Anyone with children under six years old will need a tub. Unless you're in a over-55 community it is still not advisable to remove the only tub in your house unless you're comfortable with losing all potential buyers with young children when you go to sell your house. That doesn't mean you can't find a buyer, it just means the pool of interested buyers will be smaller. Some adults also enjoy a bath from time to time. 30" X 60" is the average size of an alcove tub.

I would much prefer a spacious shower, and a rainfall showerhead gets extra points. i personally do not like wands alrhough I know some people find them useful when cleaning the shower. When adding to my last home I had a costly Kohler jacuzzi tub installed because I thought I had to have one (I had a regular tub downstairs), and I never used it. My current home came with a jacuzzi and again, never use it. Build for yourself and don’t worry about resale. There are plenty of people who either don’t like bathtubs, or if they like your home will put one in themselves.

You are just as likely to attract home buyers with a great walk in shower as there is a very small window when people feel they need a tub for children. And many people buying homes don't have toddlers who need a bath tub.

So your market might actually be larger because of people who aren't interested in a home with a crappy tub/shower.

If you have the money to remodel a bathroom do it so that it meets your needs functionally and is your taste rather than worrying about a mythical purchaser sometime in the future.

ETA - If you have never used a rain shower head you might try it out before committing because for many people it isn't the best showering experience as typically one doesn't have water running on one's head throughout a shower.

It is viewed as a luxury feature but might not be your ideal in terms of how you shower and of course one can have a rain head shower head AND a regular shower if one puts divertors in. My shower has a three way diverter as I have two hand held shower heads as I have one hand held at the end of my shower that has a built in bench.

Also a hand held shower head is extremely desirable and not just for cleaning the shower although it is of course very difficult to clean a shower - especially a larger shower without one. It is also helpful for cleaning and rinsing your body because otherwise it is pretty tedious to attempt to rinse and wash with only a washcloth. A wand is just a style as they have round hand held shower heads but the wands aesthetically are a bit sleeker.

When I had my old crappy tub/shower combo before I remodeled I installed one of those aftermarket shower hoses which operated as a regular shower head when they were on their hook or as a hand held when I took it off the hook.

L P the wand is also great for washing the dog, or if you just need to get just your hair wet.

Helen had used a couple rainfall heads and it definitely is a better experience with more pressure. By wand I meant that second removable showerhead, used the wrong word, will update original post. We currently have a removable showerhead and I would never go back to a fixed one either.

We removed a Jacuzzi tub which we never used and replaced with a walk-in shower with bench seating and a grab bar. It's just the two of us and we were planning ahead so to speak. So, two showers and no tub for us.

Would you consider your home a starter home? If so, young couples with children are mostly buying a starter home. I would leave a tub. I have a 3 bd 4 ba (not a starter home) with 3 ensuites and a pool bath, the only tub is a freestanding one in the master. Its custom and I built according to my needs. I dont care what a buyer wants in 20 years.

M Riz House was originally built for a retired couple. Second owners had 3 small children living there before they foreclosed on it. We are the third owners, no plans for children. The school district is not great, one of the lowest ranking in the county. I think realistically, it's a couples homes and maybe one child. The 3rd "bedroom" is only 8x9', which is just barely a legal bedroom. We do not plan to live here forever, but also are not actively looking to move soon.

Maybe adding an ensuite bathroom/second bathroom into that unusable bedroom would be a better use of your money.

If youre planning to stay for a while and are ok with maaaaybe losing a bit of value or taking a bit longer to sell id say do it. Im not one to worry about what other people like. If im putting the time into remodeling my home, its going to be what I want. Many will disagree but I think its up to you and how you want to live. If you have your eyes on moving fairly soon (~5? yrs) then think about if its worth losing value or your time.

There's no need to choose between rainfall and hand-held. But both in. You can do it in a "linked" system where you flip a switch to choose between, or you can have separate faucets for each head. Then you get the best of both worlds. Bonus is installing the handheld on a vertical rail that lets you adjust the handheld height, and doubles as a grab bar.

Depends on what people want - when my kids were babies and we were buying our forever house (17 years ago lol) I bypassed many houses on the market with spa showers/no tubs bc I needed a tub for the kids. I am renovating that bath now and am keeping the tub/shower combo bc we live in a neighborhood known for it's amazing elementary school so I imagine future buyers (when I am dead and the house goes up for sale bc I am never leaving it) will also want/need a tub - but most importantly I am really hoping for grandbabies at some point to come and stay with me, and bath time is the best time! ❤

Plenty of adults like baths, too. No, let me rephrase that -- plenty of adults LOVE baths. If you're thinking of selling in the foreseeable future, I'd leave the tub.

Bath lover here. In fact I only have a big antique claw tub in my place, no shower, and thats the way I like it. But it has to be a big iron tub I can sink into and put my feet up - the shallow skimpy plastic ones that lose heat within seconds dont cut it. My second choice would be a large walk in shower so if I otherwise liked the house I wouldnt think twice even if it had no tub.

Question: is there such a thing as a faucet below the shower spigot - that you could use to fill a wash tub or foot bath or whatever? Sorta like a pot filler faucet. I occasionally use my bathtub for that sort of thing.

If you have no plans on moving in the immediate future, then do what you want! Don't design for some fictitious buyer that may be interested in your home some day...

If you find when it is time to sell that you need to put a tub back in because there is not interest, deal with it then.

Good luck!

I have three bathrooms, took out the tubs in all three just got tired of cleaning out unused dusty tubs. We did leave the space and plumbing if future buyers woud like to install a tub. I dont miss the tubs!!!

Our tub is used daily. I would not remove the only tub in the house.

Eh. I need a tub in my house, for my own use. But I think it makes sense to remodel for the way you live, as long as you can afford to swap it back to standard before sale, or offer buyers a discount equal to the cost of the conversion.

I would neither swap it back nor offer a discount. I wouldn’t make an issue of it at all. Home buyers will look for discounts without being prompted. If you sell in the future, do so ”as is“ to someone who will appreciate a beautiful shower!

Realtor here - if there is any chance you’re selling in the near future and/or are in a neighborhood that children might live in, 100% need to keep one tub. As La La said, people with kids or who want to have kids will immediately turn down a house without a tub. It’s a deal breaker. BUT if you won’t be selling anytime soon or your house isn’t in a neighborhood with kids then obviously do what you want.

I agree LP. It's not like not having a tub equates to a roof or HVAC system needing to be replaced.

I'd like a tub for me, even if no kids ever entered this house again. (But they will I am sure, as grandchildren.)

As for rainfall shower heads, I thought I would love one until I tried it. Our shower nozzle I thought for yeeears was hopeless, but it's amazing what one get used to. I prefer it now to anything else.

I do believe in making a home work for its occupiers but I can't get my head around the craze of ripping out bathtubs - I just cannot.

Not just about resale - I think everyone needs access to a tub, somewhere in the house. Sooner or later, we all get the need to soak something, or some part of us.

We are in the process of doing what you are contemplating. removed a 2 person jacuzzi tub that i never wanted in the first place but was talked into it with that ”you have to have a tub” argument. now 20 yrs later were remodeling, took it out in favor of a bigger shower.. putting a rainshower in the ceiling, a showerhead and handheld on one side, and bidy sprays opposite. cant wait til its done!

It’s your house. If i was planning on moving soon, i wouldnt worry about remodeling. we will be tsking our tub out. as fsr as deal breaker-no, its really not. if i liked a hoise but it didnt have a tub-one wpuld assume i could put one in ahould i so desire. much like if i liked a house but it had a tub-i could take it out. i can change anything i want. i’m utterly baffled by the notion of passing on a olace bc it lacked a tub. or it had laminate counters, or not a white kitchen.

Though I understand your needs and current trends, I tend to lean towards keeping the tub. However, having said that — if your tub is small like you say and not too deep, it’s not really an asset, imo. Sure, it’d be good for kids and babies but if you don’t have kids, then make the house you want. We have two crappy builder grade shallow tubs that I’d change out if I cared enough to stay in this home. Never used the worthless things.

I have the same set-up as you - 1700+ sq ft, 3 bed, 1.5 bath. Unfinished basement. I took out our tub and put in a wheelchair accessible shower because I don’t know when (or if) my legs will fail me. I have been walking 30 years longer than a knee surgeon told me I would be, so I always plan for the worst case.

I figure it this way, families can put a temporary portable tub into my big shower when they need one. It even allows kids to splash outside the tub. We actually bought a horse watering trough big enough for an adult to bathe in because hubby bought a euphonium to go along with his trombones and all of these instruments need occasional baths. He can do it outside in the summer or haul the trough into the shower in the winter. As for bathing the dogs, mine are small. I sit on my shower bench and use an upside down storage bin to bring the dog to my height. The dog car seat I got doubles as a tub, which I set on top of the bin. Large dogs, like large children, can shower.

An option for bathing small children that I almost did is to put a very large sink in the bathroom. I was set on the Kohler Brockway utility sink in the bathroom remodel, but my plans did not work out. It would have been a great sink for kids up to toddlers and for hand washing laundry.

Nancy, those are great options for multiple uses - good idea to think outside the box.

"Nancy, those are great options for multiple uses - good idea to think outside the box."

Yes, they are!

Any way to turn your half bath into a full? Two full baths one with walk in shower and one with a tub will sell better than only one full bath tub or no tub to all families.

Based on OP's additional comment regarding the demographics of the neighborhood, I think a great walk in shower would actually be preferred by the majority of potential buyers - although that wouldn't be a reason to get rid of a tub if OP actually wanted a tub.

Many of the homeowners would either not want a tub and prefer a great shower OR would actively be looking for a walk in shower because they had a view to aging in place and a tub/shower combination is not functional for many people with even moderate issues with mobility or balance. In fact even younger people can have operations in which they can't safely or easily get over the edge of a tub in order to shower.

Also tub/shower combinations tend to be more difficult to balance in because the actual floor is smaller and the edges are rounded so you have to be more careful of where you place your feet.

Among the seniors I know almost all of them do not take baths anymore because of issues - even those who used to take baths and miss them. I know of two seniors who were trapped in their bathtubs - one of them had brought a cell phone and was able to call for help but the other was actually trapped for over 24 hours until someone wondered why mail was piling up - luckily she lived in a community where neighbors noticed things and realized that something was wrong since she hadn't told anyone she was leaving.

Yes - there are some people who wouldn't buy a home without a tub but there are a number of people who don't want a tub and might actually be looking for a bath with a great walk in shower and would not purchase one with a tub/shower or at least put a greast shower in the positive column.

Do a search on “portable bathtubs.” You will be amazed.

I removed all the bathtubs and created walk in showers when I bought and renovated my new (to me) house. I don't take baths - and any guests can take a shower or stay at a hotel in they are desirous of a bath. I don't care about resale - I have to live in the house and I want spacious walk-in showers. I don't know how long I will own this house, but living for resale is not the way I want to live.

I have a bath at my house in town and am the only one who uses it. At the cottage, we have only a shower- but it is a beautiful good-sized shower with good water pressure and a warm floor. I don’t think a bathtub is a make/break issue for resale, not like it might have been in the past. Make a beautiful shower that suits you and your needs now.