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Original poster

showers and baths dilemma...

13 replies

kedy · 28/03/2018 15:39

Hi, our house has 4 bedrooms (3 on first floor and one in the converted attic second floor). Our ground floor has a loo and the attic has one ensuite with a shower - we currently use it as an office/guest room. The "main" bathroom on the first floor is tiny and will fit either a bathtub or a shower but not both (has a sloped ceiling so bath with shower is also not an option due to the layout of the room). Currently we have a shower in this room but would like to replace this with a bathtub as we have small kids - which leaves us with a single shower in the house; in the second floor attic room. Do you think this is preferable to having no tubs (to future buyers) but two showers? Alternative option would be to get rid of one bedroom and convert into a proper bathroom...

OP posts:
JoJoSM2 · 28/03/2018 15:48

Are you actually planning to sell soon?

If you were to swap a bedroom with the bathroom, would it be 3 doubles + a study? That might be an idea. But downgrading from 4 to 3 bedrooms would seriously impact the value of the property.

If you're actually going to stay in the property for another 10+ years, I'd just adjust it to suit your needs and not worry about resale until 1-2 years before you do it.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 28/03/2018 15:52

I wouldn’t live in a house without a bath.

But If it was obvious there was space for me to put one in, and I loved the house, that would be enough for me personally.

DailyMailFail101 · 28/03/2018 15:57

I think it sounds like a house you would bring a family up in and people with children like to have baths, it would put me off even viewing your home as a potential buyer, if your not planning on moving for a while I would do what suits your needs now and for the next five years.

Original poster
kedy · 28/03/2018 16:12

thank you all. yes my worry is the resale value of the house, if we converted one bedroom to a bathroom (JoJoSM2 - it would be the single room that is converted so we would have left with 3 doubles but still...)

ThroughThickandThin01 - me too i do love a bathtub, and having small kids we really need one!

we are indeed planning to stay at least for another 5 years but it's probably not a forever home. i guess the question is when someone was buying our house would they prefer:

  • 3 double bed house + 1 study with good size family bathroom, attic ensuite
  • 4 bed house, 1 bathtub bath with no shower, 1 shower in attic ensuite
OP posts:
DailyMailFail101 · 28/03/2018 16:51

4 bed house with one bath and one shower en suite definitely, as that is what I chose when I picked my home.

Original poster
kedy · 29/03/2018 11:01

Thank you DailyMailFail!

OP posts:
PickleFish · 29/03/2018 11:08

Can you get at least a nice hand-held shower attachment to go with the bath? (nicer than the extra rubber hoses added on that always look awful - something intended to be there from the start!). And possibly a shower screen as well. Then even if it's not a stand-up shower, it's decent for someone washing hair and so on in the bathtub. That would help a lot with not having a second shower.

Any way you can get a shower in with the loo on the ground floor? Doesn't have to be that big.

Inertia · 01/04/2018 10:01

Is there any way of stealing a square meter of space from an adjoining bedroom so you can fit a shower into the main bathroom?

MacaroniPenguin · 01/04/2018 10:23

I think in 5 years it might not be such a dealbreaker not to have a bath. But who knows?

Is there any way you could reconfigure the bathroom to get a shower over? Eg rotate through 90 degrees to get a full height wall at one end and move sink and loo onto the sloped wall even if you have to put a bit of false wall behind them to get the height? I'd look at all tinkering options before sacrificing a bedroom - could you steal a bit from a neighbouring bedroom or airing cupboard?

DonaldWeasley · 01/04/2018 18:00

Favourite bath I’ve ever used had a shower on the wall at just the right height for washing your hair. Bliss.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/04/2018 18:17

Why would it not be a deal breaker in 5 years to not have a bath? For any family with little ones, it probably would.
As someone who once had no option for months, I can testify that trying to wash very little ones in a shower is a PITA. And quite apart from the purely washing aspect, most babies and small children love playing in the bath.

Bufferingkisses · 01/04/2018 18:22

Definitely 1 bath 1 shower (as pp suggested handheld shower on the bath for rinsing hair/cleaning etc). All bases covered makes most sense for resale and practicality imo.

JoJoSM2 · 02/04/2018 19:20

I'd choose a 3 bed + study with a good family bathroom + ensuite any day over a slightly dodgy 4 bed.

But I can see that opinions are divided so perhaps it'll be a case of appealing to different buyers.

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