Bathroom remodel- no tub? Resale value?

[kellia]

Dh's grandma wants us to remodel her bathroom. She has some major plumbing issues in her shower, so wants us to re-do it while we're at it. She has your average 1960's ranch with 1 main bath upstairs and 1/2 bath in basement. I think that we should put just a large shower stall in the bathroom so she can get in and out easier. But, grandma and dh don't want to do that for resale value. It won't be sold until she's gone, which I hope is a few more years! We were also thinking of doing one of the fiberglass inserts instead of tile so it would be easier to clean. Is that okay?

What do you think? Would you buy a house that didn't have an actual bath tub? Ours hasn't been used since the kids turned 4 or so.

Also, she has a 5 foot long bathroom counter top with 2 sinks. I'd like to get rid of one of the sinks so there is more counter top. Is the 2 sinks a "plus"?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Sugar Jones]

Personally for me I wouldn't care about not having a tub or dual sinks, but from watching many episodes of House Hunters I have to say it might be an issue when reselling. I can't believe how many people comment about there not being double sinks!

 

[powellrj]

We are at that place with my parents. My mom needs a walk-in shower, but they only have the one bathroom in the house. We found that Home Depot sells a door you can have installed so you can walk in and out of your tub. Dad and I think its a great idea, mom is still thinking about it.

We only have one sink, but I agree, after all the House Hunter shows, you should keep the 2 sinks!

 

[teCh0010]

Dh's grandma wants us to remodel her bathroom. She has some major plumbing issues in her shower, so wants us to re-do it while we're at it. She has your average 1960's ranch with 1 main bath upstairs and 1/2 bath in basement. I think that we should put just a large shower stall in the bathroom so she can get in and out easier. But, grandma and dh don't want to do that for resale value. It won't be sold until she's gone, which I hope is a few more years! We were also thinking of doing one of the fiberglass inserts instead of tile so it would be easier to clean. Is that okay?

What do you think? Would you buy a house that didn't have an actual bath tub? Ours hasn't been used since the kids turned 4 or so.

Also, she has a 5 foot long bathroom counter top with 2 sinks. I'd like to get rid of one of the sinks so there is more counter top. Is the 2 sinks a "plus"?

Thanks for any advice!

Make sure you can get a fiberglass insert in there, they had to frame our upstairs bathroom around the insert.

I think places like re-bath or bathfitters will cut you current tub wall down and install an overlay over it and the tile and glass doors. It looks pretty good, then you could have a new tub put in later for resale.

 

[Dacky619]

I agree with the PPs. In general it will be better for resale to have a tub and 2 sinks. If the house had 3+ bathrooms it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but if this is the only full bathroom, keep the tub and the extra sink.

 

[kamik86]

I think it would hurt the chances of resale since anyone that has small children or plans to have children in the future would want a bath tub in the house. Also some like to have one anyone, my dad likes to just soak in the bathtub sometimes.

 

[kermit116]

I agree that it could hurt resale value. I don't really care if there's a tub, but I agree with a PP that there are TONS of people on HGTV shows that complain of there isn't a tub.

 

[js]

My mother did this about 2 years ago. She took out the tub in the master bathroom but left it in the 2nd bathroom.

Why the heck would your dh's grandmother care about resale and not putting the shower in for her safety and comfort of getting in/out. Does SHE plan on selling soon? I can understand she wants everyone to get as much money they can after she is gone but if she is staying in the house, she should do what is best for her.

Good luck.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would stick with a tub since the house only has one bath. As for resale a bath with a tub has a better chance of selling then one without. But if Grandma will be staying in the house for awhile and chances are that her mobility at some point will limit her ability to get into and out of the tub I would go for the walk in tub. Which would also increase the resale value of the house. A ranch style house with a walk in tub would be attactive to older buyers or someone with a disability.
In the end you are planning for Grandma future needs and increasing the possibility of the resale of the home.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

I do think that having 2 sinks AND a tub would be better for resale value. BUT having said that, I think she needs to have something that is going to be safe and easier for her to get in and out of. Tubs can be hard to get out of sometimes, especially for elderly or disabled people, so I think she needs to consider what is best for her.

 

[java]

I vote keep the tub and the 2 sinks.

What is getting popular are those walk out tubs- basically a tub with a door to open to get in and out of. What I don't understand is - when you are done with your bath- you have to sit there and let all the water out until you can step out of the tub? So you are basically sitting there while the water drains dripping wet and cold. I don't see the draw to these? But maybe I don't understand how they work. Plus it seems like a water disaster waiting to happen.

If there was another bathroom with a tub I would say then you don't need a second tub- but since it's the only one I say you should keep it. (and I HATE my mom's fiberglass shower)

 

[kellia]

Why the heck would your dh's grandmother care about resale and not putting the shower in for her safety and comfort of getting in/out. Does SHE plan on selling soon? I can understand she wants everyone to get as much money they can after she is gone but if she is staying in the house, she should do what is best for her.

Good luck.

LOL, nope, she's made it quite clear she isn't leaving there until she dies! She's 85 and not in the best health, so she's convinced she won't be around much longer. She said she wants us to start fixing it up now so we won't have to do it after she dies in order to sell the house. I certainly don't want to think of it that way, I'd like to do what modificiations she can use and will like, we aren't concerned with getting money for it. We've done lots of updates to her house over the years, she hates asking for help but I just couldn't let her live in green shag carpeting and panelled walls any more! The bathroom is the one room we haven't tackled yet.

Wow, I never thought the 2 sinks was a big deal. We had that growing up, and I don't think we ever used both of them at the same time. I've never missed only having one! I'd prefer extra counter space. Glad I asked about that one, guess we'll stick with that after getting a new cabinet and top.

I'll look for one of those tubs with the door, hadn't seen those. Thanks!

 

[cluvsdisney]

Personally for me I wouldn't care about not having a tub or dual sinks, but from watching many episodes of House Hunters I have to say it might be an issue when reselling. I can't believe how many people comment about there not being double sinks!

Right?? That kills me. The last place I want to be rubbing elbows with DH is while I am brushing my teeth.

I agree about the tub for resale value but you can always put one back in later. I think it's better (read:safer) for her to have a walk in shower, maybe with a bench on one end so she can shower safely.

 

[shamrock30]

We are at that place with my parents. My mom needs a walk-in shower, but they only have the one bathroom in the house. We found that Home Depot sells a door you can have installed so you can walk in and out of your tub. Dad and I think its a great idea, mom is still thinking about it.

I never heard of this before. I assume it wouldn't work with a claw foot tub?

 

[friend2Figment]

I know that when I have done volunteer work with Rebuilding Together(helps improve safety so elderly and handicap can stay in there home) they used Re-bath and as long as she does not have a cast iron tub they can cut part out creating a easy access with a "slip" over the original tub. If there is a Re-bath in your area you could ask how easy it is to convert back to the tub if you were to have them create the step through.

I would think her safety is most important.

As far as a shower or tub being a deal breaker, if I walked into a bath and it was redone with a really nice shower and no tub would not be a deal breaker.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I agree with the other posters who said keep the tub. I too have watched far too many House Hunters episodes where people get very worked up over a house with no tub. LOL

 

[ceecee]

She should be thinking about her comfort not resale. If she can't get into a tub/shower that is something she needs to address. As for resale, a tub and 2 sinks. But again, for her comfort it may not work for her. If it's a second bath and there is a tub in another, a shower would be okay for resale. I personally don't like the inserts and again if you're looking for resale that isn't the way to go. We had one and it was easy to clean, not easier but easy enough.

 

[luvmy3]

I think a full tub is a must for re-sale since its the only full bath,however I think her safety should be a priority when picking out what to have put in. I think those walk in tubs are hideous looking, but if I was buying a house, I could overlook it because replacing with a regular one would be easy.
I couldn't care less about double sinks and would prefer more counter. I don't share my bathroom time with others though

 

[Maggie Lizer]

She should be thinking about her comfort not resale. If she can't get into a tub/shower that is something she needs to address. As for resale, a tub and 2 sinks. But again, for her comfort it may not work for her. If it's a second bath and there is a tub in another, a shower would be okay for resale. I personally don't like the inserts and again if you're looking for resale that isn't the way to go. We had one and it was easy to clean, not easier but easy enough.

I am glad someone else said what I was thinking! I would not make a change solely for the resale given that she will be living in the house for a while (God willing) before you will be putting it on the market. I'd do the shower stall b/c it is easy for her. If you have to replace it with a tub 5 or 10 (or more) years down the road, who cares?

Oh, and those walk-in tubs are very expensive from what I hear. My elderly grandmother considered one when she remodeled her bathroom two years ago and just found it to be cost-prohibitive.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

I personally would not buy a house that didn't have double sinks in the master bath (or space to remodel for double sinks). My DH and I get ready for work at the same time so we get a lot of use out of ours. I would not care about the bathtub and actually one of the big selling points of the house we bought a few years ago was the walk in shower - no shower curtain to deal with getting stuck to your body or having to constantly clean! But, everyone is different.

In your area, would a bathroom that does not have a tub still be considered a full bath? It may be considered 3/4 bath and that could affect the appraisal value.

Have you seen these?
http://premiercarebathing.com/walk-in-baths/?gclid=CLbC59Hm5q4CFcHJKgodhxOshw

http://www.bathingsolutions.com/rn5-walkin-tubshower.html

I'd love one of these no matter what my age. A can't recall how many times I've banged my toe on the side of the tub getting out of the shower at our old house. But that could be because I'm not a morning person and still slightly asleep when I get into the shower. lol