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Hi Brandy,
As a big bath-taker I would advise against removing the tub. I have passed up on apartments because they only have a shower. Also, if you are thinking about selling in the next 10 years(after that the bathroom may need updating anyway) any potential buyer with small children will be looking for a tub. That being said, I agree that your bathroom should whatever makes you happy.

If the market for your house includes people with children, you really need to have a tub. Kids usually don't take showers till they're at least 5 or 6.

It does make sense to creat a bathroom that looks as good as possible. Why don't you call a few real estate agents and ask them? Don't let 'em come over, though, unless you want them there for at least an hour. They're going to consider you a lead.

I don't know how it is in NY, but in Arizona, a bathroom with only a shower is not considered a full bath, it's considered a 3/4 bath. Something to consider.

Since it's the only bathroom in the house, I'd advise against it, unfortunately.

Keep the tub. Tubs are not just for taking long soaks after a hard day at work -- kids, dogs, and the occasional cat can be bathed there as well.

Tubs do come shorter than 60". When renovating my bath, I realized that the space could only accomodate a 4'-6" long tub due to a vent stack at one end.

Talk to a plumbing supply house. Mine cost slightly more than the standard 5', but not by much (about $35-50 for a somewhat low-end model).

I'm currently making the same decision. I have a smallish bathroom that I'm renovating. In my case the bathroom is long and narrow, but the tub currently sits along the shortest wall. I'm going to yank it out and make my whole bathroom one large shower. I had the same hesitations about the effect on potential buyers of my 550 ft^2 condo, but I'm going ahead and getting rid of my tub. I believe anyone interested in buying my small place would be a single, young professional who wouldn't miss the tub. Amanda's comment notwithstanding.

Ditch the tub. Sounds like reorienting the bath will make a huge difference in the feel of the bathroom, and its "end of the road" orientation creates the opportunity for a spectacular showpiece of a shower. And maybe the extra space will allow double sinks, and/or partially enclosing the commode, making the bathroom work really hard for a couple.

Is you house otherwise a "family house"... multiple bedrooms, for example? If not, then don't bother making the bath "family friendly". Make it work for a couple.

And since I am convinced water will be the next global shortage issue, that's another reason to ditch the tub for a more water-conservative shower.

I do think it will affect resale value, even for a one bedroom. I like showers and rarely take baths, but I would probably hesitate before buying place without any tubs. Plus, as other commenters touched on, where would I bathe my cats?

When you consider preserving resale value, you need to be clear on when you're most likely to resell and to whom.

If you're looking to sell in 1-3 years, you'd be prudent to think like a flipper and do what your target market wants, more than what you personally want.

If you're intending to stay 10 years or more, anything you do will be outdated by the time you want to sell, so you might as well do what you want and figure either you'll rehab before selling or you'll sell to someone who wants to rehab.

If you're in the middle, you look for where you're willing to compromise. Personally, I'd look into the suggestions for smaller tubs, but that's because tubs are great for large loads of handwashables, as well as for the day when you strain a muscle and *do* need to soak.

I would buy a home without a tub with absolutely no hesitation.

i plan on ditching my bathtub for a shower in my new condo, but i plan on being there a while and it's too small for a family anyway, so i'm not that worried about re-sale. i say if you're planning to stay there for a while, make it what you want.

So interesting, I asked Maxwell the very same question about 2 years ago:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-shower-stall-or-tub-reno-002900

Now, I can advise in retrospect. Since the time of the original question, I have indeed sold my place. I did not do the renovation, however. If I did, I would have followed the advice of the commenters and kept the tub. Although I think a big stand-in shower is sexy as hell, I asked my broker about it during our open houses, and she said "Couples, particularly those looking to start families, want a bathtub, even a cruddy one, over a cool looking shower. They may even argue that they need to put a tub in and negotiate on price."

I'm glad I left well enough alone.

Ok, I have a bizarre question, what email address do you send these questions to. It says:

editor(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)

To which I interpreted it to say

editor@apartmenttherapy.com

But when I emailed my question I got a delivery failure?

As for your situation- I would say keep the tub- a lot of people look for them when they buy houses, whether it be for themselves or for kids or whatever.

You could cast a concrete tub in place, any size you need. There was a bathroom in last year's bathroom month that had a really beautiful concrete tub. I can't find the post right now, but perhaps someone else can? It was really fantastic.

What about a corner bath? There are some that require only 54 inches of wall space, along each of two walls, but since the tub is oriented along the hypotenuse of the triangle, result in a full-length tub. Here's one

http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/087206789052_3.jpg

that is described as being for two-person bathing.

If there is enough space, and if custom cabinetry is feasible, a more elegant approach would be to build-in a standard tub across a corner, completely framed in and with a ledge beside it. An oval tub would work best for this.

As I ponder the various comments and reflect on my own bathroom, I wonder if there isn't some way to achieve the best of both worlds? I mean, there's not that big of a difference between a shower and a tub when you think about it. If one had a really big bathtub that was quite rectangular, and coupled that with very high glass doors that could be fully opened or closed, that would probably work quite well.

Yes...that might work well indeed. Any thoughts?

I'd keep the tub. It's a re-sale thing. I work at a law firm with lots of other "young professionals" and you can bet the ladies love baths. You'd be narrowing your target market upon resale if you had no bathtub - especially, as noted, since you only have one bathroom.

If you have more than one bedroom, definitely keep the tub. Even if it's a tiny one-bedroom house, I'd keep a tub if at all possible. You can probably find a shorter model to fit in the space-- as long as it's tall (not a dinky 12" high thing) it still feels luxurious to sit in a tub of water.

I would never buy an apartment without a tub-- or if I did, I'd pay to put one in. Not because of dogs, kids, cats, bikes, sweater washing, plants,parties requiring a tub full of ice & beer (although these are all excellent reasons)-- but simply because I love the occasional bath. I think a lot of people feel that way.

Instead, I concentrate on other design issues to make the room seem more spacious-- like a white porcelain pedestal sink-- small tile on the floors and walls-- check out that tiny bathroom from yesterday with the Ann Sacks tile. We didn't see the tub in the photos-- but there was one and the room looked stunning even though it was very small.

I live in a small apartment and I know without needing to measure that my tub is waaaay smaller than 60". Probably closer to 38-44 and it's still technically a tub. Not a great tub (and pretty terrible for soaking), but a tub nonetheless. Small tubs are out there.

If I was in the market to buy, I would really hesitate over a lack of bathtub.

Some people would never buy a place that didn't have a tub. Nobody would refuse to buy a place because it has a tub.

if you're just a few inches shy of 60", would it be possible to take some space out of one of the walls? As long as it's not load-bearing, of course...

Definitely rip out that hideous tile. Anything you replace it with will increase the resale value of your house.

Um, Fred, that's a picture of a bathroom she likes... not the bathroom in question.

Noooo, don't totally ditch the tub *idea* - what about one of those fantasitic custom wooden tubs built to your specs? But seriously, most people do want a tub so I'd agree that if you plan to sell anytime soon do a tub. I'd never buy a place without a tub - I do have a kid but even without I'd just want it - dogs, bikes, tubs are good.

I agree with Julie.

If you care about the re-sale value at all do not eliminate the bath - period

small children need a tub, and pregnant women. i spent my first pregnancy without a tub and felt its absence EVERY day!

There are many tubs smaller than 5'. I am currently doing a bathroom renovation for my in-laws. They have a moderately small master bathroom (8.5 x 8.5) for a house. Their current tub is a full 60", but it is open on one end right next to the toilet. In order to provide some more privacy for the toilet area, we are putting in a partial wall at the currently open end of the tub. Given the small dimensions of the bathroom, the only way to get the extra four inches for the wall was to specify a shorter tub. I picked the Mackenzie tub, from American Standard, so as to keep the budget under control (it is only about $250). It measures 54" x 30", so it should probably fit in your space. Although I absolutely love a nice open shower, I would have to agree with the common wisdom that if this is your only bathroom, you should probably keep the tub. Good luck.

It sounds like an excellent space for a luxurious his-and-hers shower (or hers-and-hers, or his-and-his). Each person gets to adjust the water temp of their own nozzle on their own side of the shower for themselves while in the shower together. I bought a little country-club cottage with a bath like this years ago and then I sold it in a snap when I moved again -- it was in Lincoln, Nebraska (!), sold to a couple with three little-bitty kids (!). The bath stood out to realtors who brought hordes of buyers around. Beautiful baths can sometimes trump practical concerns; people can buy based on emotional response. I enjoyed the his-and-hers shower very much, and I'm determined to have one again someday.