Stall Shower vs Big Vanity

[dgk]

House has 1 1/2 baths. The main one is small (11x5) and has a stall shower and separate tub. One way or another the bathroom is going to get redone. I wouldn't have a problem using the tub as a shower and using the space the stall shower takes up to put in a big sink/vanity like the Significant Other wants, but several friends say that a separate shower is a big convenience and selling point. Apparently many people won't consider buying a house without a stall shower.

I suppose the correct answer is to do whatever we want to do. Neither of us is quite near an age where climibing over a tub wall is a big challenge. Still, I was shocked at the number of people who told me that I'd be crazy to remove a stall shower.

[ransley]

Add one more to the list.

[Charlie]

When our house was still in the planning stages, we noticed that the master bath had a tub and a shower and a two sink vanity.

The changes we made (easy when you are still dealing with paper) were to get rid of the tub first. There is one in the other bathroom and one is enough. Next change the vanity to a single sink. Our previous house had a two-sink vanity and in 16 years there we never used both sinks. One was always enough.

Charlie

[dadiOH]

Take out the stupid tub and leave the shower. The only thing even close to being as useless as a tub is a shower in one.

[norminn]

We have two bathrooms...guest bath has a tub/shower combo and the master has a wide vanity and a stall shower. We never use the tub, unless I'm cleaning something like venetian blinds :o) I would definitely want a stall shower if we moved, but it probably would not be a buying-point. Being without a tub might limit future sales, esp. to families with small children.

If you go with a stall shower and plan to stay in the home, be sure to allow for grab-bars, hand-held shower and some sort of seating - those things might become important when ya' get really old or if limited by an injury.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, In our house there is bathroom on every level including basement. All has separate shower stall with glass door and tiled walls. Main bath has Jacuzzi tub. Most of time we shower and at least on week end we soak in the tub. Also main bath vanity has two sinks, enough room for wife doing make up with big wall mirror. If one thing I want, I'd install multi head steam shower. Having separate shower is very handy. Also we have sauna in the enclosed 4 season sun room which we use a lot all season.

[Pete C.]

I'd seriously look at the house floorplan and see if it would be possible to add a nice master bath, potentially with a small addition. Depending on the details, adding such a new bath may not cost much more than remodeling (replacing) an existing one.

[dgk]

Rowhouse, 18' by 40' or so. My neighbors are very nice but might object to me moving into their bathroom.

[dgk]

No two-sink vanity. That certainly makes sense.

[dgk]

I think a tub comes in handy, particularly as we get older. Lying in hot water, does seem to make things better. Of course, I haven't done it in a year or two.

These rowhouses are really starter houses and folks often trade up and move further from the city. So having a tub is important for young families with young kids. That doesn't describe our situation though.

And, of course, nothing is forever. Whatever I do can be undone.

[dadiOH]

Share :)

[Pete C.]

Yep, that would limit your options some. My point though for homes where there is some expansion room, is that if you're trying to remodel a bathroom to make it roomier, and buying new fixtures, flooring, etc. in a lot of cases it may not cost that much more to frame out a small addition or steal space from an oversized living room to add a nice new master bath.

[DerbyDad03]

er: The only thing even close to being as useless as a tub is a shower in one.

IYHO, of course...

Both of my daughters - late teens - still enjoy a nice long bubble bath sometimes. Far be it from me to deny them this simple pleasure.

So if your tub get used, and all you have room for is a "shower in one" then "useless" doesn't fit either case.

[DerbyDad03]

re: Whatever I do can be undone...

...for a price.

[willshak]

dgk wrote the following:

Why a separate shower and tub? Combine the both if you actually use a tub once in a while. The only use for a tub is to wash the dog after an encounter with a skunk. If you have a small dog, the kitchen sink will work as well, so you don't need a tub at all..

[cshenk]

"dgk" wrote

In a 12x40 tract home, loss of the shower as a separate stall is not a big issue. Loss of the tub (with added shower head) *is*. You have only a sink and toilet in the other one.

I won't even stay more than one night in a hotel, without a tub. Given a choice, based on the space, I'd keep the stall and the tub and SO that the sink can only be (measure, add size) bigger. If SO's desires meet yours, remove stall and put in bigger vanity.

Note almost every reply you got was from guys who take showers almost exclusively. I may as well sometimes, but I want the option and use the tub

2-3 times a week. So does Hubby and daughter.

[mm]

I like baths. I watch tv while I soak.

Also good for washing children too big for a bathinette, and probably the smaller one's too. Try to get two people in a shower. And it's good for washing big things. Or storing a live fish until it's time to cook it.

Huh. It's easy to take a shower in a bathtub.

Also, when your furnace doesn't work, nothing else increases the humidity and feeling of warmth as does a shower into a stopped bath tub. Leave the bathroom door open and be sure to turn off the water before the bathtub overflows. Then let the water sit there until it cools off.

(Second best is boiling water on the stove.)

[mm]

Is such a hotel common?

Two years ago, when the plane from Newark left two hours late and I missed my connection in London, they put me up, just for daylight hours until the next plane left, in the Heathrow Hilton I think. Because I asked about internet, they put me in a business room, and a) Internet was free in the lobby but cost money in my room, b) there was no bathtub. I'd never heard of such a thing.

You can't put bubble bath in a shower stall. Well, you can, but it's hard to find.

[EXT]

Obviously you don't live in a very cold area, boiling water would do next to nothing if my furnace went out (increasing humidity is a bad idea if the house is cooling of in below freezing weather) --- I would stoke up the wood stove.

[Jay-T]

Row house, 18' by 40' or so? Then my vote would be, lose the shower and replace it with a stackable front loading washer and dryer. No more trips to the basement to wash clothes.

And, keep the tub/shower. Despite what personal preferences you, me, or others here may have in terms of liking showers, buyers want a tub/shower. No tub/shower (in at least one of the bathrooms) means no sale. Ask any experienced real estate salesperson.