Should I replace my large walk in shower with a bath?

[Allison2222]

Thoughts please? We have two bathrooms and I was renovating one, which has a bathtub. The builders have come in, gutted it, and have said spacewise, a shower would work better. Admittedly it was quite crowded with an old giant victorian sink there before. They have also said at some point, i should have a bath put in as houses need both.

So my suggestion has been to replace my en suite walk in with a big bath. That way the house has both. The en suite is hardly used but has always looked nice so im not sure it's worth destroying it. Its probably slightly old fashioned though but its big. However i have great builders and im thinking should I just do it now whilst I have them? They have quoted 2/3 days. What do people think about having a bath in a house/or not?

I currently have one bathroom which only has a shower. We are just about to start building work and we will be adding another bathroom and I am having a bath in there for exactly this reason. In a house with two or more bathrooms I absolutely would expect a bath.

Why not post your floorplan? Maybe there's a way to get both a shower and bath in the bathroom you're currently doing?

Hi, definitely not, it had a bath there but now it's gutted, I can see it was all squashed in there. My shower room was originally a bedroom so there is space there for a big bath. I just think it's a shame to destroy something fully functioning (but then that's how I ended up with a tired looking house )!

With the existing bathroom, they have said only a cloakroom sink would fit in there if I left the bath there

I love a bath. Our ensuite has both a bath and walk in shower, all of the other bathrooms only have showers as I'm the only person that uses the bath.

Sorry im ill so being a bit slow so you have 2 bathrooms 1 will have a bath and one will have a large shower. That sound perfect to me I only have one bathroom and have a shower over the bath and would love a walk in shower but would miss the bath. Having both would be the dream.

I would agree a house needs both.
At home, our family bathroom, has a wet area with a bath and walk in shower. The bathroom is not necessarily too big but the layout was well thought out. The second bathroom has just a walk in shower. I’m absolutely terrified of showers on top of bathtubs.

@youalright not slow at all - i have two bathrooms, one which i was doing up which is old fashioned, a bath and a tight squeeze. Builders have said if they replace the bath, there will only be room for a cloakroom type sink. So they have recommended a decent sized shower but said in the long term, i should consider putting a bath in my other bathroom.

Other bathroom currently has a big walk in shower which is hardly used but looks good! I could get a bath put in here sooner rather than later as the builders will be around and can do it in 2/3 days max. It's just the walk in shower looks nice and seems a shame to destroy it. That said, in addition, the water pressure isnt great so its not like im getting a huge benefit there as it has a simple shower (not a rain shower or anything).

@MH0084 curious why you hate bathtubs with showers - are they considered really horrible these days? All this building work has made me see im seriously out of touch with how much nicer things can look bathroom wise!

Why add a bathtub to your en suite of not used and looks good already? It’s your house if you don’t use baths have two showers! If you ever sell buyers can put in a bath or put one in before you sell, don’t understand why people do it for future buyers when they have no intention of selling, it’s your house have it how you want.

I always thought that baths are a must have in a large family home. But when we had one, we rarely used it after DC got a bit older, and yet I was constantly cleaning because of dust even though it was never used. Now we live in a house that doesn’t have one, and I can’t say that I miss it.

Really the main family bathroom is the place that you’d want one for DC. I can’t really see the point in just having one in an en suite.

I find shower over the bath really unsafe. Have this irrational fear of someone (aka me!) slipping and hitting my head on bath!

Aesthetically speaking, I do think there are some gorgeous combos out there!

I hate baths but my DH loves them. We have always had both.

You do need a combo or a shower in the same room as the bath as you do have to shower after a bath to rinse yourself off (imo).

The cost of bathrooms is £££.

Theres 4 scenarios and 2 dimensions
Selling/ not selling
like baths / dont care for baths

If I was selling anytime soon OR loved baths I wpuld do the ensuite and put a bath in.

If I didnt care for baths and wasnt selling up anytime in the near future... I'd book a holiday somewhere amazing for a fortnight.

No baths in this house. We don't use them and I really don't think I could afford to fill one anymore! We have 3 bathrooms- all showers. If we sell and someone wants to replace the walk in shower it would be easy to do so as is fully tiled. I can't plan my house for what somebody else might want.

Not planning on selling really but making use of builders whilst they are here really.

If I had two bathrooms ir a big single bathroom I'd have both. Sometimes you just want a quick shower before going to work, but sometimes you want to luxuriate in a bath with nice oils and bubbles in it, where you can read a book or just take stock of life.

I'd just put a bath in the bathroom that you're currently renovating. I wouldn't rip out a nice ensuite to put one in there. Does it matter if there is only room for a cloakroom sink? You'd only be using it to wash your hands!

I think a floorplan would really help. I’d not buy a house where the main bathroom didn’t have a bath. We have a shower ensuite and a main bathroom.
A shower over the bath helps you clean the sodded thing, I never understood people not having a shower above a bathtub, you don’t always want to soak but can still shower.

A bathroom only needs what the current owners want

Neither of us has had a bath for years and moving somewhere without one wouldn’t bother us at all, in your house we’d much prefer the shower in the en suite

Others would of course disagree, each to their own. I would do whatever suits you. If you sell in the future the new owners can change it if they’re not happy

Our en-suite has a walk-in shower and I love it, I use it everyday. Our family bathroom has a shower over a bath tub and we’ve used the bath a handful of times. If space is an issue I’d have your en suite a bath and your family bathroom as a walk in shower, then you have the option of both.

I think you feel pressured into making a decision!

If you want a bath - buy one

If you don’t - leave it alone!

When the time comes to replace your tired bathroom decide them!

I would leave the ensuite alone, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
How about a small deep bath in the room you are renovating? If there was already a bath and a large sink surely there is room for a small bath and a small/medium sink.
I would expect a bath in a family home, accessible to all rather than in an ensuite.

Do you like having a bath? If so I think your builders plan is good and I would go with it

Would people really not buy a house if it didn’t have a bath ? surely if they like the house otherwise they could just have a bath out in?

Most families with small children want a bath in the main bathroom, so I'd put one in there.