You are either a bath person or you are not. No one is in my family. I still haven't used the soaking tub we installed 3 years ago. It was expensive, but really pretty!

No regrets. Much better than the old tiled in jacuzzi tub that was there and was a real space hog.

The soaking tub isn't a waste of space, because I had nothing else that needed that space. The bathroom is pretty large, in a good size house and most people would expect a nice tub in the master bathroom. It will probably help sell the house someday ... did I mention it is really pretty with a tile accent wall behind it!!

debbie, love the visual of the cat-in-the-tub! My shepherd mix would have jumped right in the tub to eat any leftovers!

My wife used to love soaking in a tub. As she aged, she found the water always got cold, and she started letting some out and refilling with hot---and that got tiresome. Plus, short of using a huge heater, getting out into a cool room was not pleasant. I renovated our current bath with a tub(the master only has a shower) two years ago, and installed support bars for safety, I think she has used the tub twice since.

We considered a walk in tub, but the fact a person has to remain in the tub until is almost empties soured her on that option.

As long as there is a tub in another bathroom for kiddie baths and doggies bathing! Baths are bad for women since sitting in water can cause girl trouble. Spent my money on oversized shower and great finished. More and more people are opting for large showers and no tubs in master bathrooms.

I'm a bath person, always was, always will be, I find it helpful for certain health conditions I have, and I use it very frequently.

(we do have a big shower too-which I equally love but sometimes it might be hard for me to use it and I really need a tub. If I didn't have a tub at all, that'd be challenging. To me. Everyone's different.)

Now, it depends what's the tub in question -if it's free standing thing that looks very pretty but hard to get in and out -it'd be a challenge too.

So when I look at master badrooms and suites -yes I'm happy to find there a tub. I don't need whirlpool, and as pretty as a tub might be-I won't be happy with it if hardly accessible. And I won't be happy with just a shower either. Not as an everyday solution, not in this stage of my life.

Bottom line-everyone and his needs and preferences. There are wants, and there are needs. If I had to choose between magnificent shower-and modest shower/tub combo-I'd choose a modest shower/tub combo.

And true, needs might change as one ages and all. Mine require tub even more. That's not always easy to predict and guess, how these needs will change.

Wants are wants..it's easier to work around wants:)

Shoehorned tubs are a waste of money and space both.

We are not bath people. We removed all our tubs and installed step in showers. Three showers. No tubs.

To me, it's all about how the tub is set up - freestanding tubs are a PITA to get in and out of, will cool off quickly, and are hard to clean around. I have a built-in undermounted deep tub and I love it. Particularly in the winter and/or after strenuous sports, and/or after a stressful day. A hot soaking tub, glass of wine, candles, and I am a new person.

As a woman of a certain age, I've soaked in tubs for many decades and have been happily unaware all this time about troubles for women that Flo Mangan mentioned. It must be all in the drying afterwards I guess.

No jetted tub for me. Once had black spiders come shooting out of jets, and will never again sit in a jetted tub.

Edited to add: just did a little research - evidently it's not the baths themselves that might cause problems for women. It's the bath salts, bubbles, scents, drying soaps, and other stuff people put in the bath water that cause problems. Don't use those, and dry thoroughly afterwards, and women will be fine.

We are bath people. We use our current builder-basic tub, and we would enjoy a deeper soaker tub even more (not bigger, just deeper). I have no interest in a jetted tub.

We found that our boys really enjoyed our soaking tub, since it was deep enough to practice their snorkeling. I think I used the tub once or twice, but that was at least 15 years ago. However, I prefer showers to baths, and if we did a complete renovation I might consider converting the area to a more interesting shower space.

Bruce

I’m a tub girl all the way, now that I get my hair done weekly. I showered only out of necessity. I have a nice older tub - porcelain over cast iron. It keeps the water hot. Due to its age, it’s wider at the bottom and a bit deeper than modern tubs. Love it!

I love me a tub. No jets please. Not freestanding unless there is plenty of room. Just a nice, solid tub in an alcove and I am cozy and happy.

We are down to one tub (in kids bath). Used to have 7’ tub in middle of master, and it got cold fast (despite being cast iron). Dream tub (that I would still only use occasionally) would somehow keep water hot. ! Soaking tub, like Japanese soaking tub. Designed for sitting up. Guess it depends how one wants to use it. Its not relaxing to sit in tepid water. Just my random two cents.

I installed a whirlpool tub with jets in my basement bathroom because I thought it would be a nice place to relax. I even had one of those tub heaters put in to maintain the temperature so that I could luxuriate for as long as I wanted.. Here is the truth. I find baths to be incredibly boring. I used it for the first few weeks a bunch of times, but then the novelty wore off and I just found a long bath to be tedious. Now, an 8 minute shower is what I do.

In my previous house, I had two tubs in two different bathrooms. The one in the master bathroom was jetted and that bath also had a small shower. I never used either. Instead, I showered in the other bathroom that had its shower over the tub because the space was bigger than in the little, cramped shower in the master bath. As one ages, it becomes more and more difficult to get out of a tub. In the house where I live now, which has only one bathroom, I just recently had the tub taken out and a nice, big shower put into the space. It has sturdy grab bars. Wonderful!

I like showers so no tub for me.

I replaced our old blue cast iron tub with what I considered a soaking tub. We bought it at Home Depot. The sides are much higher than the old tub and yes it fills up high enough that I can submerge my entire body. It has straight sleek inside walls without that extra lip. We are 50 and even though we have a hot tub outside, we have used it. We both work construction and being able to submerge a shoulder is a plus. Also I didn't feel the sides were too high to be uncomfortable for bathing children. Having a tub is always a plus for selling a home. You don't think of those times when you need that tub until its not there.

I put in a shower/tub in the guest bath, but in the master there's a roll-in shower with no tub. I'm happy. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the times I used a tub to clean up in in the past 30 years.

Your mileage may vary.

I would think you would know what your preferences are WRT a tub. I like taking baths and do so weekly. I despise jetted tubs though.

I would still recommend one tub in a house. You never know when you may be physically unable to use a shower. Another factor is resale, no tub may limit who will want your house.

Here's another thing to think of, one day my washer died mid-cycle with a heavy full load. It was much easier to rinse the clothes in the (cleaned) tub than doing each item individually in the sink. Anyone else have a creative use for their tub?

I can take a tub or leave it. Since I have one I like to take bubble baths and use bath bombs but only in the winter. Way too hot to sit in hot water and soak in the summer. If my next house does not have one, I'm fine with that as well.

Raye, I soak my oven racks in the tub filled with vinegar and baking soda. They come out looking brand new.

Hilarious!!

Like debbie1000, we replaced a jetted tub with a regular soaking tub. Our oldest cat (19!) occasionally hops in to sun himself.

Our MB is the feature that sold me on this house. The tub is under south & west facing windows, we added radiant heating when we remodeled, we have a separate 3' x 4' shower... I love it. I came to this house not having had more than a couple luxurious soaking baths in 30 years. I am committed to the tub! If you have the space, and the space is pleasant and inviting for baths, go for it!

@Raye Smith - Actually when you have difficulties with balance or movement, you are gong to need a shower with a low curb or curbless and not a bath. Getting into and over a bath becomes increasingly difficult and dangerous as one ages. And even when one is younger, one can have an injury or operation that make it difficult to step into a bath and/or get up from the bath.

Many places in retirement communities are built without bath tubs but with great showers and many people who are thinking of aging in place replace the bath tub with a really great shower - especially true if the original was a tub/shower combination.

When I had an operation, I was forced to use the tiny stall shower in my guest bath because I couldn't safely get over the edge of the tub getting in and out. I am currently remodeling and replaced the tub/shower combination with a larger shower with a low curb and a nice bench at one end.

There are many kinds of disabilities and a bathtub can be a solution for some of them. I was thinking of more than balance and movement issues.

@Raye - You wrote one would be physically unable to take a shower. That is never going to be true whereas it is likely one would be physically unable to take a bath safely or easily if infirm.

That some people might like to soak in a tub if they have sore muscles or to relax is different.

However, many of the seniors I know who used to enjoy taking baths were unable to do so - that's the reason why walk in tubs exist for those who simply must have a bath.

If one has room for a separate nice shower and tub, go for it. However, many people are remodeling master baths to remove the dinky small showers or tub/shower combos. If you never take a bath, there really is no reason not to create the best shower experience one can and forego the tub since there will never come a time when a shower person can't use the shower.

Even in assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities there are showers rather than baths. If an elderly person is unable to shower themselves without assistance, they sit on a bench inside the shower and their attendant uses the hand held shower attachment in order to wash them. There is simply no way for most elderly people to sit on the floor of a bathtub and get up and down.

Maybe there are different types of balance issues I am unaware of... but the ones I can think of can be mitigated better in a shower with some sort of appropriate bench (and grab bars).

I'm with raye here, I have only my personal experience to vouch for it, and no, I'm not a senior if it matters.

"never going to be true" has a word "never" in it..never say "never"

obviously if one is in a wheelchair then it's easier for a caretaker to use a shower to help a person to bathe,

I hope though to prolong my days as a somebody who's not in a wheelchair..so I find having a bath helpful, to that extent. Very helpful.

On regular days, I can take shower or bath (yes the shower is big, has a big bench etc. the bath is also built in such a way it's the easiest way for me to use it. not every bathtub would work as great)

on worse days, it must be a bath. I can't handle the shower.

on some very bad days I'd skip either.

just believe me here. Obviously it's a sensitive topic, and all..helps when others believe you.

We like what we like. No tubs in our house. Large pool right outside the lanai, I soak in that, and the freedom of movement, to stretch and contract sore muscles, is a great way to heal. Bottom line, if you like it, use it.

Same here. No tubs in house. Had them all removed. Great large curbless showers though. And pool right outside.

thank you everyone for your opinion! In our design we would have both a large curbless walk-in shower and a soaking tub, which I think is many of the concerns that it would be one of the other. I'm about 95% sure we're going to get a soaking tub :-) thank you!

Happy for you. I love my big tub.^^^^

“We re-did our design to squeeze in a walk in shower and a soaking tub”

Post your actual layout. Squeezing anything that does not fit should be avoided.

I purchased a standard size tub to replace our old blue cast iron tub. It was much deeper than old tub. I like it very much except for one thing. The nonslip surface I would NOT get. It is terrible to clean. Even softscrub with bleach won't get the stain out.

R.O.G. cleaner works really well on those non-skid tub surfaces.

All houses need a tub for families with babies and little kids. If you never plan to sell then I guess you'll be okay. You are just leaving an issue for whoever inherits your home.