Would you remove the bath?

[Lavender14]

Dh and I are wanting to sell at some point in the next 5 -10 years, however we need to put in a new bathroom and make our home liveable for that period. We've a small 3 up 2 down terrace and we've no attic. All floor and storage space is fully utilised and my current issue is that our spare (box ) room is the only place where we can keep our cats litter tray at the moment. However we would like to eventually have a second child if we're lucky enough in the next few years and that means that bedroom will need to be turned into a nursery eventually. So the only solution I can think of is to remove our bath and install a nice modern shower and put the cat litter tray in the space that frees up in the bathroom.

The only thing is I'm worried about is whether that's a smart move if we're eventually wanting to sell as I know I'd prefer to buy a house with a tub! Our bathroom is quite small, toilet is tight beside the sink which is up against the bath so removing the bath wouldn't add a crazy amount of floor space but would create enough space to solve our litter tray problem. We've no utility room and there's no space in our kitchen or living room for it to go in there, plus we wouldn't be able to use our house alarm if the cat was downstairs so he doesn't have access to those rooms at night. Any alternative ideas welcome!

I don't think it's a massive issue. Sure, people with small children like to have a bath, but if you are careful in how you design your bathroom now, you could put a bath back in later if you need to. Most people would want to redo a bathroom to their taste anyway, so even if you have to drop a little, you will have had the house you want for the time you live there which is probably worth more than the price of putting a bath in.

I wouldn't. I don't book hotel rooms or airbnb's without a bath either. I dislike showers unless it's the summer.

Move the cat litter outside under chicken wire. Let your cat be an outdoor cat. Whatever works. Don’t remove the bath. I’m an ex landlord who could never let to women as we didn’t have a bath. When we put one in it was so different. Buyers will be the same.

Does your cat always use the litter tray or can he go outside as well? We decided one day to simply try removing the cat litter tray (cat aged 4 at the time) and ever since then he’s done his business outside no problem (we back onto woodland).

I wouldn't buy a house without a bath.

I wouldn’t remove the bath.

id think of an alternative to the litter tray issue - let cat outdoors ?

This was years ago and we sold the house 14 years ago, - when we bought that house, about 21 years ago, only the outside bricks remained the same everything else was torn out and redone - the bathroom was small, ie no space for a full bath and a good sized shower - we left the bath out - the house had dobule glass doors, real wood floors, windows knocked into walls big drive - everyone feel in love with it until they got to the bathroom - those with younger children were put off, but we sold for the asking price.

So it will put off some, but others have said, these days its showers everywhere - ensure you have a smart, good-sized shower - IMO its an advantage as people can use the bathroom quicker

Do go for it!!

Same.

It seems very drastic to remove a bath just so you have somewhere to put a cat litter tray! Is there really nowhere else at all you can find to put it? I can see others have made some suggestions.

I wouldn’t buy a house without a bath, but as long as the price is right you will find someone who doesn’t mind, but you will be restricting your market a bit. Personally I would just find somewhere else for the litter tray!

Could you put in a smaller bath? Could the litter tray go in the kitchen near a back door? Personally I wouldn't buy a house without a bath.

we removed the bath in Mum's house last year and replaced with a lovely walk in shower. The estate agents came round to value if for both rent and sale and said most people wanted a shower these days and it wouldn't drop the price at all by not having a bath.

If someone removes the bath I'd expect it to be replaced by a luxurious big shower that takes the full bath footprint. If a house just had a small shower as the only washing facilities, I'd be a bit WTF?? If I was viewing the house and the litter tray was still there in room next to the pokey shower, I'd be exiting extremely quickly and wouldn't even consider buying the place.

Just bought a house and viewed literally loads without baths, it's really common nowadays. If everything else is right about a house I think it doesn't put many people off, a few for sure but not many.

No way it makes sense to remove a bath to make space for a litter tray.

Plus with a small child, you'll regret not having a bath anymore!

I love a bath but was quite happy to buy a house without one and put one in. Showers are increasingly preferred.

However, what about putting the litter tray in the bath? Maybe a bit 'ew' but baths are easily cleanable.

What kind of people live on your street. If the area appeals to people with small children it might be an issue. If it’s couples less so.

I wouldn't remove a bath to create litter tray space.

Can you get one of the ones with tops and put it in your bedroom maybe? My cats were too stupid to work out how to use one of those but it helps with the smell and general ick.

Personally, if it's an ugly bathtub it wouldn't affect me either way, I will have it removed. But i do think it's best to keep a bathtub in

Can you remove the end panel of the bath the sloping side away from the taps, replace with a flush piece of ply to take in the angle of the bath to create a space and pop the litter tray there?

I have no qualms about removing a bath if a large shower is preferable, we did this and haven't missed the bath at all. Not sure if I'd do it for a litter tray though. My friend has a litter tray that is build into a cupboard, could you fit one of those somewhere?

I wouldn’t remove the bath. Won’t you need it if you have a baby anyway?

do you have an under stairs cupboard where you could put the litter tray? A friend has this with a little round hole in the door for her cats to go in and out of.

So to answer a few questions our street is a real mixture of young single people (dh originally bought by himself to get on the property ladder before we met), couples, elderly couples and families. A lot of properties seem to be bought with the intention of renting out in the area as well.

Our cat is 14, he's an indoor only cat due to his health and his inclination to want to fight every other cat he sees. He's lovely with people and thankfully our dog but a bit of a terror otherwise. I would feel a bit cruel putting him outside especially since where we live now is very busy traffic wise and where he lived before was very rural. I don't think he's ever had much experience of being around regular traffic.

Our kitchen is small but the space is well utilised for cupboard space so our cupboards run right up to our back door. So I'd have to take a cupboard out and put the litter tray in there but again, I don't want it overly accessible to our toddler and we use all of our kitchen cupboard space. I like to host, cook, bake and I go through things regularly because of our storage issues so we really do only keep what we actually use. The only place I can think of as an alternative is in front of our bookcases in the dining area. But I don't really fancy him going to the toilet beside people eating at the table... and he would make a point of it knowing him.

Maybe as a previous poster suggested then in the bath? Not ideal but easier than removing the bath… and an easy surface to clean.

If you want a shower then put one in. We have done that. You could always speak to an estate agent for advice. I see lots of houses without baths. I think it is getting more common.