Replace bath or just fit a shower?

[Dave Baker]

I'm trying to decide how best to renovate my 3 bed semi. Bathroom is on the ground floor and not very big. At present there's the bath, knackered boiler, sink and loo in there. The boiler needs replacing so a combi is probably the best choice then I can also ditch the immersion tank upstairs and the loft tanks. That removes a lot of pipework and makes more space. The bath, sink and loo are also well past their best so they need to be changed too.

I'm debating whether to just fit a nice shower and not bother replacing the bath. Combis take so long to fill them anyway I believe unless you fit a huge boiler. The space that saves could allow a bit of storage in the bathroom, maybe a coat cupboard. Do people really want/need a bath installed these days if there's also a shower?

[RW]

How many "people" will want a shower instead of a bath at your house then?

and what's the rush to get the bath filled? Just start filling have a cuppa, take the dog for a walk and return to a nice hot tub of bubbly water (Assuming you don't get caught in conversation in the pub while walking the dog)

After a long day, maybe in the cold, feeling crap and covered in mud or whatever wouldn't *you* like to soak in a nice warm bath with a glass of whatever and relax? or Would standing up in a torrent of hot water droplets cascading over you turning your skin into sandpaper as they bombard you with cold water as someone else has turned on a hot tap in the kitchen be more preferable.

Now a "Coat Cupboard" in the bathroom would be very useful if you didn't want to get wet in your new shower and put on a coat to keep warm and dry, not to mention the wonderful smell of dampness in your clothes on the way to work.

;-)

[Andrew Gabriel]

Whilst people probably use showers a lot more than baths, not being able to have a bath at all would be a big negative point against a property for me, and likely knock something off the value of it. If that's not a concern for you, then go ahead and do what suits you. (I don't think most people care much about how long a bath takes to fill.)

[Huge]

And even if they do, they don't find out until they've already bought the house, whereas they notice the absence of a bath while they're looking round.

[John Rumm]

Are you planning to move soon? If not then do whatever suits you best. However I expect many would consider the lack of a bath a downside. Even if you usually have showers, there are times when a bath is handy.

The power output of the combi does not dictate its physical size either

- with many brands having a range of power outputs for each particular model. So you could have a physically small boiler without having to limit yourself to some under specced 24kW jobbie.

[Jim Alexander]

Well perhaps but not so fast as to trouble the overflow. Quite easy to come to terms with as others have suggested. And the delivery finishes as hot as it starts. I predict you will be more troubled by how long the combi takes to deliver a sinkful of hot water to the furthest basin.

Jim A

[Bob Mannix]

If you already have an airing cupboard with a tank, and want a bath which fills, and there will only be one or two of you, I think a thermal store/plate heat exchanger system (as discussed in another thread) might be a very attractive option. It will give high flow rates at mains pressure for bath and shower and will go in as a package where the hot water tank currently is and you can lose the loft tanks.

Advantages over combi: High flow, backup immersion heater if boiler has fault

Disadvantages over combi: (Say) 2 baths full and an hour to recover typical, whereas combi unlimited.

(Combis are great for teenagers, who seem to take infinite length showers :o( )

See

and select "Heat bank thermal stores" from "products"

[Paul Matthews]

We moved last year. We would not have even viewed a house house that did not have a bath.

[Dave Baker]

Thanks for the opinions folks. The house will be sold when it's habitable again so it's more about what a prospective purchaser wants than what I do. Seems people like a bath to be fitted. It's certainly no trouble to just replace the old one.

[Stuart B]

You are selling ?.....well in that case a bath is a must ...if folk see no bath then I guess they'll have a quick look round and walk back out the door . Fit a bath with an overbath shower ( or at least install the plumbing so one can easily be fitted ) .

Stuart

[Dave Baker]

I suppose the reason I asked is because last year I spent a month away from home living in a small 2 bed terraced house that only had a shower, sink and loo in its miniscule bathroom which from memory was slightly less than 6' square. There certainly wasn't room for a bath. However I personally didn't have a problem with that and just wondered if there was something better I could do with the space here if I didn't replace mine during the refit. Seems like a combined bath/shower is the best option though.

[Tony Bryer]

IMO the crucial thing is that you are talking about a 3-bed house, where it is more than possible that people will want to bath small children. In a 1-bed flat I suspect that the lack of a bath would not worry too many people.

[Bob Mannix]

The classic "Property Ladder" mistake! Doing up a house so *you* would buy it is madness if you are trying to sell it!

Don't limit the sale to only people who are like you to start with, you have to remove anything which will cause *anyone* to say no! "No bath" is going to stop loads of people with money in their pockets from looking and the fact it is OK for you is completely irrelevant! People who prefer baths, people with a young child, people with a dog - you get the picture! Your preference will only help you when you buy as you will accept something that others wont.

PS I had a house with a bathroom that was 5'6" by 5'3" and it had bath, shower, basin, toilet, radiator, cupboard, extractor fan and window in it and served 4 people very well (one at a time, clearly!).

[The Natural Philosopher]

My limited experience is people buy locayion, space style and features, of which a bath is one. Its only later they realise what they *need* is storage, storage, storage.

[Dave Baker]

No f***ing shit Sherlock? Why do you think I'm actually going to the trouble of asking other people's opinions on whether they would like to see a bath fitted if they were prospective purchasers rather than what I'm happy with?

[Bob Mannix]

Err well, Watson, mainly because you seem to keep coming back to how it was OK for you without one when they say put a bath in (and I was making the general point to help other readers) and if you are already on board with all of this you might not have needed to pose the question at all (it's not as if baths are uncommon or exotic!). Wasn't intended to cause offence though.

[Mogga]

Wasn't there a London borough who decreed no more baths in new build?

[Owain]

I agree, and I think Sarah Beeny would too :-)

You can get small baths / short baths / tapered baths / corner baths together with basins and loos designed for smaller small rooms. A bath with a shower over is going to appeal to the widest market.

Owain

[Ed Sirett]

This is the nub of it, IMHO. If /you/ want no bath then by all means do what you want. What's more a 24kW combi will sort it out (with a themrostatic shower mixer and suitable flow restrictors on the basin & sink HW).

If you are thinking of selling the place within the life of the bathroom then budget for reinstalling a bath or losing twice its cost on the house.