Tubs vs. Showers : The Great Debate
123 Remodeling Inc.
9 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Tub
Walkin Shower
Both
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Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
Melynda
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Aging-Gracefully-In-Place: Tips for reno or new builds
Comments (34)Good morning to Dorset from Scotland! My husband had a birthday last week and is now saying we're 'pushing 60'. We're active and fit, lol, but sensible too-the day will come sooner rather than later when one or both of us is not able to claim to be spry. Because the little cottage is in such a sad cosmetic state it was listed at a rather amazing price and we locked ourselves into it too early thinking it was a perfect spot for us to grow old. Whoops, thanks to several posts here about doing a reno or new build with a mind to age-in-place we are having to admit that is not the house for us. Luckily the town is the 'gateway to the glens' and if we wanted to use it as a holiday let we could easily. It's also becoming a commuter town-the hardier type people from Dundee and Aberdeen are buying in to take advantage of the great mountain lifestyle whilst being able to easily commute to their 'day job'. We were not looking for an investment property-not especially keen on the idea but more and more we're thinking that's what we've got. We measured the borrowed wheel chair, and also took the measurements of the typical mobility devices available now (the ones that are adverted as being in-outdoors), and frankly held up against the kitchen and bath measurements, there is no way we can make the bathroom work. Up thread (I think it was Deborah Butler of Brickwood Builders) a wet-room was mentioned as being best to accommodate a roll-in shower but hard to do as a reno project. Looking at the floor-plan, home report, and our own measurements confirmed that on this wee cottage-there is no way to do that and no way a wheelchair or mobility device is going to be rolled in that cupboard size bathroom. The kitchen could be managed if we drop the pantry wall idea, but the bathroom we planned to make a shower room is not manageable at all, and there is no room to extend that space. We would have figured all this out but much further down Reno Road, lol, so this thread has been a huge help to us just on that! Because we're now doing a much simpler reno (dropping the wider doorways and sliders, the ramp, and a few other a-i-p doings), the cost to renovate that lovely wee home is much lower too. The only things we won't be able to do ourselves is the shower conversion and the rewiring. A huge savings that we're going to need to find the right place for us! We know now that we need to look for a home with room to enlarge bathroom and kitchen areas, and with a less tricky entry to incorporate a ramp. For starters:) We have to be out of our current home by 1st August when the new owners will be arriving from Australia. We've borrowed the use of a caravan from friends to live in whilst doing the cottage reno (now that's small space living!) and that's going to be a help but I sure wish I'd joined Houzz sooner! I would have started this thread BEFORE locking into a property too small for our needs. Too, rather than use it as a holiday let or sell it on, we may move into the cottage once the reno is complete but we do know now there is no way we'll be able to age-gracefully-in-place in it. Sigh. Oh well, our builder is happy-he wasn't keen on trying to fit those sliding doors:) Take-Away For the Day? Be sure the property has room to expand vital living spaces before making an offer that is sure to be accepted:(...See MoreShower over freestanding bath, without a curtain. Is my plan logical?!
Comments (48)Free standing baths are only suitable for larger rooms where you have the ability to position the bath with free access all the way round, I regularly remove them from smaller bathrooms when doing re-fits, people like the aesthetics of the free standing bath and plough ahead and install them against a wall, the result is a disgusting accumulation of dust, fluff, pubic hair etc, this will happen quite quickly and you will regret having gone down this route. The concept of having the bath with no curtain is interesting though, in a bathroom around 2.1m square, most of the bathroom will be effected by splashing, the room will need a wet room floor former, and will require that the whole room is tanked prior to tiling, have a look at. (http://www.wetroominnovations.com) I usually use their Maxus formers and Purus gully traps. you can indeed get a flexible waste connection, have a look at McAlpine "Flexcon" range, these are available through any reputable merchants, these are quite substantial and would stand up to semi regular movement, if your free standing bath is an acrylic bath it won't be too heavy, so moving it would be quite straight forward, but I would suggest having small felt pads on the feet to protect the tiled surface, also from a drying point of view, Karcher have a very good little gadget for cleaning windows, which vacuums up the water, I often mention it to clients and any who have bought one have been delighted at how easy it is to use, it will leave the floor almost dry once you have used it, one note of caution would be your choice of floor tile, you will need a porcelain tile that has an R rating, this is a slip resistant rating and would be most advised. another note of caution, because the splashing will not be controlled, any vanity or wood based furniture will deteriorate. I hope this is of some help....See MoreNeed to fit a big bathroom in loft, any ideas?
Comments (36)Karen, to be honest with you, you do not really need the council's approval (or Lawful Develpment Certificate). As long as you are absolutely sure that what you are doing is within PD, you can just go ahead. The LDC is for future buyers, and can be gained retrospectively. I didn't wait for it on either of my projects - by the time it came from Lambeth I had basically finished the outside of the loft. It is absolutely critical that if you do this, you make sure your plans are compliant though...with loft conversions that is mainly making sure that you do not exceed the maximum additional volume measurements, and that the dormer is set back 20cm from the edge of the original roof. Do make sure your builder is on top of the necessary building control notifications and inspections though - this takes much more effort, and is nothing to do with planning, and absolutely compulsory. Happy to tell you more about this/answer questions: you have my e-mail address. Everything from the specification of windows,through insulation depth required, to position of plug sockets is controlled and needs to be correct. In my experience, plenty of builders don't know enough about the regs and bodge things. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/120/what_to_do_next/3...See MoreFloor plan opinions - ding ding round 3!
Comments (23)I like the house plan as it is. However, when we looked at our house plans, we realised that our stairs was the biggest issue. As the previous owners extended the house, it became a long wide house with long corridors. Our plan is to move the stairs into the middle of house and suddenly all the issues disappeared! So putting that theory into your house...how about: Moving the study where the staircase is. Putting the staircase along the front of the house where the current study is. Double doors into the dining room/ snug. Doors at an angle to the sitting room and large open plan kitchen. Upstairs, the staircase will come up through bedroom 5 to the centre of the upstairs. The master bedroom is the room with the bay window and making use of the original plumbing the staircase area and this area can be divided into a main bathroom and en suite or convert it all to en suite to the bedroom with the bay window. The new upstairs extension can be divided into 2 rooms or the current en suite can be made into a family bathroom. More expensive to change the staircase but it would centralised everything.... I’ll draw a photo!...See More
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