Remove bath tub or not?

[tyketime]

So Mrs Tyke and I are pulling a little bit of equity out of hour home and plan to remodel our bathroom. Neither one of us takes a bath. So I would love to get rid of the tub and make a nice large shower area. Mrs Tyke is keenly aware of the common wisdom that states that not having a tub affects the resale value of our home. I have heard that as well, and so I am sensitive to it.

In my dream master design, we will extend bathroom out approximately 3 feet into master bedroom, double size of walk-in closet, remove tub, install shower area, and new sinks/cabinets. My wife likes all plans but wants to put in new tub which would effectively cut shower area in half.

We're just at the preliminary planning phase, so just thought I would ask the collective wisdom. Our current plans are to stay in house 7-10 more years. I get conflicting messages when I research whether it truly affects the resale value or if it is more a preference (meaning some house hunters would exclude our house because of no tub, but not actually decreasing the value of the house). I'm having a hard time sacrificing space now, that we could absolutely use and enjoy for the next 7-10+ years vs keeping a tub solely for the purpose of selling the house down the road.

Whad'dya think?

[JonInMiddleGA]

ping Flasch

[Rizon]

Is this the only bathroom in the house? If you have another bathroom that has ... a bath ... then I'd say ok to removing the master bedroom bath.

I really don't know if it affects the value of the house by having one or not. If I was cash strapped and buying a house I don't think I'd buy one without a bath (otherwise if I had extra cash I'd just add it myself).

Are you adding a bench to the shower? Or have you thought about a combo like this (if you have room)?

[JPhillips]

Do you plan on selling over the next few years? If not, I'd say you should make your home fit your needs, not the needs of an imagined buyer.

[PilotMan]

According to my wife, who reads this type of stuff all the time, what you are describing is actually becoming more the trend in master suits. Getting rid of the tub and going with a larger 2 person sized shower is in right now. It's kind of like people remodeling formal dining rooms that don't get used into something more functional. Space, like a tub that doesn't get used, that isn't used isn't really giving your home any more value. I say go for it.

[Lathum]

do you have kids or planning to have kids in the next 7-10 years? Not having a bath tub will be a royal pain in the ass.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

According to my wife, who reads this type of stuff all the time, what you are describing is actually becoming more the trend in master suits. Getting rid of the tub and going with a larger 2 person sized shower is in right now. It's kind of like people remodeling formal dining rooms that don't get used into something more functional. Space, like a tub that doesn't get used, that isn't used isn't really giving your home any more value. I say go for it.

+1

And I'd also say that as long as you have "a" tub in the hous somewhere...your golden. Personally, I'd want to make sure there is a tub for potential pets or small kids to make sure it is attractive to would-be buyers. But the master bath is becoming that spot that nobody uses but they think they need.

Plus...as a prospective buyer...anything that directly draws my focus to my wife in the shower with me is a great thing.

[Coffee Warlord]

Do you have small kids / planning to have them in the next 7 years?

If yes, I wouldn't advise getting rid of the Big Tub.

edit: Heh. Lathum beat me to it.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Is this the only bathroom in the house? If you have another bathroom that has ... a bath ... then I'd say ok to removing the master bedroom bath.

I really don't know if it affects the value of the house by having one or not. If I was cash strapped and buying a house I don't think I'd buy one without a bath (otherwise if I had extra cash I'd just add it myself).

Are you adding a bench to the shower? Or have you thought about a combo like this (if you have room)?

We have 2 full baths (other one has a tub) and 2 half-baths. Haven't gotten into specifics on design, but bench is under consideration!

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Do you plan on selling over the next few years? If not, I'd say you should make your home fit your needs, not the needs of an imagined buyer.

Our timeframe to sell is 7-10 years.

Originally Posted by Lathum

do you have kids or planning to have kids in the next 7-10 years? Not having a bath tub will be a royal pain in the ass.

we have 2 boys (14 and almost 12). They only take shower, but it's a shower/tub combo. No more kids planned.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

According to my wife, who reads this type of stuff all the time, what you are describing is actually becoming more the trend in master suits. Getting rid of the tub and going with a larger 2 person sized shower is in right now. It's kind of like people remodeling formal dining rooms that don't get used into something more functional. Space, like a tub that doesn't get used, that isn't used isn't really giving your home any more value. I say go for it.

That's my line of thinking as well. We are also transitioning formal dining room (which we've used 3 times in 11 years) into our "reading room", but not making any changes to the structure of the room so potential buyer could turn back with no extra costs.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by tyketime

That's my line of thinking as well. We are also transitioning formal dining room (which we've used 3 times in 11 years) into our "reading room", but not making any changes to the structure of the room so potential buyer could turn back with no extra costs.

We're actually in the market to buy right now, and that's amusingly exactly what we intend to do with the dining room / living room / one of those extra decorative rooms. Be so much nicer for us as a formal library.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

We're actually in the market to buy right now, and that's amusingly exactly what we intend to do with the dining room / living room / one of those extra decorative rooms. Be so much nicer for us as a formal library.

I just never got the whole thing with having so much space basically wasted. Why not make it functional?

[albionmoonlight]

To me, 7-10 years of what you want trumps future resale value. That's almost a decade of your life.

Since the house has a tub, I can't imagine enough buyers being turned off by the lack of a second tub to make it that big of a deal.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by tyketime

I just never got the whole thing with having so much space basically wasted. Why not make it functional?

I completely agree. You can easily make a room desirable/useful to enter and still have it look nice.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

To me, 7-10 years of what you want trumps future resale value. That's almost a decade of your life.

Since the house has a tub, I can't imagine enough buyers being turned off by the lack of a second tub to make it that big of a deal.

This.

[tyketime]

I'm not saying this is exactly what I have in mind, but it's certainly in the ballpark. I'd get shelves put in for soap, shampoo, etc., so that the bench is more usable.

[Telle]

A house with no tubs could be difficult to sell... but since you have a second tub, getting rid of one shouldn't be a problem.

[DaddyTorgo]

Bench needs to be longer for more comfortable shower-nookie no? Threat of sliding off it /= sexy.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Bench needs to be longer for more comfortable shower-nookie no? Threat of sliding off it /= sexy.

Excellent line of thinking.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Bench needs to be longer for more comfortable shower-nookie no? Threat of sliding off it /= sexy.

There's plenty of head-room...

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

To me, 7-10 years of what you want trumps future resale value. That's almost a decade of your life.

Since the house has a tub, I can't imagine enough buyers being turned off by the lack of a second tub to make it that big of a deal.

This +1