AIBU to not want a bath?

[LouLou789]

Twelve years ago we had our bath taken out and a high quality shower cubicle installed. The room is fully tiled. It also enabled us to put a loo in the bathroom (there’s already a loo in an adjacent room)

It is still immaculate as we’ve maintained it well and replaced the shower head and unit as needed.

House now on the market, it’s a 3 bed semi In a quiet cul de sac and would appeal to a couple wanting a family home to bring up their kids. It’s had plenty of viewings (been on the market 5 weeks) but no offers and several people have mentioned the lack of a bath as a problem.

Of course we are looking for a new home ourselves, but we fully accept we will have to do at least some work on any new house to make it right for us, including changing a bath to a shower room. We’ve had a plumber round to our current house tonight and it would cost 2k to reverse the conversion and the work would take a week. We intend to make this info available to potential purchasers and would therefore fully expect them to knock this amount off any offer. Our agent, however, thinks people won’t want the upheaval of the work and might ask us to install it ourselves as a condition of sale. What do you all think?

YABU = Just put a bath in, and get on with it

YANBU = Leave it as it is, you’re panicking

The thing is, if I bought the house without a bath I have to factor time and expense in putting one in, which wouldn't be appealing with a young family. The fact that it has been used as an issue in feedback several times means it is a problem.

I have seen many people on the housing board aay they have been put off houses where you have to immediately do work, they just find something else

I'm early fifties, the children have all left home. I wouldn't want a house without a bath. I have one frequently in the winter months, it's a huge relaxation for me.

I guess I can understand people with youngish children wanting a bath although my neighbours with 3 young children don't have one and the kids are all washed in the shower.

Personally I hate baths. They are such a waste of water. They take forever to fill and then your in, wash, and out.

We bought our house and it only had a shower but it was a small one. We have put in a much larger one.

I haven't had a bath for over 20 years.

Personally I hate baths. They are such a waste of water. They take forever to fill and then your in, wash, and out.

I know people say that but I put the plug in what I had a shower and used more water than the baths I have. I can be in a bath for 20 mins easily and my OH 40 mins. It is very relaxing for some people and the assumptions you're making here are wrong so that might help explain why it's important to some people.

There’s something lovely about wallowing in warm water.
It was also a great playtime for the kids and they’d all play for a good half hour while I either cleaned the bathroom or sat on the loo chatting. You can’t do that with a shower.

Agree with others that a bath is just so relaxing, I have one every night before I go to bed, it's a lovely way to wind down the evening. I couldn't go to bed without washing and to me a shower is quite 'invigorating' so not what you want at night (unless you are planning some other activity ).

Even my teenage DS loves wallowing in the bath, we have to book times for the bath in our house .

I have kids, but I wouldn't buy a house that didn't have a shower, or the shower was clearly an afterthought - especially if it was an electric shower/not running off the combi boiler.

DD(5) likes a bath to float about in, and that's fine while she still needs help washing her hair, but personally I couldn't think of anything worse than wallowing in a tub of cooling water. And washing hair over a bath. Blergh.

@HerNameWasEliza I have put the plug in when having a shower a few times and I use very little water, certainly far far less than having a bath. It only takes me around 3 to 4 minutes to shower and wash my hair

People talk about wallowing in a bath so that must mean pretty full not just a little water.

Also if you are in a bath for 20 minutes and your OH 40 minutes you must be topping the hot water up or it would be pretty cold

Each to their own but, for me, a bath is not relaxing in the slightest and I could not think of anything more boring than sitting in a bath

I have 3 young kids and no bath. Didn’t realise a bath was a requirement for children?!

I don't need a lot of water to wallow in. I wasn't commenting on how much water you personally use in the shower or bath. Just commenting that assumptions that showers are more efficient are not always correct.

you must be topping the hot water up or it would be pretty cold

Metal baths hold the heat really well. Most baths are insulated

Interesting OP. I hate baths and never have one, but I like having it there, for when the shower goes wrong (As it inevitably does).

We bought a house without a bath when DS was 2yo. We used an inflatable bath in the bottom of the shower cubicle for him. We eventually had a bath put in 3 years after moving in.

I'd never but a house without a bath, particularly a family home. But, I saw this the other day and it made me laugh...

readsector.com/woman-blows-facebook-mind-after-revealing-how-she-bought-an-inflatable-bathtub-for-her-wet-room/

We moved house 2 years ago, we wouldn't have even viewed a property without a bath

We bought a flat with no kitchen. Previous owners had gutted and re-done the whole flat to sell it (inheritance) but just left a sink in the kitchen....

It was a hassle getting the work done before moving in (though we had free access to the property to take measurements etc) but in the end Im glad we did the kitchen ourselves as I now have a kitchen I absolutely love with loads of cupboard space, workspace and an extra freezer

I have what is considered a family home but just me in it, been here 8yrs if I could of afforded it earlier I'd have just a large walk in shower as I never have 'baths'. You have to have the house how you will want to live and if buyers are now put off so be it you'll find someone who isnt might take a bit longer thats all.

I'm about to redo my bathroom i don't know how long I'll stay bit certianly be here for at least a few more years so im ripping out the bathtub so I can live in a house how id like and have the bathroom how id like to use one giant walk in shower 🚿

I have a young son and would need a bath but wouldn't be bothered about installing one and doing the work if it was a house I loved.

Our kids are adults. We wouldn’t contemplate buying a house without a bath.

@SueEllenMishke

Don’t most people want to get their own new bathroom in? I was a bit squicked out by other people’s bathroom stuff when buying home. I guess if it’s immaculate then I would be fine with it.

Not everyone can afford to do that right away......

Not everyone’s so squeamish either. I have no issue with a pre used bathroom. I don’t think anyone does outside MN.

It looks like you are edging towards doing the work. I bought a house without a bath at 20 weeks pregnant and spent 20 weeks ripping the whole thing apart and most importantly, reinstating the bath. The previous owners were making a huge deal about the (pretty crap) shower they had recently installed and made a huge fuss that we weren’t prepared to pay asking price given they had only just done up the bathroom (black tiles, anyone). We were at pains to point out the toilet in the kitchen, the windowless living room they had created with their budge job of an extension, the polystyrene tiled ceilings and the asbestos in the shed as our main reasons but they were most hurt by the fact that we were ripping out the shower to put a proper bath back in! I wouldn’t have looked at that house had I not had time to get the work done before moving in - last thing I would have wanted would be to be bathless immediately after birth, or with a child too big for a baby bath.

Hard to say. If the house were generally a renovation project, I'd buy one without a bath, but then putting a bath (and a shower) would all be part of the renovation. I have never bought a house that wasn't a wreck, so I am not sure what I'd think if I were looking at a newer model. I'd probably expect a bath (for small children) and a shower (for me), and I might not be the kind of person who would want to do the work, if you see what I mean.

I would be very unlikely to view a house without a bath, unless there was a very clear space where on could be installed without too much hassle.

So from mine and other reactions here, you are reducing the potential market, but equally when I've been looking online, houses without baths aren't that much of a rarity (and mostly looking at 3 beds), so it can't be putting everyone off.
I wouldn't convert it back, save the money for work on your new home.

Oh and if I did want to put a bathroom in, I'd prefer to get it done myself and have it exactly as I wanted it, rather than someone else's taste balanced with getting it done on a low budget.