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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Getting rid of bath

62 replies

twolittleboysonetiredmum · 19/08/2017 14:08

Has anyone done this and fitted a large shower area/wet room instead? We live in a 4 bed with a tiny family bathroom - literally room for a normal sized bath, sink and toilet. Shower currently over bath.
We are going to redo the entire bathroom and can't decide if we'd regret losing the bath for an awesome shower area instead. We have three young dc who use the bath but that's it really. We won't be selling for a long long time so needs to work for us with teenagers etc
Any opinions/experiences?

OP posts:

agirlcalledmove · 19/08/2017 23:17

Our bathroom is too tiny for a "showerbath" they are quite wide.
For resale if you have a shower tray the same dimensions as a conventional bath you can just plumb in a cheap bath under the existing shower if it makes that big a difference (did this in my last house....cost under £400 all in as nothing else was disturbed) but I have my doubts that it would be a deal breaker these days.

fabulousathome · 19/08/2017 23:41

You could try Googling 'Japanese soaking bath.' They can be used for showering too.

GreenTulips · 19/08/2017 23:48

Our L shaped bathbis 10cm wider not huge difference

Viviennemary · 19/08/2017 23:53

I wouldn't consider not having a bath. Nor would I buy a house without a bath. But your family might be different. I know a person who lives on her own and she replaced the bath with a shower and now really misses a bath and wishes she'd never done it.

BackforGood · 20/08/2017 00:01

Am really surprised at the answers, considering you said in your OP....
We have three young dc who use the bath

Surely that is your answer ?

Why would you get rid of something you use / need on a daily (?) or twice weekly basis ?

I have 3 dc, and they had their 'daily washes' in the bath until they got to about 9 or 10 I think.
2 of them now still regularly like a bath after they get in from camp or from playing football - it's a 'relaxing muscles' thing.

I personally prefer a bath too, and wouldn't buy a house without a bath unless it was priced low enough to cover the cost + hassle of refitting the bathroom once I'd bought it, but I acknowledge you've said you won't be selling for years, and think you are right to do what works for your family, but, from your OP, taking out the bath wouldn't work for your family.

Now I would recommend fitting another shower room somewhere, if you have 3 dc, but obviously don't know if that is a possibility.

GreenTulips · 20/08/2017 00:04

I used to live the kids playing in the bath - me sat on the loo having 5 mins peace!! Not sure I'd want to get in the shower with them because I think you'd have to help the little ones - it was hard enough teaching 11 year olds how to rinse their hair property in the shower #soaked

sweetbabboo · 20/08/2017 00:22

I have to admit that I immediately discount houses which have no bath when in Rightmove. I much prefer a bath over shower arrangement and would only consider a wet room if there was another bath elsewhere in the house. Having lived through the utter hell of having a new bathroom fitted (by twatty fitters) I wouldn't willingly do it again!

amyboo · 20/08/2017 06:29

My kids are 7.5, 4.5 and 2 and still all hate the shower. The youngest 2 especially love splashing around in the bath, and the eldest one loves just lying around in it. We had the bathroom redone earlier this year and they had to use the shower room for 3 weeks and all complained...

So, personally, I think with the age your kids are, I would keep a bath.

Original poster

twolittleboysonetiredmum · 20/08/2017 09:22

Backforgood - I know it doesn't make sense for us all now but I'm trying to think ahead a bit too as we'll be in this house until the children are grown up. I hope! So whereas a bath is needed right now, will it be in 5 years more so than big shower? I don't know. That's why I'm asking really as not sure what our family dynamic might look like in 5/10 years and good to get people's opinions

OP posts:

BubblesBuddy · 20/08/2017 10:14

In 10 years they will all be at home and five if you will be fighting over a bath or shower! Good luck with that.

However I cannot see very young children in a shower. No pkay time for the younger ones which is a shame. I would get a shower over a decent bath.

I am lucky and have several bathrooms but I cannot see how just a shower will be ok for 3 boys! Plus parents.

Original poster

twolittleboysonetiredmum · 20/08/2017 10:20

Unless someone decides to give us a huge pile of money (very unlikely!) we'll always just have the one bath or shower. Families have dealt with worse im sure!
It is a good point about them not being able to use the bath the next few years tho .

OP posts:

mummytime · 20/08/2017 10:24

You will struggle to sell with one bathroom to 4 beds. So if you aren't going to do anything about that, then do what works best for you.
We sold FILs house which was 4 beds and no bath as it had been adapted for disabled use so had a walk in shower instead. We'd have probably got more with a decent bathroom.

HopeAndJoy16 · 20/08/2017 10:44

As a teen I had daily baths. The house i live in now only has a shower, despite the bathroom being big enough for a seperate bath and shower cubicle. I hate it (i generally dislike the house anyway but this is my biggest bugbear. DH can't see the problem). We have a baby who is getting too big and mobile for the baby bath so not sure what to do about bathing her. Surely it is just easier with 3 kids to have a bath? I also discount houses without a bath on rightmove.

RandomMess · 20/08/2017 10:49

Like I said we managed without a bath fine. They won't miss it after a while and be happy in a large baby bath. Ours used that until they were 8!

However can you not sneak some space off one of the bedrooms next to the bathroom either to create a separate or ensuite shower room (preferable) or enlarge current bathroom?

Have you got a floor plan? Creating a 2nd bathroom in a 4 bed would add value. Personally I prefer a separate loo with hand basin to bath and shower room - don't have to bathe or shower in stinky room!

Upstairs walls are usually just stud so moving them isn't expensive.

agirlcalledmove · 20/08/2017 11:39

I love the assumption that

10cm for the extra width of a showerbath is nothing (in a very small 1960's bathroom it's still too much)
People can "find" space in a small 4 bed for an additional shower room...honestly if the bathroom is small then the other rooms will be too.

I love my house BUT it is small for a 4 child family, this will not change, I will not get rich any time soon (probabynever). The OP may be in the same position as me?

Yes a bath is nice but with a large family a larger shower may be more practical. It is for us.

Original poster

twolittleboysonetiredmum · 20/08/2017 12:05

As agirl says - our rooms are tiny. 3mx3m at the biggest bedroom and 2m by 2m approx for smallest. No room to steal from anywhere. We aren't ever going to earn much more
Money (teachers) and have no money in the family that will come to us. No doubt the reason we could afford this house is partly down to the one family bathroom and one toilet thing.

OP posts:

agirlcalledmove · 20/08/2017 12:20

I think we may live in the same house

RandomMess · 20/08/2017 12:49

Love the assumption that I haven't lived in a tiny house with tiny bathroom (couldn't find a modern bath to fit in ours - all too wide!).

We only had 3 beds - again all small, we were in the smaller double next to the bathroom to fit 3 DC in the larger double (4DC). Had it been anyone else's bedroom yes we would have taken some of it to make the only bathroom a little bigger!

Yeah erm 2 lowly paid civil servants on way less than teachers salaries who in the end decided to leave the SE so our DC didn't have to go to the local secondary that dipped in and out of special measures...

RandomMess · 20/08/2017 13:00

If you have the original bath measure it carefully and compare what is available currently, our issue was that the previous owners threw out the original bath and you just can't buy that size anymore

Shower room was loads more spacious and pleasant than the cramped bathroom we bought - they were DIY disasters!

Any option for downstairs shower room in the future? Our biggest bug bear with 4 teens is everyone trying to get ready for bed at the same time. Even tried implementing allotted times and sometimes still ends up hogging it for 10 mins when I went to brush my teeth and be horizontal!

We managed to squeeze in a downstairs loo with macerator, worth every £ it cost.

Dina1234 · 20/08/2017 13:10

Have you considered a wet area? You may be able to fit one it. Put the bath against the wall and a wet room style shower just in fort of it so that the shower screen serves both the shower and the bath. This usually works best in long narrow bathrooms.

Onesunnydayiniceland · 20/08/2017 13:14

We did that. Replaced bath with big shower. No one misses the bath and the shower is lovely. Our children are older and didn't use the bath much anyway, but when they were little we lived in a house without a bath. A big baby bath was fine until they were around 5

mydogisthebest · 20/08/2017 13:14

I hate baths. Such a waste of time and space. I haven't had a bath for probably 25 years.

At present we have a shower over the bath which I hate. We were thinking of pulling the bath out and just having a shower but have now actually bought another house which only has a shower.

It's an ordinary cubicle but we are going to change it for a big walk in shower

rider1975 · 20/08/2017 13:15

Hello OP - I have a 1930s 3 bed semi with bathroom downstairs. I took out the bath in 2011 and fitted a large shower - about 4/5s the size of a normal bath. It has a flush tray and I invested in a heavy duty glass sliding door so it feels solid. I erected a wall and then put glass shelves in for towels and laundry at the end - so that takes up the rest of the old bath's length.
I don't miss my old bath at all - I always hated stepping over and the horrible curtain and mixer tap.
BUT I'm not a wallower and never liked hot water baths (just low luke warm water)
Now I'm pregnant, the baby I guess will need a little baby bath at first but will be introduced to the shower pretty quickly as it is what it is.
Maybe in time, my bf will finally get his hot tub outside..

RandomMess · 20/08/2017 13:34

You can also but huge folding baths that go in large shower trays from the Netherlands - I will try and find a link later on laptop. Can never remember what they are called...

RandomMess · 20/08/2017 13:51

Look up Bibabath or bibabad on Facebook!

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