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We have a very unique old farmhouse built in 1900. Along with the many quirks is the fact that it has only one shower, in the hall bath. A bump out off the master has another full bath with a tub but no shower. It also houses the laundry room.
As old houses are hard enough to sell my concern is what to do here. Option 1 MAY be to convert the tub to a shower. But as the attached photo shows (I hope I got it, damn you Windows 10 upgrade) the tub is in a bay window. A realtor friend said this can be done by adding a shower head, then switching out the wood windows with water proof plastic. That sounds fishy, contractor friend said that's nonsense.
The other option is to convert the laundry room to a shower, it fits perfectly (photo 2) but that would require new plumbing for the new laundry room and about $20,000-$30,000 to do it right.
So my question is will it be worth it to do either option? Will we ever get our money back? The flip side is with only 1 shower the house could stay on the market for years and that won't do either.
We have a very unique old farmhouse built in 1900. Along with the many quirks is the fact that it has only one shower, in the hall bath. A bump out off the master has another full bath with a tub but no shower. It also houses the laundry room.
As old houses are hard enough to sell my concern is what to do here. Option 1 MAY be to convert the tub to a shower. But as the attached photo shows (I hope I got it, damn you Windows 10 upgrade) the tub is in a bay window. A realtor friend said this can be done by adding a shower head, then switching out the wood windows with water proof plastic. That sounds fishy, contractor friend said that's nonsense.
The other option is to convert the laundry room to a shower, it fits perfectly (photo 2) but that would require new plumbing for the new laundry room and about $20,000-$30,000 to do it right.
So my question is will it be worth it to do either option? Will we ever get our money back? The flip side is with only 1 shower the house could stay on the market for years and that won't do either.
What do you think?
That is a quirky layout, but sometimes that's expected when it comes to the "oldies but goodies". I would NOT remove the tub and put in a shower at the bay. Personally, I find the tub's location at a bay window to be rather relaxing. It probably would be worth your while (and logical) to convert the laundry room to a shower area and bite the bullet. You must assess your competition to answer your question as to whether you'll get anything back. If many of the other homes are similarly quirky and sell, then it may not be an issue. After all, you purchased it sans shower. I can do fine with a nice tub with a handshower faucet but can't picture that for burly guys like my husband. You need to also see how much the competition is going for. That extra $20k may be prohibitive too. If the conversion is going to put you over the top for your area, then it may be something that you can forego. I would maybe get better, inviting window coverings for the bay and maybe re-do the tub surround. I have white 6 x 6 tiles as a kitchen countertop and they are the bane of my existence.
^^^I had the same thought. Sell it to someone with vision who plans to basically change everything. I think updating just one bathroom without updating everything will be a waste of money.
It isn't possible for people on here to suggest what to do because we don't know your market. Out here are old homes sell well so what I would recommend would not be what is right for your area.
That said, I can't imagine converting the tub into a shower makes any sense unless you remove the tub and put in a clawfoot with a shower and a curtain. I think that would look weird in the bay space though.
I was hoping that you had a clawfoot tub. If you had, I would have suggested retrofitting a shower and curtain as I did on my tub. But...you don't, so I would leave it as-is and let the new buyer choose what they'd prefer to do.
I was hoping that you had a clawfoot tub. If you had, I would have suggested retrofitting a shower and curtain as I did on my tub. But...you don't, so I would leave it as-is and let the new buyer choose what they'd prefer to do.
That's actually an excellent idea. Replace the tub, removing the tile surround which looks dated, with a standing tub and add a shower head. It'll be cheaper than anything else and would actually look interesting in such an old home.
Your tub looks beautiful so I would leave it alone.
If you converted in any way, you could go very small with a hand held spray attachment to the faucet. But people can be pro and con even on that so I don't know if I'd even do that.
(Btw, if you ever contemplate a shower on an unenclosed tub whether like yours or clawfoot or historic stantionary ....no plastic windows needed on your historic home. I can't see your ceiling but the way one can put in a shower in a historic home when there is only a tub is, in basic terms, run a line, with a simple attachment to wall, up from the faucet to shower height, put in shower head, attach with thin metal in a sort of halo effect over the tub. Halo attached to ceiling in two simple spots. Shower curtain hung from 'halo'. I like the curtain all around, especially when the walls are not tiled.)
Is your Mt. Airy in Md? What a great historic area. Part of The Journey Through Hallowed Ground. If so, are you in and/or involved with your historic district? Some people just live in old houses and enjoy them but haven't actually reached out to be part of a network of people working on them and researching the families that lived there, the area history, etc.
Get familiar with the pricing of properties in a general sense like yours. See what they sold for. Check on what they have inside, how modern, how original, etc.
I have great appreciation for the historic and have restored several historic homes...correctly. I have to say in the historic districts and towns in which I lived if any new realtor came in unaware and even used the word plastic for anything except a shower curtain liner....I would not think he/she understood historic homes nor would he/she represent my home well. I know your tub is modern. But you say your house itself is 1900 so the structure should be respected.
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