we had a new kitchen, it was done whilst we were on holiday, we paid someone to install it and we paid someone to design it.

Iamastonished · 08/03/2017 07:13

My thoughts exactly webSocket

clairewilliams999 · 08/03/2017 07:30

It will limit your future market, we were in same position and didn't do it. It's not a small job to reinstall a bath by the time you've tiled and plumbed, you can see from here that it puts loads off. Don't do it, it might cost you a fortune and limit your own buying power when u want to move on. Ideally when you sell you want multiple buyers in a bidding war for your property and this will limit it. When we sold one property we got £50k over asking as 2 people werd bidding against each other whi both desperately wanted it

VeryBitchyRestingFace · 08/03/2017 08:59

"Well this thread is proof of the view that a lot of house buyers have no imagination and are put off by work."

I have spent the last few years upgrading my property. It's currently being completely redecorated with a view to selling it this year.

The very last thing I'd want to be doing in a new home is having to redo the bathroom because the previous owners had ripped out the bath.

I wouldn't entertain such a property unless it was massively under budget.

Peanutandphoenix · 08/03/2017 09:12

I would never buy a house if it had no bath I am about to move in to a new flat and only chose it because of the bath I personally hate showers but love to have a good hour long soak in the bath that's just my personal choice though. Do what is right for you at the minute and if you ever decide to sell up then look in to putting the bath back in.

JessieMcJessie · 08/03/2017 09:53

websocket I, on the other hand, can almost guarantee that I would not find someone else's kitchen or bathroom design exactly to my taste and so would much prefer to buy a house in which both need updating so I could rip out and redesign to my own specifications. Not entirely sure by you feel the need to boast about your professional prowess by the way- buying a house that needs work done is just as expensive as buying a ready-to-move-in one, you just spend the extra money on building works instead of purchase price.

webSocket · 08/03/2017 10:04

Where was the boast?

Buying a house that needs work done means that you need to have the money to hand as opposed to included in a bank loan - a loan because you don't have the money.

I was saying that I'm unimaginative and don't like working on a property or being in one that is being worked on. Being good at my job does mean that I don't need a 'doer-upper'.