Would replacing a tiny bath with a shower affect resale value?

[Wellington2027]

Hi, I have a very small bathroom (200cm x 140cm). The door is on one of the shorter ends. Currently there’s a very small freestanding bath on the back wall.

I’m going to be redoing the bathroom and would like opinions on just having a shower rather than a shower over bath, as the max size bath I can fit is 130cm which is tiny.

I live in a small terraced house (72 sqm) over three floors. The second bedroom is a converted loft and really only suitable for children. It can just about fit a small double but has no cupboard space. The previous owners had two young children sharing it and moved for more space.

I live by myself, so wondering if having no bath but a beautiful shower room would be a dealbreaker when I come to sell. There is only one bathroom and no downstairs loo.

thanks in advance

One of the first things I did in my new house was get the bathroom redone and have small bath replaced with a walk in shower.

Arrange your house to suit yourself! It is not unusual to just have a shower and if future owners want a bath it is up to them to put one in.

In a house that size lack of bath isn't really an issue.
We just moved into our new house (well, six months ago) which only has a shower and there were other things much more important. Whatever you do will exclude some buyers. But at that size no-one is expecting palatial bathrooms or all the possible facilities.

I mean it is a question that people ask on here all the time.

Some people don't care about a bath. Others it is a dealbreaker, and some lack the imagination to consider the possibility that they could install one.

So you are going to get a variety of answers few of which will actually help.

You are going to limit your market somewhat and therefore reduce resale value.

But if you aren't thinking of moving in the near future resale value is largely irrelevant.

If I did remove a bath I would make sure the plumbing remained intact to allow reinstallation if required.

Thinking about who would buy your house, it sounds like a great house for a small family. And if someone has small children, they generally prefer a bath of some size. It's difficult to shower a small child without getting wet.

Only having a shower room, might put some people off, and mean others would have to factor in the cost of removing the shower and putting a bath back in.

When we bought this place it only had a shower. Granted it wasn't beautiful in any shape or form but the first thing we did was source a small bath to put in.

Model your house the best way for YOU.

I have never once taken a bath in the house I moved into 5 years ago and would much prefer a good shower. Given the choice of 2 identical houses except for the bathroom, I would choose the one with the shower not the bath.

Any future buyer can re-install a bath in place of a shower for very little ££ compared to the cost of buying and moving.

Your house is your home, if a shower is what you want, have a shower!

I wouldn't buy a house that didn't have a bath but some people would be happy with just a shower.

I don't think it would reduce the value but I think it would reduce the number of potential buyers.

However, it would still be sellable and you should have your house the way you want it.

Even if the plumbing was there for a bath? Surely installing a bath in an otherwise desirable house isn’t that big a deal ?

As long as there weren't equally desirable houses available already with a bath.

I think in that size of home a nice new shower will increase value over a small cramped bath. It’s only really an issue when you want to market it as a family home.

I'd rather have a shower than any bath whatever size

I wouldn’t buy a house without a bath. A shower over a bath pleases both sets of people. Replacing a bath costs money. New bathrooms cost a lot nowadays. You can still have either one with a shower over a bath. Dated doesn’t matter much.

A shower over a bath absolutely didn't please me!

Coincidentally, I've met two people this week who slipped and have some nasty bruises from stepping into a bath in order to have a shower.

I think the argument that it reduces the number of potential buyers by not having a bath works the other way too. When I was looking for a new house a nice bathroom without a bath would have been a positive, but tbh it was far less important than things like price, location and overall size and layout. The chances of two houses being totally equal in a buyer's desirability where the only difference was having a bath or not, would be extremely unlikely.

I agree with several pp's regarding arranging your home to suit yourself. You will always find a buyer if the price is right and I think your home would appeal more to young FTBs or professional singles where I would imagine a good shower would be preferable.

As another pp stated, no house is perfect and there are pros and cons with all. Our home, for instance, we bought in the early 90's as a new build show home in a small, select development.
We have 4 good sized bedrooms plus 2 bathrooms but no downstairs loo. Personally, I'm a bit funny about downstairs loos but that's just me and I know lots of people say it would be a deal-breaker. If that's the case there must be gazillions of deal breaker homes in the UK as the majority - certainly in our neck of the woods - were built without an additional downstairs loo in the 60s to 90s but whatever, it's not something that bothers us and it's our "Forever" home anyway so will be someone else's issue once we are gone. 😁 Plenty of space to add one if so important.

Your beautiful shower room sounds pretty lush to me. 👍

I only buy houses with baths but plenty of people prefer showers and 130cms isn't long enough for a bath anyway so would go with a good shower.

I have a 4 bedroom family house with no bath! Do what suits you best unless you are plann8ng on moving soon.

I wouldn't want a house without a bath but not having one wouldn't put me off buying. I'd factor in having to fit one if I bought.

It might be a good idea to take/print a couple of photos of the bath before removing it so that future buyers can visualise the space with a bath. Some people really can't do this, not sure why.

ETA do what you want to do, you're the one who is living there

I wouldn't buy a house without a bath. I just wouldn't want the hassle of having to fit one, especially if it needs a particularly small one, and if I'm honest i'd presume that a small bathroom without a bath couldn't fit a bath easily, so I'd rule it out on that basis.

We have a shower over our bath. It works fine.

But if you want to get rid of the bath, do it. Model it on what you want, unless you're imminently planning to move.

Thanks all for your thoughts. I think I’ll probably go with a shower over bath but try to make it as luxurious as possible.

If you really, deep down want a standalone shower but leave the bath in then every time you go in the bathroom you will be slightly annoyed and disappointed that it isn't how you want it.
If you are going to go to the trouble and expense of having the bathroom redone then the extra time and cost of taking the bath out will be minimal, and judging from the responses here, there is a good chance that the next owners will take it out anyway.

Do what suits you and your lifestyle.
We took out our only bath and put in a big shower. It's great and we love it. Plumbed in a way that would easily allow a bath and shower over the bath if someone else preferred that. Am not bothered by resale as not planning on moving anytime soon.

Do what suits you. You’ll never please everyone. If you’re not planning to sell in the next decade then put in what You like! It’s not that difficult to install a bath as long as there’s space. For me personally, a shower over a bath is the worst of all worlds.

Proper shower, not the compromise of shower over a tiny bath, which is the worst of both worlds.

I think it will only affect the resale value if you are replacing a full size bath with shower.
In this case it's more like a large washing up bowl so I don't think it will affect the resale value as long as the shower is done really well.

A 140x90 high end walk in shower will feel luxurious. A 130cm bath will feel cramped (unless you go with a super-deep Japanese soaking bath) - the people saying they would only buy houses with baths presumably want to lie down in the bath and relax, no sit up with their knees bent.

Given your bathroom’s dimensions, go with a shower.