What would you prefer? Bathroom related

[Whatdoiladymcbeth]

We are redeveloping our property.

It’s an old Victorian terrace with a bathroom downstairs. The ceiling is quite low and so the previous owners put the old tin bath in the ground. So there was enough head height for a shower.

We have put an ensuite in upstairs with a large shower. I would like to take the old sunken bath out and put in a free standing bath with a normal shower head attachment (handheld). The total cost would be about 300-400. My father is a plumber so that’s helpful.

What would you ladies prefer? It is by no means a large house so wouldn’t be a large family house. There is a good master with one single and a tight double. So three bedrooms. Good kitchen size and long but narrow garden.

Thanks!

How often do you anticipate having guests and how happy are you for them to use the en suite?

Anti- I don’t anticipate too many guests. Anybody who I would happily have as a guest would be welcome to use the shower in the ensuite.

I think what I’m most conscious of is resale.

I think if you're worried about resale I would put in a proper head height shower. I can see families of teenagers being put off if there was no separate shower for their children to use.

And people who would regularly have friends/family visit would probably be put off too.

Not understanding why you'd want to replace a bath with shower you can stand up in with one you couldn't? I think it would put people off.

I guess it depends what the old setup was like - if it was quite off putting then maybe avoid but if you can make it look good then try and keep the shower

Who is the likely resale market?

What is the ceiling height?

Do you have a bath in the ensuite? If so, I would prioritise having a decent shower. If not, then definitely have a sunken bath as well.

Having both, but not being able to stand up properly to shower, would be off-putting.

I think I'd have to see the sunken bath to judge if it looked weird or toddler-unfriendly. The sunken bath may be a bit offputting to people with small children or babies on the horizon, or downsizers thinking about growing old in it. From what you've told us, they all sound like a more likely target market than families with teenagers. OTOH it may be barely noticeable and a great solution that doesn't put anyone off.

I think it might be quite difficult to bath a child in a sunken bath, and potentially a bit too easy for a toddler to fall into. But I agree great for a family with teenagers.

No bath in the ensuite.

Not possible to put a proper shower in due to head heigh and slope in ceiling.

Picture!

Depends also how deep sunk. (Grammar? ) My parents' bath is sunk just a little, so that the floor of the bath is level with the floor of the room. Makes it vastly easier to get in and out, and doesn't really look any different to normal.

Really appreciate all these views! Especially in view of the picture. Thanks everyone!

Cross-posted.

I see, its really sunk quite deep, below floor level. That does pose safety and convenience issues for some potential buyers/users.

What about a semi-sunk deep bath? That's just the first link I found. Also known as sitz, soaking or Japanese bath. I've bathed and showered in one, and it's very comfortable.

I'm confused, the ceiling looks to slope upwards over the bath? Can you stand up in the rest of the bathroom?

Presuming you can then if you were replacing, I'd go with raising the bath slightly so the bottom of the bath is the same level as the existing floor. So same headroom in the bath/shower as rest of the bathroom.

I'd go with the free standing with shower attachment

I think you need a shower. I can't get my head around how it's not possible to put in a normal shower, unless the ceiling is lower than head height? What is the floor to ceiling height?

I actually like the sunken bath. I think you could make it look quite stylish. But it may put some off.

I can't get my head around how it's not possible to put in a normal shower, unless the ceiling is lower than head height?

I thought it might be this sort of scenario, but the photo doesn't look like that

I would just replace like for like, most people would prefer two proper baths with two proper showers, rather than one with a hand held shower. It actually makes it look like it’s a nice feature to have sunken bath rather than drawing attention to the lower ceiling, which a proper bath would do.

I hate trying to shower while squatting in a bath and using one hand to hold the shower attachment.

If you have frequent overnight guests or DC who will need to use this bathroom then you really need a full height shower

I'm assuming the ceiling must be higher on the other side of the room or do you hunch over en route to the WC?

If so, can't you move the WC and sink into the wall where the bath current is and put a shower cubicle in the part of the room with a full height ceiling??

Ok, how about a bath in the en suite with over bath shower and turn the downstairs room into a wet room? If there’s enough room to stand up in the downstairs room then it’s big enough for a wet room - ie as high as you can go wall squirters and a very flat over head one? Just a thought.

soulrider excellent diagram!

Thanks for all your help- love the diagram!

There is a shower on the wall as it is now. I can’t put a proper shower in due to the head height and slope. The bathroom is 6.5ft but slopes downwards. So as you stand at the door the slope runs downwards. In other words it’s sloped so that water would ran away from the house as opposed to towards the house.

Absolutely no room for a bath in the ensuite and it’s nearly done so would loathe to change it now.

The key is not where the ceiling runs relative to the door, but relative to the bath. Could you do a diagram OP?

It looks from your photo like the bath is along the tallest wall already. If that's 6'5" then I'd be tempted to do as PP said and inset the bath just slightly, so the floor of the bath is roughly level with the actual floor. Split the difference so the shower is usable for anyone up to 6 foot or so, even if they have to duck down a bit to wash their hair, without presenting a trip hazard.

From a looking to sell it to people with young kids view - I'd go for a proper height bath with a shower bit off the taps just for soap rinsing or whatever... I would be cautious buying a house with a bathroom like in your photo as dyspraxic DD2 would be forever falling in that!

If you've got a nice shower upstairs anyway then it's less of an issue - my mum doesn't have a shower in the downstairs "family" bathroom and it's never really been a problem.