Decide Between a Shower, Tub, or Both
In San Diego, most homeowners hold onto at least one tub for resale purposes, even when it goes unused. What works best comes down to who lives in your home, what your lot allows, and how many years you expect to stay.
What you'll learn
- The reason San Diego real estate agents still advise homeowners to keep one tub somewhere in the house
- Weighing a curbless walk-in shower versus a low-threshold tub when you plan to age in place
- Hybrid layouts that keep a tub and a separate shower inside a 5x8 or 6x8 hall bath
- Where a freestanding tub earns its cost, and where an alcove tub is the smarter pick
Step by step
- Think about who lives there. A couple with no kids can typically give up the secondary tub. A family with young children will need one tub for the next 5 to 8 years. If an aging parent shares a multigenerational home, plan a curbless shower on the main floor.
- Do the resale math. San Diego buyers under 40 want a walk-in shower in the primary bath. Buyers with kids want a tub. Selling within 3 to 5 years? Keep at least one tub in the home and put a curbless shower in the primary bath.
- Put the two side by side. A standard alcove tub costs $400 to $1,200, and a tile surround adds $1,500 to $4,000. A curbless walk-in shower with frameless glass comes in at $9,000 to $28,000. You pay more for the shower, but it feels like a real upgrade and makes everyday use easier.
- Think hybrid. A 5x8 hall bath usually has a 60 inch tub-shower combo. A 6x8 or 6x9 hall bath can change to a 48 inch walk-in shower with a separate tub nook. A primary suite of 60 to 80 square feet can hold a freestanding tub and a frameless walk-in side by side.
- Plan for aging-in-place. Most adults do fine with a 2 inch curb. A curbless shower, with no step at all, is the right choice if anyone in the home uses a walker or wheelchair now or within the next 10 years. The curbless pan calls for a linear drain and a slight slope across the floor.
- Settle the decision before the design consult. Switching from a tub to a shower, or the reverse, after framing is in can add $1,500 to $4,000 in rework and 1 to 2 weeks of schedule delay.
About 80 percent of daily use, plus a solid part of the aging-in-place argument, is handled by a walk-in shower with a built-in bench and a handheld on a slide bar. When the home has just one bath, that one choice delivers the most impact per dollar of anything in the remodel.
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