The bath versus shower debate is a longstanding one among homeowners. While both have numerous benefits, the best way to determine if you want a stand alone shower, or bath shower combination, or any other version of your liking, is to consider your lifestyle and what will benefit your home’s value in the long run.
Most homes have more than one bathroom with a bath or shower. Instead of making one decision for every bathroom in your home, focus on just one room at a time. For smaller bathrooms, you may want to replace tubs with showers or leave one bathtub for young children. The master bathroom is where you will spend the most time and the area where home buyers will focus their greatest attention when looking over your home’s bathrooms.
Resale Value
When considering resale value, you want to have your home appeal to as many buyers as possible. A shower is one feature that’s in-demand. Most people want at least one shower in their new home.
Although it’s not common, if you only have a tub in the master bathroom, you might want to consider adding a shower. A 2013 survey of home buyers found 80% of respondents “needed” three features in a bathroom—a linen closet, an exhaust fan and a tub/shower combination in the master bathroom. Having both a tub and shower was so crucial that 30% of those surveyed would reject a home with only a shower in the master bathroom.
Your home’s size will also determine if removing all the tubs will affect home value. If you live in a studio apartment or a one-bedroom house, replacing the bathtub with a shower improves the space in the bathroom and can increase the home value. However, if you have more than one full bath in your home and take out all the tubs from them, your home can lose value.
If you do replace your tub with a shower, use the extra space to install an extra-large walk-in shower. The additional space in the shower feels more luxurious than a smaller stall, and you have the option of including a shower bench, luxurious shower heads and creating the look and feel of a larger space by enclosing it with frameless glass.
Even if you take out a tub in the master bathroom to install an extra-large shower, the advice from many real estate agents is to have at least one bathtub in your home. Following this advice for at least one room in your home means that families with small children might be more interested in buying your house.
Some homes have large tubs with water jets, popular in the past. While jacuzzi tubs feel luxurious to lounge in, their size makes cleaning difficult. Homeowners often choose to remove extra-large tubs and replace them with more space-conserving showers. You can retain a bathtub by switching out the large water-jet tub for a tub and shower combo, especially in a full bathroom.
If your home only has one bathroom, instead of using a freestanding tub, which takes up a considerable amount of space, consider installing a shower-tub combo, so you get the benefits of having a shower and tub in your home. If you want more space in a guest bathroom that only has a tub, replace the fixture with a shower for space-savings, but keep the bathtub in your main bathroom for resale value.
Having a bathtub is still an essential feature in homes with multiple bathrooms, but that doesn’t mean you need more than one in a home!
Convenience Factors
Your lifestyle preferences should factor into your decision between a shower & bathtub. Do you want the fastest cleaning option? Are you looking for luxury? Does energy efficiency matter to you? Several convenience factors come into play when you decide between a bathtub and a shower for your main bathroom.
Is it a Shower or Bath Day?
Nothing beats a shower when you need to wash your body quickly. At the end of a long day, a hot shower can soothe sore muscles and put your mind and body at ease.
If you have the time to indulge in a soaking bath, few other luxuries can compare. Though you may not use a tub for your everyday grooming, you may still want to have one somewhere in your home for those evenings when you can relax in a soaking tub. Tubs with water jets are suitable for those with aching muscles or joints. Soaking in hot water helps to ease pain while relaxing the body in a tub can reduce stress.
A Touch of Luxury
If you want to add luxury to a bathroom, have both a tub and shower. When choosing fixtures for a luxury bathroom, don’t skimp on the details. For example, a freestanding tub provides an eye-catching centerpiece for any bath. But it doesn’t have to be the only luxury fixture in your master bathroom. You will want an equally elegant shower beside the tub.
Extra-large walk-in showers can give a spa-like experience with the addition of rain shower heads and benches. A custom shower will let you decide all of the details, from the type of flooring and walls to the enclosure style and size.
Convenience for Specific Groups
If you or anyone in your household has mobility issues, a curbless walk-in shower with a bench makes getting in and out of the shower easier. For areas with aging populations or places where older parents move in with their children, having a curbless walk-in shower becomes a benefit when you decide to sell your home.
While those with mobility issues can use a shower with greater ease, the same is not true of the very young. Parents of young children feel more secure in giving their little-ones’ baths. Depending on a family’s needs, you may need a tub for several years to tend to the needs of multiple growing children in the home. If you plan to sell your home, having a bathtub ensures that young families are among potential buyers for your home.
Water Use
Showers use just two-thirds the amount of water of baths, 20 gallons vs. 30 gallons, respectively. If you have a deep soaker or whirlpool tub, the water use can increase to 80 to 100 gallons. Depending on your home’s water heater, you may need to upgrade the appliance to accommodate such significant water use.
The amount of water used during a shower can vary dramatically depending on the type of fixture you use in the shower and the length of your showers. A 10-minute shower using a low-flow showerhead uses 20 gallons of water. If you can reduce your shower time, you will use even less water. A tub, however, uses the same amount of water no matter how long you stay in it.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Regardless of what you choose for your bathroom, you have to keep it clean. For some people, the amount of cleaning required compared to the time they spend in a tub does not provide a beneficial trade-off.
If you choose a walk-in shower, cleaning becomes a more manageable task because you have only to clean the glass of the enclosure. Wiping off a glass shower door is more comfortable than bending over a deep tub to scrub it out.
No matter your design or convenience preferences, our team at Frameless By Design in Florida and Georgia can help make your bathroom feel and look larger with beautiful, modern all glass enclosures! We design our glass shower & bathtub enclosures using state of the art CAD software, allowing us to avoid outsourcing to third party vendors. Our company only sources glass and hardware from founders and leaders in the industry. We use top of the line materials, made in the USA, to ensure your glass enclosures are built to last. We use HD hinges standard on all of our custom glass doors – up to 36”, this above the traditional standard of 28”. Each design comes with a 5 year parts and labor warranty, and we strive to complete each project within a 3 week timeframe, so you can start enjoying your newly installed bathroom glass as soon as possible.
We have shower and tub glass configurations for any size bathroom, but we also offer custom designs to make your space unique to you. You can also choose semi-frameless sliders with your choice of assortment of finishes and fixtures! With over 25 years experience, we here at Frameless By Design have the skillset, knowledge, and pride to achieve your desired vision. Whether you need help choosing your custom shower enclosure or you already have in mind what you’re looking for, we will guide you in making the best decisions that will not only leave your guests speechless, but to ensure that it’s long lasting! Contact us for a free consultation. We proudly serve northwest Florida and many counties in Georgia!