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Original poster

Your views on NO bath - Help!

75 replies

Furball · 19/02/2010 19:44

Just wondered really - we have a 4 bed house and only one bathroom which isn't huge. Can just about fit the essentials in and then have a little room to swing a cat your pants.

We never have a bath - are we mad to put in a really, really smart walk in shower instead of a bath.

My heart tells me - yes, it's our house, we would appreciate it we could live here for 10 or more years who knows?

My head tells me - No, if we need to sell, people will be put off by the fact there is no bath.

Any views/advice/experience would be appreciated.

OP posts:
ageing5yearseachyear · 20/02/2010 09:17

ohh- if you really are going to be there for 10 years have exactly what you want! if it really is an issue in 10 years time stick a bath back in then.

i sympathise- we have a 1970s house that is fab in every way apart from only having one bathroom and being about two foot too small in every direction to get an ensuite in.

we similarly agonised over making the downstairs more open plan and worried about re-sale. But i concluded that if it really became an issue it would cost less than 2 grand to reinstate and now the house feels like ours.

one other thing that others have done round here is extend/reorganise downstairs to enable a downstairs shower room. Not for me but never say never.

Original poster
Furball · 20/02/2010 10:36

Thanks ageing5yearseachyear - fab name btw! though I'm sure it's not true, but I know how you feel

the 10 years was just a plucked figure, We don't envisage moving anytime soon. But who knows.....

OP posts:
Original poster
Furball · 20/02/2010 10:42

and yes you are right, it wouldn't cost much to rectify it back to a bath

OP posts:
Ripeberry · 20/02/2010 10:57

We need to overhaul our bathroom, it is very small 75inches by 78 inches so if you stand in the middle of the room you can almost touch the walls.
It has the original 1970's toilet, bath and sink and we are thinking of ripping out the toilet (ugly sideways soil pipe), the sink is on metal legs as it's so massive and the bath is iron and lovely, so if possible we will keep it.
Been on the B&Q website and used their bathroom planner thingy and we can just about fit what we want in the space.
Just got to find some new tiles

sarah293 · 20/02/2010 11:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MeMySonAndI · 20/02/2010 11:38

YEs, have whatever you want, perhaps any bath that you install now is likely to be worn out, discoloured or look as out of fashion as the hideous avocado suite in 10 years time, and need replacing anyway.

To be honest, choosing between an average bathroom you can find in every house, and the shower in your picture, I think I would be more inclined to be more impressed with a house with that shower.

Northernlurker · 20/02/2010 11:39

I think 4 beds and only one bathroom is very disappointing. Are you sure you can't squeeze an en-suite in? And yes I would keep the bath.

MrsL123 · 20/02/2010 14:33

Our house was built in the late 50's and also has a tiny bathroom (6ft square!). The rest of the house is pretty spacious, so obviously bathrooms were just considered functional areas during that era and space wasn't wasted on them. I wouldn't want to sacrifice my lovely big bedroom just to squeeze in a tiny ensuite, so I guess it just depends on your priorities (I literally spend 15 minutes a day in the bathroom and have never soaked in a bath in my life).

We've been back and forth about replacing our bath with a walk-in shower, exactly the same as your picture, but the resale issue is our stumbling block too. Our mortgage will be paid off in 5 years and then we'll be faced with the decision of staying put and living mortgage free, or selling up and getting a new mortgage on a bigger house. The thing is, I'm not sure what would be less of a selling point at resale - a spacious walk-in shower room or a tiny crowded bathroom. I think the people who would have an issue with there being no bath (i.e. young families or those who like to have a long relaxing soak) are not going to be interested in our tiny bathroom anyway, whether there's a bath in it or not! It's like trying to squeeze a double bed into a single bedroom just so you can list 'three double bedrooms' instead of two - someone who wants three double bedrooms isn't going to buy your house anyway, because the room is too small. Same goes for a bath - it might tick a box, but is it making the most of the space?

mololoko · 20/02/2010 19:36

sorry for the delay, can't find what we've got anywhere online!

it's a bit like this

if you like i'll try and stick a couple of pictures up on my profile.

mololoko · 20/02/2010 19:37

would have to tidy up the bathroom a bit first though

Blu · 20/02/2010 19:42

I have never once had a bath in our current house - 3 years - and would much rather have a good walk-in shower than a poxy bath / shower compromise.

Have a shower if that suits you - and change back to a bath to sell in a few years. Maybe design the bathroom and plumbing to make it easy to do.

tbh if you will be seloing in 10 years, new owners could well be talking about re-doing the bathroom anyway, and as long as ther is space for a bath, that wouldn't bother me. Take a picture of your bathroom with bath in place before installing the shower to show prosoective purchasers!

noddyholder · 20/02/2010 19:53

I always rehang doors as a first thing if a room is compromised on space.If you are going to be there 10 years I would do what suits you all now.The bathroom will be a bit shabby by the time you come to sell so can stick a bath in then.

Pannacotta · 20/02/2010 19:55

Thanks for looking mololoko and for the link.
Yes please to photos on profile (am nosey bugger!).
I did find this yesterday which also sounds similar to what you have (or not?)?
www.splashdirect.com/Showers/Shower-Bath-Screens/Folding-Bath-Screens/sc1646/p4317.aspx

We are planning a bathroom refurb for our family bathroom so am looking for ideas re shower baths/screens etc...

Good idea Blu re the photo of bathroom with bath in situ...

mololoko · 20/02/2010 22:06

photos should be there now. as you can see, 'tis a small room. the other thing the builder did was to lower the ceiling by about 6 inches as we have high ceilings. i was very but it really work to make the small room look more in proportion iyswim

mololoko · 20/02/2010 22:07

btw i think noddy's got a point that if you stay 10 years you should do what suits you best and re-do before you sell.

Pannacotta · 20/02/2010 22:08

Thanks molo but I cant click on your name to open up your profile - there's usually an underline on a poster with a profile.

Did you builder not check with your first about lowering the ceiling? I woudl have gone bananas....

mololoko · 20/02/2010 22:12

oh no, he did check but i couldn't visualise how it could look better til he did it ikswim.

will try and tinker with my profile. hang on...

Pannacotta · 20/02/2010 22:19

Thanks molo.

Nice bathroom, looks like you've fitted it all in but it still looks sleek, I like the way its all boxed in, no dust traps...
And much tider than our bathroom ever is!

Is the shower screen folded back against the wall next to the taps, I cant quite tell?

mololoko · 20/02/2010 22:20

they both fold either way so you can fold the outer one back against the taps, and the inner one flush against either the wall in fron of it or the wall behind it.

mololoko · 20/02/2010 22:38

have loaded one with doors shut so you can see it in shower cubicle mode.

gosh it does look like I have nasty yellow tiles. they're not, they're very tasteful pale limestone I'll have you know.

Quattrocento · 20/02/2010 22:45

SIL had a beautiful six bedroom house - Edwardian number, truly lovely, three bathrooms but no bath. She took the bath out of the main bathroom and replaced it with a huge shower and lots of cupboards. We all thought she was insane, but the house sold within the first week of being on the market ...

2010aQuintessentialOdyssey · 20/02/2010 22:49

I havent read the entire thread because it is long, so I dont know if anybody has said the same as me.

My suggestion would be to make a wetroom. That way you have no tray, no cubicle, but a circular/squre shower curtain rail suspended from the ceiling. The curtains are totally drawn when not using the shower, so then you have the full sized room to move around in. It should then be fairly simply to put a bath in, in the future, if you (or new owner) should want one. The flortiles will then be gently sloping towards the floor drain (but not so much that it is noticeable.)

Pannacotta · 21/02/2010 09:40

molo that looks great, I think its nice to have a screen around you when you shower as it keeps you warm.
I will look for something similar, thanks again for the pics/details.

Wetroom is a good idea Quint, though still expensive to put in in this country...

DecorHate · 21/02/2010 10:08

Moloko, can I ask what material you have used for the worktop next to the basin? We need to replace the cupboard & worktop around our inset basin and I'm looking for ideas. Your bathroom looks lovely!

Furball, if you don't use the bath you should go with the shower! We ate showerers rather than bathers too! When I wanted to rent a flat many moons ago I was amazed how hard it was to find one with a shower - they still weren't standard then but I bet they are now. I would be more put off by the lack if a shower than a bath.

We rented a holiday house a few years ago which I think was owned by Germans and all three (!) bathrooms all had showers rather than baths. We were a bit worried about bathing the dcs who were little at the time but we managed in the shower tray...

mololoko · 21/02/2010 20:20

it's puno from here

it was a bit left over from our kitchen

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