Bungalow Renovation

It’s lovely to have a soak in the bath but as you get older it becomes more and more difficult to get in and out if it.

Think about what your mobility will be like in the next 5 and 10 years. Will you still be able to get in and out of a bath ?
Will you be able to step in and out of the bath to have a shower ?
A large walk in shower would be easier as you get older and you can always put a stool in there if you wish to sit and shower.
I gave up having a bath several years ago as getting in and out was becoming more and more difficult, I love my walk in shower however !

Recommend the same as suziewong65
I renovated my flat a few years ago and had a new bath / shower installed, in the bathroom. I have hardly ever used it, as it not easy to get my leg over the side. Fortunately, I also renovated a shower room, no steps, which is in daily use.

Is there any chance of having both? Could you keep the bathroom and add an en suite shower?

Is there any way your bathroom could be rearranged to have both?
If not you could look at baths that have a side opening with a shower over. They are expensive though.
My neighbours are in their mid 80s and recently had their bath replaced with a shower, because one couldn't manage to use a bath, but the other one really misses having a long soak in a bath.

I wouldn’t want to go back to a shower over the bath. We are planning on doing away with our (never used) bath, and replacing our shower with a walk-in one, when the Covid situation improves!

I'm in a bungalow too and I'm planning on removing the bath and replacing it with a walk in shower.

I would definitely put in a walk in shower, our bath was removed as I could no longer safely get in and out the lovely walk in shower it is so easy to use and clean.

When we renovated our bungalow we got rid of the bath and had a shower installed with future proofing in mind. Unfortunately the base is raised by a few inches due to the drainage so it isn’t truly ‘walk in’. I’ve caught my toe on the small step once or twice but it’s infinitely better than getting in and out of a bath, even now we’re in our 60’s.

It would be expensive but as you have the luxury of a bungalow rather than a flat, is there any way you can extend to accommodate both?

I would always have a shower rather than a bath. Nice to have a bath for little visitors but that's all; if you prefer a shower. I don't think it would create a selling problem in a bungalow.

When I had my arthritic hip and lived in a house with bath/ shower I had to use a bean bag thing to hoist myself in and out.

Get a couple of bathroom companies in and see what they suggest. There's all sorts of clever variations available now. And deals available if you decide to go with one of them.

I don’t know if you can see this very well but it shows the end of our free standing bath.
We have tiled all round and under the bath so if we have to remove it and install a walk in shower it would be easy.

I understand how you feel kazzerb my husband loves a bath but I find it difficult to get in and out of one. It would be worth getting someone to look at your bathroom to see if it can be redesigned to accommodate both. There are all sorts of different models available now. It's worth spending a bit more time and money to get things right now so you don't have to revisit it.

We are waiting to have our bathroom done, Bath is due for the skip and a walk in shower to be fitted.
If we can ever get someone to do it!

Workmen in Oxfordshire are like Hens teeth.

A useful tip for anyone being put off installing a shower due to being worried about small grandchildren needing to use a bath; an inflatable paddling pool on the floor of the shower is perfect for bathing little ones.

It is unsafe having a shower over a bath because even if one can get in and out it is so easy to slip.

For re-sale purposes, both would be ideal but personally I would remove the bath and install a walk-in shower as I did in this house a few years ago. I also bought a stool so there are no fears of me slipping.