Adding a master bath where one did not exist will increase the value and appeal with or without a tub. Where I live a larger shower is preferred over a rarely used tub in masters. A hall tub is all buyers seem to want for the most part here. Maybe ask a realtor.

One tub in the house is fine and it need not be in the master.

I am surprised to read you thinking about resale. While I find your kitchen project really cool and I love seeing the progress, it is nothing that I think a buyer would want. I asssumed this is your forever home and the next person will tear it out.

As long as there is another bathtub in the house you should be fine.

One tub per house is a minimum, but more than that is not really required. Make your dream master bedroom and bathroom. You’re adding a functional bathroom- that adds value.

Agree a local realtor or two should be asked, but your historic home having more than 1.5 baths is a bonus. An old house lover will buy your house and appreciate the upstairs master.

Thanks!

Kendrah, you are right, it is my forever home. I just figure I should at least know what impact I'm having on house value, just in case it ends up not being my daughter's forever home :-(

The kitchen project, I am not thinking about value impact because the expense isn't that much - looking under $40K. Considering what people spend on kitchen renos in my neighborhood, that's not much. And I'm funding it from monthly cash flow, no debt/savings impact.

The master suite project will cost significantly more (there will be a little roof impact, it is time for a new roof anyway, so it really becomes master suite + new roof) and I may not be able to fund that solely from cash flow (doesn't help that I am considering a metal roof, again the "forever" thing).

If I do shower-only, I am quite confident I won't need to reinforce any structure. If I do tub + shower, I am not so confident. So basically I'm trying to figure out - how much should I be willing to pay to have a tub? Sounds like . . . from a purely value /financial standpoint, not much.

Part of my thinking, by the way, is that if we have a master suite on the third floor, that makes it easier for her (daughter) to rent out a couple bedrooms on the second floor someday, if she needs/wants to, and after we're gone.

Lots of smart considerations John. Unless you and anyone else who will be a forever'er in your family love taking a long bath many times a week, I think you can easily forgo the 3rd floor master tub and make your renovation a lot easier.

I presume when you are thinking of this as your forever home, you are not too concerned about aging in place. 3rd floor can become quite a hike on the aging body.

@John Liu if it helps any, our home is a similarly aged California Craftsman and the master bath we added is shower only. I can't think of any two-bath homes in our neighborhood that have a tub in the master suite (and two have no tub in the house at all, though that's not a route I would choose). Most of these homes only had one bath to start so when the second was added, it had to be cobbled together from available space, which didn't necessarily accommodate a tub.

The very best way I found to decide about things like this, though, was to look at local real estate listings. Many now have 3D walkthroughs and you can see exactly how the home is laid out and compare it to your own, especially if you're in an area with many similar homes.

Hi there artemis!

Kendrah, my theory is that you want to force yourself to walk, bend, lift, carry, go up and down stairs, etc for as long as you possibly can. When you - or I - can’t climb stairs anymore, I won’t be able to handle a house and yard anyway, and it will be time to move to an apartment or condo or assisted living, and let the next generation take over the house.

I just moved my dad from my house to his own apartment five blocks away. Because, 88 y/o and stairs. New building, small top floor unit, elevator, on a lively street with grocery store 600 feet away and dozens of places to eat within a few blocks. He’s happy. When it’s time, I’ll do the same.

It’s kind of moving this a bit off topic, but a small ranch house with a small yard can be a great retirement home. My almost 98 year old mother is still in her house (yes, she has an aide five days a week) because it is all one floor.

My grandparents had a ranch house - it was large but that allowed the live-in aide to have her own room at the other end of the house. My grandfather lived there until he was 99 - although, his great ambition in his later years was to live to 100, so for his 99th birthday we threw a big party and told him he was 100. My grandmother lived there until she was 106, and was still walking all the way to the end. In my city, ranch houses are rare.

Most adults don't take baths.

Therefore there are far more people who would prefer that their masster bath contain a big beautiful shower versus a medicore shower with a tub that is a dust catcher and never used.

When I remodeled I got rid of the tub/shower in my master and installed a beautiful tiled shower to replace it. I love it and did extra stuff to make it especially beautiful and functional for me needs. For example, I installed a bench at one end which has a second hand held shower head which I can use while comfortably sitting there. So relaxing to sit in the steamy atmosphere while I have conditioner on my hair and then be able to rinse it of while sitting.

You have a bathtub that would serve the secondary bedrooms which are presumably for the children.

FWIW I don't think a bathtub is essential in every house becaue not every prospective buyer has young children who need to be bathed. In other words, you can't make blanket statements about what is going to appeal to a potential home buyer. I would actively prefer a home without any baths since no one in my family takes baths.

My mother used the bathtub for storage :=)

A shower only is fine. But for a home like you describe, having the master be on the ground floor is always a a better choice. As is creating an accessible entry into the home that doesn't involve stairs. If there is a way to turn the 1/2 bath into a full bath by adding a shower, that would be the preferred way of creating a potential aging in place home. Even if you have to set up a hospital bed in the dining room, that's going to be preferred over moving to a care facility with a broken leg. Even if you are still very very active now, the specter of being temporarily non able happens. Accessibility is for everyone in every home.

Have you thought about changing the 2nd floor to 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms?

John - I completely agree with your theory regarding bending/lifting/climbing stairs/etc.

My SO's mom is 91 and lives in a split level - so, she has stairs that she walks up and down multiple times/day (kitchen is on middle level with living and dining room - but she uses the family room during the day for reading/watching a movie which is down one level). She even has arthritis in her knees that she's been dealing with for several years - but manages fine. Mentally she is in great shape also - I hope that I make it to 90+ - and be able to move around as well as she does!

This is the house that they raised their five children in + she has many memories of her DH (who passed away in 2014) attached to the house. We always pay attention to how she handles the stairs when we visit (two of his sisters live closer than we do - one of them visits probably every other day).

My nana lived in her home until she was in her late 80s - we moved her due to dementia issues. Before that happened, she not only climbed stairs several times every day - she also mowed her own lawn (small yard in Chicago) with a push mower (no gas motor).

I've thought about the money we're spending to renovate my house - it's a two story. I've read so many comments on Houzz about moving to a one level house (or at least a 1.5 story house with the primary bedroom and bathroom on the main floor). I've hit my 50s - so, not very old yet - but I have thought about "what if" at times. If it was short term walking (stairs) issues - I've thought about how I could live on the first floor or in the walkout basement for several weeks if needed. When/if the time comes that a two story house doesn't make sense for us, I would be interested in a condo downtown vs. a ranch home I think.

What happened, that I’m planning for stairs and aging and Medicare? Where did the years go exactly? Well, here I am, and I guess it’s better than the alternative. Hey, if I stay fit another 15 years, my pass at the local ski resort will be free. That’s motivation!

Minardi, a ground floor master isn’t possible in this house. It’s a ”four square” and that type of layout is tightly packed, not flexible on the ground floor.

catbuilder, I have thought about adding a bathroom on the second floor. It would be a costly project for the benefit.

Dani, if I temporarily couldn’t climb stairs for whatever reason, I’d move into an AirBnB or hotel for the weeks or months required.

My grandmother lived in a Foursquare. In her 80’s, we just closed off the dining room pocket doors to the living room to create a bed room out of the dining. Then we created a shower bath in the old utility porch shed addition across the back. The shed roof addition already had a laundry, utility area with a sink, and a powder room, so tapping into the plumbing to add a shower was not that difficult. It made her last years a lot more doable at home. We also did have to do a ramp to get her up to the front porch, but excursions out became almost non existent in her 90’s.