Decide Between a Shower, Tub, or Both
Most San Diego homeowners keep at least one tub in the home for resale, even if they never use it. The right answer depends on your household, your lot, and how long you plan to stay in the home.
What you'll learn
- Why real estate agents in San Diego still recommend keeping at least one tub in the home
- How to weigh a curbless walk-in shower against a low-threshold tub for aging-in-place
- The hybrid layouts that fit a 5x8 or 6x8 hall bath and keep both a tub and a separate shower
- When a freestanding tub is worth the splurge and when an alcove tub is the right call
Step by step
- Look at your household. A couple without kids can usually drop the secondary tub. A family with young kids needs at least one tub for the next 5 to 8 years. A multigenerational household with an aging parent should think about a curbless shower on the main floor.
- Run the resale math. San Diego resale buyers under 40 expect a walk-in shower in the primary bath. Buyers with kids look for a tub. If you are selling in the next 3 to 5 years, keep at least one tub somewhere in the home and add a curbless shower in the primary bath.
- Compare the two options. A standard alcove tub runs $400 to $1,200 plus a tile surround at $1,500 to $4,000. A curbless walk-in shower with frameless glass runs $9,000 to $28,000. The shower costs more but reads as a true upgrade and improves daily use.
- Consider a hybrid. A 5x8 hall bath with a 60 inch tub-shower combo is the default. A 6x8 or 6x9 hall bath can swap to a 48 inch walk-in shower plus a separate tub nook. A primary suite with 60 to 80 square feet can take a freestanding tub and a frameless walk-in side by side.
- Plan for aging-in-place. A 2 inch curb is fine for most adults. A curbless shower (no step at all) is the right call if anyone in the home uses a walker or a wheelchair now or in the next 10 years. The curbless pan needs a linear drain and a slight slope across the floor.
- Lock the call before the design consult. Changing from a tub to a shower or back after the framing is in can cost $1,500 to $4,000 in rework and a 1 to 2 week schedule hit.
A walk-in shower with a built-in bench and a handheld on a slide bar covers about 80 percent of daily use and a meaningful slice of the aging-in-place case. If the home has only one bath, that single decision has the highest impact per dollar in the whole remodel.
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