# Remodeling master bath: leave tub/shower combo, or go shower only? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195 "2012-01-11T19:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/21 "2012-01-12T19:45:17Z")
Our current house, and the townhouse we had just before, both have separate shower and tub in the master bathroom. Best of both worlds - most days, we just shower and in fact it can be _months_ between tub baths - but that comes at a significant cost in space and you don’t have room for that in your bathroom. I think the trend these days, especially in master baths, is BIGGER IS BETTER. Since you don’t really have room for a shower and a separate tub, I’d personally go for the bigger shower stall. Our current place has a shower stall that’s actually big enough to have a little elbow room. The one at the previous place was certainly adequate but not as nice. Does the second bathroom have a _good_ tub, size-wise? One thing we gave up when we moved: the tub in the second bath is smaller than normal, as in neither of my kids (teenagers) would really be able to soak in it. As far as I know, neither of them has ever tried it. If either needed to, they could use the big tub in the master bath. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/22 "2012-01-12T23:29:59Z")
I’m going to be the contrarian. Bathrooms need baths. I dislike showers and like to soak in a bath. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/23 "2012-01-12T23:37:55Z")
My in-laws have an odd setup in their guest bedroom’s bathroom. It is shower-only – but the shower is exactly the length and width of a standard tub. Being in it is almost exactly like being in a standard bathtub& shower, but only three inches deep. Its has a seat in the far corner. This just seems odd to me. I like a shower-only, but if I had one, I’d want it five or six feet square so I have lots of elbow room. This setup is as cramped as a standand tub. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/24 "2012-01-12T23:41:19Z")
Here in Utah a shower-only bathroom is a 3/4 bath, not a full bath. A tub makes a full bath. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/25 "2012-01-13T00:18:45Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My in-laws have an odd setup in their guest bedroom’s bathroom. It is shower-only – but the shower is exactly the length and width of a standard tub. Being in it is almost exactly like being in a standard bathtub& shower, but only three inches deep. Its has a seat in the far corner. My brother has a shower stall like that in the new bathroom he added a few years ago. In fact, because of the shower curtain, I assumed for a while that there was a bathtub there, until I happened to open it one day. I would prefer a shower stall that’s more or less a square (at least three feet on each side). ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/26 "2012-01-13T01:40:49Z")
I don’t know about the cost, but how about a ‘Roman Tub’ - tiled in box usable as both a tub and a shower? My home has two and we love them. My understanding is that they are a plywood box with a rubber membrane ‘mudded’ in and then tiled. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/27 "2012-01-13T02:25:50Z")
We took out the only tub in our house in CA, resulting in a master bath and guest bath each with shower only, plus a half bath. I worried we might have trouble selling with no tub but had none and the realtor said no one who looked at the house cared. One of the bathrooms was large enough to install a soaker tub if it had been wanted so there is that. But unless people with small children are buying the place I don’t think tubs sell much. Our house here has two tubs. One has never been used in the year we’ve lived here and the other has the cats’ litter box in it. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/28 "2012-01-13T02:59:18Z")
I have three full bathrooms at my house. Two have a bathtub/shower combination. The master bathroom has a large open area for the shower (half enclosed with glass block, half open to the rest of the bathroom), and a Jacuzzi tub. I’m about to remodel the bathrooms (and kitchen…and game room…and…and…) I’m going to put in a larger Jacuzzi tub so I can properly stretch out…but I’m keeping it separate from the shower. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/29 "2012-01-13T18:25:09Z")
Is the master bathroom on the main floor, by any chance? If so, you might want to consider installing a wheelchair-accessible shower. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/30 "2012-01-13T18:51:29Z")
Shower only is my vote. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/31 "2012-01-13T18:56:47Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Is the master bathroom on the main floor, by any chance? If so, you might want to consider installing a wheelchair-accessible shower. No, it’s upstairs. And our townhome isn’t suitable for someone in a wheelchair. Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/32 "2012-01-13T19:44:34Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > What are the benefits of shower-only? Another one is better accesibility for people with mobility problems - not just the wheelchair-bound. My grandmother recently got her tub removed and now she can shower by herself again; my mother used to prefer baths but she’s got so much trouble getting in and out that she’s switched to showers. While there are other bathrooms in the house, having a shower in the master bath comes in handy if you have someone sick in the master bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/33 "2012-01-14T17:46:17Z")
Shower and tub. Sorry, but I just love to sit in a nice, hot tub on a cold winter night and read a few chapters from a good book. During the week, just getting ready for work, a quick shower is just fine though. Still, if I were a buyer and there was no bathtub, that would be a deal-killer. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/34 "2012-01-14T23:42:25Z")
Count me as a Shower Only option. But you have to make the shower worth it. In other words make it as luxurious as possible. We have a separate bath and shower. I’ve only used the tub twice since I’ve lived here. What I mostly love my huge shower. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/35 "2012-01-15T00:12:16Z")
1. They’re awesome. 2. No 3. Definitely. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/36 "2012-01-15T00:33:03Z")
We have two bathrooms (which is, IMHO, the secret to a happy marriage). The wife’s is shower-only; mine is tub and shower. We bought this place new more than eight years ago and could have opted for both bathrooms to be shower-only. I somewhat regret we did not. We’re thinking of taking the tub out and converting mine to shower-only. Unless you’re really into taking baths per se, which I’m not, then I’d say always choose no tub. Just seems worthless to step in and out of a tub when a nice, big shower area is so much more accommodating. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195/37 "2012-01-15T06:00:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m watching this thread with interest - we’re putting in a spa room in the basement, and we’re trying to decide if we need just a soaker tub, or if there needs to be a shower there, too. … This is kind of a polar opposite to the OP. If I wanted a spa room, I would absolutely have a big hot tub and a liquor cabinet and a fridge for beer. I think the only reason you would want a shower in it would be if it would relieve bathroom congestion as you and Jimbo get ready to head out for work in the morning. Otherwise, put in a big fridge for treats. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remodeling-master-bath-leave-tub-shower-combo-or-go-shower-only/609195.md?page=1)