I live in a small-ish townhouse with a master bedroom and full bath, one small bedroom and a tiny bedroom, and a 2nd full bath. (There’s also a half-bath downstairs.)
The 2nd full bath is a small “no frills but functional” matter but does have a tub. The master bath is nicer and has a skylight and a garden tub. In 10 years of living here I’ve never once used the garden tub except to take a shower in, and in fact I’m afraid to because in times past it has leaked onto the living room ceiling below.
So I’m doing some remodeling. The tub that is in there has got to go as it has some cracks and the tile needs to be replaced. Personally I couldn’t care less about another bathtub and would rather have a walk in shower (not one of those refrigerator sized showers but something you can turn around in). However, a couple of friends say this would hurt the resale value (what there is of it- I live in a seriously flatlined real estate market where you can still buy a house cheaper than some pickup trucks).
So I’m curious: how big of a turnoff would it be to you to have a big shower instead of a tub in the master bath? (There is a no-frills bathtub on premises; the only times I’ve used it were to bathe my dogs and even that’s been years.)
It would be somewhat of a turnoff. I have a tub currently and I take a bath probably once a month. But I also survived for years with just a shower. But if I ever redid the bathroom, I’d want to put a tub in again.
I’ve always thought that a bathtub was an integral part of what makes a master bath “master.” If it has a shower instead, I suppose you could call it a “master shower room,” but that just doesn’t have the same ring.
I’d prefer a nice shower stall to a bathtub. I think most people find bathtubs useful mostly for bathing small children.
In the case of the OP, if the second full bathroom has a tub, that would satisfy the need to bathe the children, and the master bathroom could be used by adults for showers.
We had no tub at all in our house in California. Two full baths and one half bath but only showers. Both showers were very nice and pretty new. We sold our house to the third person who looked at it for the full asking price. According to our realtor, not one person who looked at the house (potential buyers plus other realtors) mentioned the lack of a tub.
Somewhere I read a survey that even though adults (perhaps women more than men) like the idea of a deep soak in a luxurious bathtub, people rarely actually have such baths. (Perhaps that’s because no one wants to have to clean the tub after such a bath.)
Besides, if you really insist on a luxurious tub, you could remodel to add one.
In my opinion, people are 50/50 on tubs. I like having a tub and use mine a lot. I have friends who shrivel and die at the thought of “sitting in one’s own filth” in a tub.
As a selling point I don’t think you will lose many prospective buyers if you have a luxury shower without a tub, and there is a kid/dog/penguin-washing tub elsewhere in the house.
My parents’ house has a master bathroom that is a sink and a toilet. My house has but one bathroom altogether. People looking for a luxury tub in their en suite should know that that will be something they have to compromise on.
I’d rather have a tub, but whatever. My home now doesn’t even have a master bathroom! As far as resale goes, it’s probably going to turn more people off than it is turn them on, but again, whatever. You’ll lose potential buyers for all sorts of things. It’s your house, do whatever is going to make you happy.
Who cleans a tub after every bath and why? Why wouldn’t you just wait for the normal all-over bathroom scrub you normally do?
I take baths often, up to once a week normally. Every day while I am sick. I’ve lived without a tub, sure. But if I am going to plonk down money on a house my personal bathroom is darn well going to have a tub to start with.
we remodeled our bathroom a few years ago and put in a fantastic shower (with steam function). We also added a large soaking bath. We’ve been the bath exactly one time, to try it out. On the other hand, we have the option of our hot tub, which we use frequently. So, plenty of chances for hot soaking.
