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Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Original poster

do we really need to keep the bath?

29 replies

No1blueengine · 30/05/2018 09:57

Currently planning big renovation. Our bathroom is tiny, maybe 6 foot by 6 foot and intruded on by the stairs bulkhead from below.

Currently we have a P shaped bath with overhead shower on a raised platform so that the narrow end sits above the highest point of the bulkhead and buts against the wall. There is a step on the side of the bath for getting in and out which is a water/mould trap.

I would really love to rip the bath out all together and install a lovely shower. It would be so much nicer and better use of the limited space. The kids rarely have baths these days (5,6 and 8) and wouldn't not really miss it if it was gone. We don't have baths at all. In fact, the most regular user of the bath was our old dog who was bathed in it but he has recently passed away.

Anyway, my husband thinks it is impossible to redo the bathroom without having a bath in it.

This renovation is supposed to turn our house into the "forever house" so i am not thinking so much about resale value as how i want to live in the house. But if we did have to sell, would the lack of a bath really be such an issue?

I am from Oz where loads of houses don't have baths and it is normal to have showering facilities only.

OP posts:

Furano · 30/05/2018 10:27

People do love a bath in the UK.

Would a corner bath fit in better?

I’d be happy with no bath but lots of people wouldn’t buy a house without a bath.

blaaake · 30/05/2018 10:29

If you're not planning to sell and it would work for you, go for it.

AlbertaSimmons · 30/05/2018 10:33

We're replacing both bathrooms in our house and are ditching the bath. We will have big walk-in showers instead and are extending the main bathroom to get more headroom. Neither of us has had a bath in the time we've lived here (almost 2 years) and only very occasionally had one in our previous house so we won't miss it.

I take the view that it's my house and I'm not spending money on it based on what some imaginary buyer in the unknown future might want, but that's not a popular view on here. There will be plenty of space for said imaginary buyer to install a bath should they wish to, but it wouldn't be something that would make me negotiate a hypothetical selling price because I don't think it's a disadvantage.

starfishmummy · 30/05/2018 10:40

I wouldn't even look at a house if there was no bath.

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 30/05/2018 10:42

I hate showers. I would never buy a house without a bath.

After I’ve been on my feet for 10 hours at work, the last thing l want to do is keep on standing. I can lay down in a bath.

ferrier · 30/05/2018 10:43

I'd need a bath too or for it to be very easy to install one.

specialsubject · 30/05/2018 10:44

your house, your call.

no house is unsellable at the right price. But as selling is a long way in the future, set the place up as you want it.

noenergy · 30/05/2018 10:49

Haven't had a bath in years so wouldn't bother me and even the DC when the were toddlers I put them in the shower and even put the baby bath in the shower rather than use the bath.

If u ever sell the new owner can put one in.

flumpybear · 30/05/2018 10:50

For you, yes, for selling, no, it devalues your home. Can you have an ensuite in one room and a corner bath? Or can you make a walk in shower/wet room somewhere?

AlbertaSimmons · 30/05/2018 10:56

It doesn't devalue a home flumpy. Some buyers may be put off, but house prices are not based on whether there is a bath or not.

Original poster

No1blueengine · 30/05/2018 10:57

thank you. i feel validated. We dont plan to sell. If we did have to, it would be for a catastrophic reason, and as many have said, any prospective buyer can re-add a bath if they so desire. We are planning to do the house up in every other respect exactly how we want it so i dont see why we should follow the dictates of the market just in the bathroom.

I just think the space it much better used with a shower enclosure than a stonking big bathtub that doesn't get used for its intended purpose and i have to bloody clean!

We will be putting an en suite in the new master bedroom which will be a shower room too. Can never have too many showers!

OP posts:

falang · 30/05/2018 11:31

I like a bath every now and then. Especially in the winter or when I'm ill. For that reason I dismissed any property that had the bath removed when I bought my new place a few years ago.

MistyMeena · 30/05/2018 11:39

Small children and dogs require baths Other than that we don't use ours and could do without it but weirdly I wouldn't want to get rid of it.

flumpybear · 30/05/2018 11:42

@AlbertaSimmons - just heard it from programmes like Sarah Beeny, plus sounds sensible as family homes usually need a bath

CloudPop · 30/05/2018 11:44

Put in a wide shower which is the same size as a bath, then if some wants to replace it at some point it is very straightforward. And you have a lovely huge shower.

MaverickSnoopy · 30/05/2018 12:18

I need a bath. When we were looking to buy we ruled out houses without a bath. Had we had more money then we wouldn't have minded so much and would have had one installed.

Houses with no baths do sell and obviously there will be like minded people out there.

As it's your forever home I think you need to do what you want to do. It's all very well considering the future but the liklihood is that you'll stay there forever!

user1471523870 · 30/05/2018 12:28

My next door neighbor removed their bath and put only a shower. The house has been sold few months ago and the new owner told us they deducted the price of re-doing the bathroom/re-installing the bath from the purchase price.

expatinscotland · 30/05/2018 12:33

Personally I'd want a bath but it you're not planning to sell it, go for it.

soapboxmum · 30/05/2018 12:35

We’re looking st properties at the moment and one didn’t have s bath. Agent said everyone mentions it as being unusual. Property isn’t selling but that might not be due to lack of bath (although in family area and people with children may prefer).

BubblesBuddy · 30/05/2018 12:52

Families with young children want a bath. If you sell, it’s more expense and building work for the purchaser at a time when they don’t need that in their lives. Therefore houses without baths have a narrower range of possible purchasers. Families with young children, by and large, will look elsewhere because most people don’t put babies in showers, and if it’s a buyers market, the lack of a bath is a deal breaker for cash strapped families.

If selling doesn’t matter, then so be it. Many people find their “forever” home isn’t that at all and circumstances change, eg divorce etc. (I hate that “forever” phrase!!!)

If it’s what you want and you do not think you would ever sell to a family with young children, then have what you want, of course. Personally I would try and extend the bathroom because 6x6 isn’t going to provide a decent shower room either. It’s a bit of a cupboard.

ferrier · 30/05/2018 13:20

I'd also say that recovery from and treatment of some injuries/conditions/operations is much aided by having a bath so I'd never be without one even if I didn't like them much.

ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual · 30/05/2018 13:46

I've just had to pay almost £3k for a new shower that was fitted under 3 years ago. It leaked behind the wall causing all sorts of nonsense.

If I ever do a refit again, it'll be a shower over a bath.

Showers are also total fuckers to keep clean and mould free.

That1950sMum · 30/05/2018 13:48

We put the hamster in the bath for a run around when we're cleaning her out.

soapboxmum · 30/05/2018 13:50

That1950sMum That’s inspired!

That1950sMum · 30/05/2018 13:54

Thank you

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