Bathroom Renovation - Would YOU replace a bath

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alisam

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#317439 15-Oct-2024 15:53

We are planning to renovate (amongst other things) our main bathroom of 34 years. The Englefield acrylic bath, I bet it has been used no more than 20 times (when my significant other broke her wrist). I have never had a bath in it and never a bath since 1984 (overseas).

Unfortunately, all the fittings, bath, vanity and shower are gold and almond ivory. Fashionable in 1990 but no longer. Also, the floor tiling and wall tiling is an orangery colour (not as bad as you may think) with wall paper above listello tiles.

I would like to get rid of the bath but facing strong opposition. We are in our late 60's.

Any thoughts, because we are thinking of selling in a few years time? We would like to downsize. We have tried to sell, but people (overall) see a 90's house with dated decor and make stupid offers.

Not doing renovations is not an option (after 34 years). If necessary, we will stay.

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2degrees

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#3297674 15-Oct-2024 16:02

never a bath since 1984

Do you really even need a bathroom then? ;-)

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alisam

830 posts

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#3297675 15-Oct-2024 16:05

SaltyNZ:

never a bath since 1984

Do you really even need a bathroom then? ;-)

Not sure how you take your comment. Naturally, I have a shower (and yes there is one in the main bathroom and ensuite).

SATTV

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#3297677 15-Oct-2024 16:07

20 years ago we bought a 1966 unit, it was meant to be a five year house, we were there 19 years.

We did do up the bathroom and we did replace the bath and we used it precisly one time.

If you think you are going to be there for a few years, have the bathroom how you want it, ignore the "people with young kids want a bath"

When doing the bathroom, do a wet room, if you become imobile in the coming years it will make life easier.

We are about to remove the bath in our house to do a wet room, my wife has mobility issues so this will give her independance to shower herself without assistance.

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SaltyNZ

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#3297678 15-Oct-2024 16:07

alisam:

Not sure how you take your comment. Naturally, I have a shower (and yes there is one in the main bathroom and ensuite).

Just silliness. I know what you meant. :-)

Personally: if it was me, I would redo the whole lot, but I would put a new bathtub in. If and when you did want to sell it, it's worth more. And new acrylic bath tubs are not very expensive.

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djtOtago

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#3297679 15-Oct-2024 16:10

If it was me and there is enough room to have a bath I would keep the bath. Update it to suit the new décor, but yeh I would keep it.
There are still a lot of people who like a bath, or at least the idea of having a bath, even if they don’t get round to it often. And they are often the same people who will decide if a couple will buy the house or not. 😉

alisam

830 posts

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#3297727 15-Oct-2024 16:16

SaltyNZ:

alisam:

Not sure how you take your comment. Naturally, I have a shower (and yes there is one in the main bathroom and ensuite).

Just silliness. I know what you meant. :-)

Personally: if it was me, I would redo the whole lot, but I would put a new bathtub in. If and when you did want to sell it, it's worth more. And new acrylic bath tubs are not very expensive.

We are doing the whole bathroom from top to bottom. Not sure exactly what yet, but we will get someone in who does bathrooms.

Handle9

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#3297728 15-Oct-2024 16:21

What would the benefit be of getting rid of the bath? If you have an ensuite I'm assuming you shower in there. What will you use the space for if you delete the bath?

If it's a 2 bedroom family house I'd expect a bath when buying. Generally buyers will be families with kids. With young kids you really want a bath, once they move on to showering it's not so important but for 5 or so years it's pretty great to have a bath.

Don't expect renovations to make a big difference to the value of the house. If you get your money back that'd be a good result but often it doesn't work out that way. Your expectations may be too high for the current market.

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lxsw20

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#3297732 15-Oct-2024 16:34

IMO having a bath is an appeal for young families for kids. So if you're looking to sell in a few years then yes i'd put a bath in even if its fairly basic.

alisam

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#3297734 15-Oct-2024 16:39

Handle9:

What would the benefit be of getting rid of the bath? If you have an ensuite I'm assuming you shower in there. What will you use the space for if you delete the bath?

If it's a 2 bedroom family house I'd expect a bath when buying. Generally buyers will be families with kids. With young kids you really want a bath, once they move on to showering it's not so important but for 5 or so years it's pretty great to have a bath.

Don't expect renovations to make a big difference to the value of the house. If you get your money back that'd be a good result but often it doesn't work out that way. Your expectations may be too high for the current market.

His and her bathrooms!!!

kiwi_64

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#3297740 15-Oct-2024 16:49

We've just finished the exercise of renovating three bathrooms in our house. Two originally had baths.

The ensuite originally had a spa bath, but it had rarely been used, so I replaced that with a large walk-in shower.

For the other large bathroom though, I was very keen to leave a bath in there (albeit replaced with new), not because it would be frequently used but because I think it will be more attractive to young family buyers whenever we eventually decide to move out

mattwnz

20164 posts

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#3297791 15-Oct-2024 17:14

A bath is a positive IMO. A 90's house will likely need a lot of work to modernise it and replace old fittings, it may not be worth spending to much on it compared to what you may get for it. Older people may also prefer the 90's look, as I know an older couple that have just purchased a 90's house and it looks dated, but they like it and don't plan on updating it.

Technofreak

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#3297807 15-Oct-2024 17:32

We've just renovated our bathroom and the bath wasn't replaced. Never used it. Space better used with bigger shower bigger vanity etc.

Know of people selling a reasonably new place that never had a bath. Real Estate agent said no bath no problem today.

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rscole86

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#3297809 15-Oct-2024 17:40

Yes, keep it.

Upstairs is our main living area and it gives us good access to lots of water fast. It's got the best flow rate of all the taps on the property.

We can use it for washing anything large, the cat when they inevitably crap on themselves in the carrier going to and from the cattery or the dog when she's needing a good wash.

Downstairs is our laundry, and the previous owner decided to put the laundry tub against the wall, in the corner. The laundry is effectively a small corridor between internal stairs, garage and storage room. So moving the tub, or washing machine which is against the other side of the tub is a non starter. We're right handed here, so using the tub for anything more than just rinsing becomes arduous.

Bias, we have a young child. That said, we had a similar set up at our last property, sans child and dog, and made use of the bath due to a poor laundry design there too.

johno1234

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#3297828 15-Oct-2024 19:17

House will have much better market appeal therefore resale value with a bath and if no bath there’s going to be odd looking dimensions in the bathroom.

Just don’t buy expensive tapware or an expensive bath that weighs a ton. It just needs to look nice.

mattwnz

20164 posts

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#3297835 15-Oct-2024 19:34

Technofreak:

We've just renovated our bathroom and the bath wasn't replaced. Never used it. Space better used with bigger shower bigger vanity etc.

Know of people selling a reasonably new place that never had a bath. Real Estate agent said no bath no problem today.

Anyone buying with kids, not having a bath is a big turn off. My experience with REs is that they tell you what they want you to hear. New family homes I hvae seen, 3-4 bed, two bathrooms, almost always have a bath.

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