Shower/Bath

Although you may find that 1700x700 is a standard size external dimension the inside dimension of the tub may be different - a few tens of mm may make a big difference.

My experience of getting older is that getting out of the bath is more difficult, especially now that I have a minor shoulder problem.

If I was remodelling my bathroom I would do away with the bath and just have a shower. Currently I have a shower at the end of the bath and as I get older I can see just stepping over the side of the bath to stand under the shower is going to become more difficult.

When remodelling a bathroom consider you needs in 10 year's time and not just now, especially if you are in the older age group.

It may be an age thing but for me baths with showers do not work. Shower curtains or movable screens always seem to find a way to leak water and generally look naff and untidy when not in use. A fixed screen can prevent water egress but then makes getting in and particularly out difficult. When you do eventually manage to haul yourself over the edge for a shower you find yourself standing on a narrow almost flat surface with little possibility to move your feet because of the curvature of the tub.

We put up with bath/showers in a number of houses until we refurbished the bathroom in our last house taking out the bath and having a shower cubicle and this was when we were in out 50’s and never looked back

In the bungalow we have done the same. We have fitted a walk-in shower with a low profile tray and it is a joy to use. Like you the bath was 1700 X

Richard

As with most "combination" things they are (IME) usually somewhat of a compromise. Having said that I did use one for my last mega bathroom build on the grounds that it was a very "difficult" shaped room[2], and there was no workable design I could come up with that included a separate shower and bath.

There was also the thought train that this was the "family" bathroom and not our on-suite which was going to have a decent sized shower (1,100 by

I found a combi that had a decent sized "wide" end with a mostly flat surface[1]. The compromise is that it is a fairly shallow (read "standard") bath so perhaps less well suited for those that like a decent soak without too many bits flopping about in the cold air rather than the water. On the plus side that makes it a fairly easy "step in".

That's exactly why we took out the bath (with shower over it) and replaced it with a shower with a tray that projects just over an inch above the floor tiles. My wife (with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis) was finding stepping over the side of the bath harder and harder and really struggling to get up at all if she used it for a bath rather than a shower.

We had that done for my elderly mother, who suffered from arthritis and had difficulty getting in and out of the bath, and only took showers anyway. Wet baths tend to be slippery, and the whole thing was just an accident waiting to happen.

I think that is what I may do. I slipped getting out of the bath a couple of weeks ago and whacked my elbow on the side of the bath, helped my tendonitis no end :-(

Thanks for all the replies, I have room for a decent sized shower enclosure if the bath comes out, whether or not I can get one in avocado to match the suite...

Something I've pondered for a bathroom refurb is to go full flat floor sealed wet room - and then put a bath in it. The thinking being that the use cases may prefer a bath at present, but it just takes one unfortunate mishap and a family member may need a wet room. If some misfortune were to occur, it's better that it be a half day job to whip out the bath and turn it into a wet room shower, than it would be to try to manage a full bathroom remodel while also having to deal with the healthcare needs of the family member. This is particularly critical if you only have one bathroom, because trying to remodel while having no facilities is difficult at the best of times. It could also come in handy as a temporary measure should somebody have the kind of surgery which prevents use of a bath for some months.

Currently have both a (high-step) shower cubicle and a bath, and wondering how to neatly fit a walk-in wet room shower and a bath in the same space.

Depending on the type of house, a bath may be attractive to buyers with small children, which is something to think about if you are likely to move at any point. But a wet room may be more attractive to those with declining mobility. It would be nice to be able to have both.

Theo

I hit an issue with a tiled floor shower. The waste is a long collector below a metal grill. The problem is the very shallow waste trap can be sucked dry by flushing the toilet (yes I do have an air inlet valve in the stubby stack). This allows sewer smells into the room...

Thats not a problem with a tiled floor per se, its a problem with the installation. In my case its not the tiled showers that have the issue, but the toilet and bath.

Indeed. Sadly, by the time the fault was discovered, the room was floored with nicely grouted tiles. My mistake was not realising that such a shallow trap might be risky:-(

One good thing came out of this. I discovered that fitting 12" square tiles in a diagonal pattern made sloping the floor to the outlet do-able. Before anyone suggests fitting a flap valve in the outlet pipe, I should say it is buried in screed.

The original purpose was to prepare for wheelchair access. Seven years on, I am still walking...

Yup. Same here. One shower was for washing muddy dogs. That works fine. Another was walk in for the 'granny flat'. In the granny flat the bath is very low and down at floor level - that's the trap that sucks.

And due to lack of use that toilet in there and the one upstairs in the main bathroom often dry out enough to pong. I just flush them and hope

I understand the long collector type is problematic because the ends away from the outlet tend to have slack water which collects slime. I'd probably go for a central circular trap. Not sure that avoids the suction problem.

Theo

You could back up the water trap with a flap type non return valve. Another point is that perhaps you could test the toilet flush effect before tiling etc. Bear in mind the waste suction effect varies with the amount of waste/toilet paper used and some housewives use this route to dispose of cooking mistakes:-)

it doesnt

We're investigating having our bathroom redone. One of my small luxuries in old age is to soak in a very full and very hot bath a couple of times a year. Getting out is an issue to be addressed, or, is it just too an expensive treat?

The Germans love to scrutinise their poo, but it means that they pick up on bowel cancer sooner, and the mortality rate is significantly lower as a result.

I'm of an age where I get bowel cancer tests every two years.

I'm not sure that examining poo with a standard eyeball is necessarily going to detect bowel cancer unless it's in the latter stages.

Symptoms such as looser stools, constipation, diarrhoea or having to use the toilet more etc. don't need an examining shelf.