bathtubs

I have a buyer right now who turned down an otherwise suitable apartment because there is no tub. The shower is incredible--it imitates a rain shower, has some kind of fancy auto-temp control, amazing.

He told me rarely soaks in a tub, but when he wants a tub, he wants one.

I live in a house with three bathrooms. We took out a tub in the master bath and put in a fab shower, and we like it. When we renovate the bathroom with a tub, however, I am putting in a fabulous tub.

With an eye on resale, I personally would not remove a tub and put in a shower again. A tub is like a fireplace--most people rarely use it, but they want to know it's there, and they will pay for it or will choose a different property because of it.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

An apartment with 3 bathrooms is likely to have a family. When the kids are small they take baths. For resale value I'd make sure the bathroom that any kids would be using had a tub.

also, i'm a mom and i want the master bath to have a tub. there are some nights, luckily few, when i want to soak in peace while everyone else sleeps.

so if I did 2 with bathtubs and then 1 with a shower should that work?
thanks

women really enjoy tubs for auto-erotic pursuits so if you sell to a single gal over 30, she'll want a tub

qwerty is the resident SE -- what's the opposite of 'expert'? -- on tubs

Ask him about grout.

"women really enjoy tubs for auto-erotic pursuits so if you sell to a single gal over 30, she'll want a tub"

Some guys (like myself) like to soak in them too.

Also, tubs are handy for bathing pets and washing large objects.

There are also those times if you get sunburned or have some other kind of skin issue where the only relief you can get is from soaking in a tub.

one more thing to clean. for moi couldn't care less about the tubs - but your tub:shower ratio is fine. the tub idea is like a singles ad "love walks on the beach." don't believe everyone is soaking in tub every night. yes for the babies and the kiddoes i get why you need one - but you'll have one. convo over.

Sometimes a book, a glass of wine, and a long soak are the only things that keep one sane. Also nice to warm up in on cold winter days. I have once refused to rent an apartment because there was no tub, only a fabulous shower. My spouse was *not* happy that we took the crummier apartment with the tub over the renovated one with no tub.

"I have a buyer right now who turned down an otherwise suitable apartment because there is no tub. The shower is incredible--it imitates a rain shower, has some kind of fancy auto-temp control, amazing.

He told me rarely soaks in a tub, but when he wants a tub, he wants one."

While i agree this is an issue, generally speaking it is solved by having ONE tub in the apartment (with the possible exception of having that one tub be some huge sensual thing in teh master BR which is totally unsuitable for bathing kids). So I pretty much agree with MeMe on this that as long as there is a tub suitable for kid's baths in the unit, you don't really need more.

interesting. I had to have a shower. only one who uses the tub is 40 pounds with white fur.

romary, how dismissive. we are talking about potential resale here. i agree that many people will be perfectly satisfied with one tub. many others in this sized apartment won't. if you won't be selling ever, do what you will. if you will be selling sometime in the future, you might want to think about it.

and 30 yrs, i don't think i'd want to be running the tub across from the other rooms in the middle of the night. as you said earlier, a 1.5 bath situation is a dealbreaker to many. i'd be perfectly happy with 1.5, as long as the tub was in the master. i can bring the kids into the master to bathe. but, even according to you, others don't agree. people seem to have very definite opinions about bathrooms that don't seem to be entirely based on usage.

30yr. makes a good point. Consideration to your "potential" buyer down the road is almost as important to your own needs.

Got to agree with MeMe, I bought a house with 2 tubs, could not think why we would need a one downstairs. Until junior turned 1 year old, now it's absolutly invaluable.

I would probably do 2 tubs and a shower. Don't get me wrong, I think one tub would be sufficient, but it is also true that some people are REALLY funny about tubs--as though it's not really a bathroom unless it has a tub, despite the fact that it may be a HUGE waste of space.

I have 2 bathrooms, and I turned my 2nd tub into a shower, so as to place a w/d combo. I can't imagine this hurting the resale potential.

"i'd be perfectly happy with 1.5, as long as the tub was in the master."

A funny thing about this: my personal preference would also be this, but it's surprising how many Art Deco buildings have 2 full baths, one with a tub and one with a shower, and the one with the shower is the one suited (?sp?)to the master bedroom.

"i don't think i'd want to be running the tub across from the other rooms in the middle of the night."

You lost me with this one?

"there are some nights, luckily few, when i want to soak in peace while everyone else sleeps."

Aboutready takes baths at night, hence the desire for a bath in the master BR. I have to agree. Not a mom, but I've shared tubs with kids before in life and for the kind of money we're talking here, I would want a tub for my use.

Unless you are planning to sell soon, why worry so much about resale. If this shower brings you enjoyment go for it. If it becomes such a big deal when you are planning to sell, it is an easy change, maybe $5-10k.

Love tubs. Enough said

I am in the midst of a similar debate with my spouse and builder for a second home now under construction. Upstairs is two masters, one with separate tub and shower and one with shower only, and two more bedrooms that share a bath. The builder and architect want shower only in the shared bath because it greatly improves the layout. For resale/future children, I am thinking tub. Is a tub in the master bedroom good enough? Would you sacrifice aesthetics for a second tub?

you guys are making me excited to take a bath in my new apartment with tub

In a New York City apartment, you do what you have to do to preserve space, but I certainly wouldn't put a shower in a second home (which I am taking to mean a house) in a Jack-and-Jill bathroom if a tub was possible. Children under the age of -- what? seven? aren't going to take showers, and the whole point of that Jack-and-Jill is to attract people with at least two kids.

Also, leaving aside the Penthouse letters fantasies about women, most women in this country shave their legs regularly, and it's tough to do in the shower.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

frontporch - agree about the tub in the house, but, for women with shower- just put in a small seat or bench - works very well (a friend even put in one that flips up to keep it out of the way when not needed)

FP, PH41 et al. We've renovated quite a few showers now, and the best configuration is a shower with bench and built-in soap/shampoo bottle niche in the wall. If there's space in the masterbath, I like the glass, tiled shower with bench, adjacent to a tub. To avoid having to scrub the tub so much, having a hand-held option for the tub in addition to the wall spout is ideal.

and don't forget the clean the showerheads...

Thanks Ali. It is a house. The bathroom is not a jack-and-jill (I deeply despise those), but in the hall joining the two bedrooms. I am going to ask the architect to sketch some plans so we can see the options for fitting a tub. Might need to move a wall or two.