To bathe, or not to bathe, that is the question...

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Ok, humor this old lady out a bit for the holidays, won't you?

I forgot to ask in my quest for designing the perfect apartment, whether or not a bath tub is a deal breaker for some of you renting.

I was told by my contractor that a tub is not a necessity in designing a bathroom for rental purposes, only a shower stall.

WHAT SAY YOU?

Would you rent the perfect apartment if there was NO tub?

I'll return later this evening for your responses.

And I"m sure I'll have more questions then!

:D Happy Sunday!

Comments

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I have lived in two apartments with no tub, and that was okay, but I wouldn't call it perfect and it was mostly considered okay by me because the rent was low, even though I don't actually use a tub (now that I have one) that often.

If you do go the "no tub" route, then I'd suggest making the shower stall a nice shower stall, and fairly large.

[notpiecebypiece.livejournal.com]

not a deal breaker.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Not only would I; I have.

[belladonna.livejournal.com]

It might be a deal-breaker for me. I've lived in apartments with shower stalls and they're so claustrophobic. It's like bathing in a coffin. So while I don't really use a bathtub, I do enjoy the space to move around in the shower.

[pklemica]

I consider a tub a plus, but definitely unnecessary. I'm currently renting a place with just showers! My only complaint about our stalls is that the shower heads seem oddly low to me: I'm 5'7", so it's not like I'm crazy-tall or anything, but I feel like I need to stoop a tiny bit here to get the shampoo out of my hair.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

My 6'0'' husband and I (5'3'') are in constant disagreement over shower head positioning. I think they need to be high enough to accommodate tall people but also adjustable enough that the water does not just smack me in the face.

[antimony.livejournal.com]

For a rental for me? Not a deal-breaker at all. However, if you're renting to a demographic with babies / toddlers, they're a lot more important.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I once spent 4 months living in an apartment without a tub (I had no say in the decision).

NEVER. AGAIN.

ETA: Also, I really detest modern bathtubs. I am not a tall person, but I can't stretch my legs out properly in modern tubs and also get fully submerged. So my favorite rentals in the past have been the ones with long and/or deep clawfoot tubs, because those are THE BEST for getting a proper hot bath.

They are also great (and here any tub is acceptable) for washing large ungainly objects like bird cages, particularly in the winter when cleaning them outside is a no-go.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

mmm. I sometimes wash my laundry in the tub as well, that's a good point.

[kelkyag]

I've decided against apartments for lack of a tub, though I rarely use one. A shower that was not cramped would probably be acceptable, but the ones I've seen that have only a shower have always had very small showers, presumably due to space limitations.

[leighjen.livejournal.com]

I mostly have lived in apartments either with just a shower or with a tub that was not usable for one reason or another. I like having a tub but it is not a deal breaker.

You know what is nice? Having it sized right. If the shower is too small, you get claustrophobic. If it is too big, it doesn't stay warm in the winter. Also, not having a shower window. Shower windows suck.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

yeah -- landlords, *please* install decent ventilation fans in your bathrooms, and remove the windows. i'd rather not choose between mold on my walls and a frigid draft in mid-February.

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't live anywhere without a bathtub. There's nothing that warms me up better in the winter :).

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

I have lived in several apartments around the Boston area, and of them, only the crapshack I had in Allston had a claw foot tub. It was the ONLY redeeming feature of that dump.

I miss that tub so much.

Everything else has had a modern tub, and I prefer it. I could live without it, but really, I would say just go with the tub.

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

I own a Davis Square 1 BR apt. without a tub (the shower is not tiny) and have never had any potential tenants mention it as a concern. They often do ask about a dishwasher (which the unit doesn't have) and laundry (which it does).

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

I agree with the "pro-tub" faction: While I never, ever take an actual bath, I like tubs because they provide more space than the vertical-coffin shower stalls, it's much easier to shave my legs, and I like to hand-wash my clothing in a large plastic bin situated in the tub. I wouldn't say it would prevent me from the perfect apartment, especially if I had no other choice, but it would make me pretty sad.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

For me, it wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but a tub is definitely preferred. My deal-breakers are pretty limited: price, dishwasher, free laundry in building (not necessarily in unit, gas heat. After that, everything is negotiable.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

it depends entirely on the construction of the shower stall. minimum size is really claustrophobic, one that took up roughly the footprint of a bathtub would be nice.

also, most rental units with shower stalls do not pay nearly enough attention to the installation and subsequent condition of the stall -- water leakage is a huge problem. most cheapo stalls have badly-hung or badly-installed doors, which makes the leakage worse.

that being said, i'd *much* rather have a decent shower stall than one of those awful claw-foot tubs with a billowing all-round curtain install. blech.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

My parents and in-laws have recently replaced their tubs with walk-in showers. But houses intended for one couple to inhabit for years and years are different from rental properties.

But excluding a tub, you're drastically reducing the chances that anyone with children or a dog would want to live there. Which might be a good thing from your point of view. But some grown-ups adore baths, and I certainly know people in the Davis Sq area for whom a bathtub is a deciding factor in choosing where to rent.

Sorry not a decisive answer, but hope it's helpful.

[fangirl715.livejournal.com]

I might not reject an apartment solely for that reason, but it would make me extremely unhappy, to say the least. While I generally take showers, it helps A LOT to have a tub for things like shaving one's legs, washing out litterboxes, bathing the cat (yes, she lets me do it, although she's definitely not happy), doing large hand laundry items in a bucket, and general needing to clean large items.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

This is exactly what I was going to comment. Having a tub is key for washing things like cats and litterboxes (not at the same time, of course) and other things that you can't take outside to wash. And all my cats will let me bathe them :-)

[no1onthecorner.livejournal.com]

Similarly to other users - it's not a dealbreaker for me, as long as it's a reasonably spacious shower (and yes yes yes to ventilation fan in the bathroom.) A tub is nice, but lower-priority than laundry in building, dishwasher, and good use of space in general. Bathroom storage (either built-in shelves or room for a shelving unit) is more important to me than a tub.

[in-water-writ.livejournal.com]

For me, a tub is a deal-breaker. Then again I have medical reasons for it.

I have a back condition that used to cause intense muscle spasms on a regular basis. The spasms were widespread and intense enough that no heating pad could help. In this case, only full submersion in an incredibly hot bath would provide any comfort.

While a tub isn't necessary, it does make your apartment more attractive to a number of people. People who really like bubble baths, people who have sore muscles for a variety of reasons, people who have other medical conditions but who may not require special facilities.

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

For anyone with a child I think this would be a deal breaker. For me it wouldn't have in the past, but last year I spent 3 months in a cast & had to take baths with my leg hanging over the side of the tub. There's no way I could have gotten clean in just a shower unless it was big enough to have a seat in it & one of those movable shower heads so I could have prevented the cast from getting wet.

[mistresshellena.livejournal.com]

This comment leads into my suggestion:

consider a wet room style, if you're able to w/ codes in MA. I encountered this alot in Europe and basically, the whole room is tiled sometimes with a little divider to the shower part, sometimes not. Not only does this mean alot of room, but it makes the shower accessible for people w/ permanent or temporary mobility issues.

The other perk that I think would make tenants say "oo!" w/ either tub or shower only is a hand held shower head.

[cowgrrl.livejournal.com]

If there's no tub it's not the perfect apartment. I'm not sure what I'd do if everything else about a place was ideal, but I'd have to really think about whether I wanted to settle for a place without a tub.

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

I currently have a shower only apt. While occasionally I miss taking a bath, that is more than made up for by the convenience of a one piece shower. No seams, so no risk of leakage, no caulk or grout that gets dirty, and in fact the shower itself doesn't really get visibly dirty, unlike a tub which certainly does. Helps that its not white though. (And only for a shower do you normally have non white, for a tub I think you pretty much have to go for white these days.

Someday when I build/design a house from scratch, I'll want a separate tub and shower, so I can have the convenience of the shower with the occasional enjoyment of a tub.

Basically, for a rental, if you can fit a tub in, do it based on many of the other comments, but if there are major space issues, don't worry about just having a shower and enjoy some of the benefits of knowing it will be less maintenance for you (no regrouting etc.)

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

dealbreaker.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Not a dealbreaker for me, but I know it is for many people.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

I rarely bathe, but I hate shower stalls. they are always tiny, cold, and I feel claustrophobic in them. I think a nice compromise are those short bath things you sometimes see in hotels. Where it's just 4 inch high bath tub to contain the water, but it's the size of a full tub.

Though if the apartment had a nice tub, I might bathe, all the ones I've rented had really sketchy tubs.