Jim The Bathroom Guy

This is the age-old question we get being a bathroom renovator is Does having a bath affect the resale of your home? also, we get asked Will not having a bath affect the value of my home when it comes to selling? which is pretty much the same question.

Let me Jimmy give you the breakdown on this old bathroom question of the last 20 years to help you make this important decision. We will cover every single part of the to bath or to not install a bath question and give you practical answers that tell you my honest opinion on the matter of whether you should have a bathtub in your next bathroom renovation.

Does having a bathtub affect home value?

Let’s go with the obvious answer to does having a bathtub increase the value of the home?

The short answer is yes, any home that has the ability to have both a bath and a shower is always going to be more appealing as it does give you options but also indicates you are most likely have two bathrooms or a bit of space in the house.

I personally think a stand-alone bathtub adds value to the home but not a shower bath in my opinion.

Why should I have a bathtub in my bathroom?

When it comes to why you should have a bathtub in your bathroom the honest answer is some people love bathtubs. There are two main reasons you should have a bath and we cover them below.

Kids– They are great for bathing younger children and are almost a necessity if you have kids. It probably is the number one reason why anyone would have a bathtub in their home.

My Wife – If you are like my wife having a nice long soak with a glass of wine after a tough day at work can be the greatest feeling ever, a bath provides that little bit of luxury in our day-to-day world that can appeal to all sorts of adults looking for a more relaxing time.

Why you should not have a bath in your bathroom?

Two main reasons for someone not having a bath in their bathroom for me come down to these two key points below.

Space – If you do not have enough room to have a bath in your bathroom then do not have one. If you try to fit the bath in a small bathroom that does not go it can look and actually be cramped which you do not want.

Will You Use It– Baths use a lot of water and often require you to lift your legs high so if you have mobility issues or you don’t like waiting for a bath to fill then do not have it.

Are bathtubs going out of style for bathroom renovations?

When it comes to bathtubs there are two big trends that are taking place when it comes to bath-in-bathroom renovations. The first is if you are putting a bath in your bathroom it is not going to be the traditional bricked or drop-in baths like the image below.

It is all freestanding baths going into bathrooms even small bathrooms are installing the freestanding or back-to-wall baths. The reason being is that I always say that adults buy homes, not kids.

An adult can use a freestanding bath due to its deepness, bricked baths often can’t be used by the average adult as your knees are in your face. The freestanding bath is much more appealing and sells a dream for new buyers. Even showers over baths are going freestanding, check out the next question for a full breakdown on that though.

The second trend is if you do not have the room that bath is going.

If you have a small bathroom say under 2.2m Wide the bath is being replaced with a big walk-in shower and a large vanity. Owners would rather have a big shower and vanity than try a shower over a bath or a cramped set-up where nothing is large in the space and is just more depressing.

You want to have a wow when you see that new bathroom, not that feeling of WOW they really tried to fit too much in this space.

The right type of shower over bath for small bathrooms.

Over five years ago you were not able to really do the freestanding shower bath set up due to the products around and the finish of the freestanding baths. Often when having a shower over a bath you were stuck with the low bricked bath that did not always give an adult the best user experience. When in comes to the freestanding shower bath which we will give you the pros and cons of this ever-growing trend. Click the image below or HERE for the full article.

Finally, do I need a bath in my bathroom?

Hopefully, after everything we have covered above you had made your decision but if you need a few more bits of advice I am here to help. Do you need a bath in your bathroom?

No you do not need a bath in your bathroom I have renovated for almost 20 years and often I am taking a bath out or I am adding one so what that should tell you is when you renovate you never know what the next person will want.

I am a big believer that when you renovate you should renovate for your needs and not the needs of what a person in the future may or may not want you do not know how long you will be there so why live with something you do not want?

If you have the space to have a bath and a separate shower then have a bath, if you have 4 kids and need storage then my advice gets rid of the bath that’s used occasionally and put that larger vanity or vanity with a tall boy in as it will be life-changing.

Real estate agents will tell you that it effect resale value and people want baths that will affect resale value, what I will tell you is people will buy a home if they want one and call me in to renovate the space to add a bath if they really wanted it, the new thinking of renovating as opposed to years ago is that it is all possible and not a barrier, especially for what homes cost these days.

In conclusion, have a bath if you want one but don’t feel pressured to have one for resale they don’t always add value to a home so if you won’t use it and you would rather use that space for something else then go ahead.

It is your home and I have yet to meet a client who did not buy a home because it did not have a bath, they get me in to add that bath to the space or at least get me in to see if it can be done at that stage they have already purchased it so that should tell you something.

So lastly does having a bath effect resale value? not really but be confident in what you want for your bathroom and base the decision on that

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