Is a separate stall shower really a good thing?

[dgk]

I have a small house (18' wide) that has a small bathroom The odd thing to me is that there is a stall shower and a separate tub without a shower. I can't understand why they wasted space by not combining them, and I have another thread going about replacing the tub and installing a shower. But, my original thought was to demolish the shower stall and open up the area and perhaps put in a small cabinet (and place for the cat litterbox) and have room for a nicer sink area.

However I was talked out of removing the shower on the grounds that a separate stall shower is a big selling point and that people really like them. Is it true? I would think that having an open room would be nicer. Currently there is a narrow corridor as you enter the bathroom because the stall shower (big tile thing) is on the left as you enter the bathroom, and then it opens up as you pass by. Plus, the shower is dark because it faces the corridor and the only light that gets in is reflecting in.

Thoughts welcome.

[dadiOH]

WTF wants to sit in a tub of dirty water?? Personally, I wouldn't even consider buying a house without a shower. Or one that has only a shower in a tub.

I spent my college years sitting in a claw foot tub trying to shower with a shower head attached to a rubber hose. Later on, I spent a decade and a half showering in a tub. Tubs aren't meant for showering, IMO.

When I finally built a house I built it with shower stalls. Sizeable ones (one is 4x5, other 4x8)...no doors or curtains, semi-open sides. There is a separate "garden tub" too but only because code required a tub - it is never used.

[Joseph Meehan]

It is much easier and safer to stop into a shower with a low curb that to step into and out of a tub with a larger step over and likely a rounded bottom and slippery finish.

When I remodel my master bath it will have a separate shower. Actually it likely will not have a bath, I have not decided yet, but I have room either way.

[marson]

i live in a house that is 16' wide. i like showers. my wife likes baths. so like most people, we have a tub/shower unit. lots of personal preference involved, but i'd side for getting rid of it.

[Doug Kanter]

Lots of opinions here! I had a long list of things I wanted when house hunting. A separate stall shower was nowhere on the list. I'd rather have the space. There's nothing wrong with showers in tubs, unless it's difficult for someone in the house to step over the side of the tub.

[RicodJour]

And eventually it always will be. 'less you're not planning on getting old or injured.

R

[hilary]

Personally, I'd pull out the bathtub and just leave the shower. Baths disgust me - I can't stand the thought of sitting in dirty water. Ick. We have one bathroom with just a tub and one with just a shower. We call the tub bathroom the "half bath", and in 20 years, I don't think it's been used once.

[Doug Kanter]

....or living there that long.

[Goedjn]

The only real advantage I can see is that some older or handicapped people have trouble getting in and out of tubs, so it's good if there's at least one shower-stall in the building that doesn't require picking up your feet to get in.

[Goedjn]

Admit it... you're really a gypsy, aren't you?

[dgk]

Interesting view. I haven't used the tub in years but I don't really worry about lying in dirty water. After all, the dirt comes from me and is vastly diluted by the water. Plus you get to throw in all those nifty bubble things that accumulate over the years. Not to mention the toy submarines with baking soda ballast.

I think that soaking in hot water is good for aching muscles, and I seem to get more of those as I get older. The gross thing to me is just drying off after the bath. I'd rather turn on the shower for a few seconds to rinse off the various ungents and dirt. That's why a shower and bath combination makes sense.

I wasn't planning on having a shower head attached to a rubber hose. Oh, that's the other really weird thing about the stall shower. The water outlet is dead center overhead. It drove me crazy for the first few weeks until I found an extension that I could use to get the shower head over on the side. I don't like water coming straight down at me apparently.

[hilary]

Admit it... you're really a gypsy, aren't you?

Huh? What on earth is that supposed to mean? Even as a child when I took a bath I always finished with a quick shower to rinse off. Otherwise you have all that revolting soap and bubble slime on your skin. Since our tub doesn't have a shower option, I can't imagine ever using it. Again, I say, "Ick". To me, that's like not showering before you get into a swimming pool. Eeeeeuww.

[3rd eye]

And I found the Ick & Eeeuw part of the original post the catbox.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'd toss the tub and make a larger, more elegant shower and still have room for a cabinet or whatever. People today tend to take more showers than baths. Showers are easier to get in and out of for older or otherwise handicapped people.

Friend built a house about 20 years ago and did not put a shower of any kind in the one bathroom. They all use the shower in the downstairs bathroom.

[mm]

In theory, one person could take a bath and another a shower at the same time. I don't know how often that happens.

I have a bathtub and a shower and mostly take baths (long story), but when I take a shower, I use the shower stall. It's flatter on the bottom, and it has a textured surface. Both reasons that it is less likely I'll fall.

I don't like those stickup strips for bathtubs, because I'm sure they will feel bad when I'm taking a bath. But a lot of people have them, which seems to me to mean that they are afraid of falling.

A matter of taste. One would have to take a survey.

Most showers don't have lights, afaik. My little bathroom has a ceiling light and that illuminates the shower. I have a folding, translucent plastic door**, and it lets in the light, plus the door stops about 6 inches from the top, so that lets light in too. White walls in the bathroom so it's pretty light in the shower, but even if it weren't, I think I could find my body.

**It's probably brittle after 27 years, so I'm very gentle.