Converting a bath/room to a walk in shower. Anyone done it?

[Dave7]

Getting older with a dodgy back has caused us to make this decision. Bad planning as the bathroom was "new" 6 years ago (a lot can happen in 6 years).
Fortunately we can afford it** but there are problems/limitations to the challenge.
1. The door to the bathroom is central which means....
2. The bath is to the right as I walk in.
3. The bath takes up the full width from door to wall. Therefor the complete shower cannot be any wider........it can be as long as the bath but no wider. That means sliding doors but Im sure thats no problem.
**the room is tiled floor to ceiling so I want to avoid gutting it and starting again.
I will get people in for ideas but would be interested to hear your thoughts/experiences

 

[sheddy]

We went bath free when we moved house 2 years ago. No regrets.

A bath is essential for raising children.
A big bath (when teenagers are out) for Mum & Dad to get jiggy.

You may want to make sure your new shower can fit a stool or similar for advancing years.

 

[cisamcgu]

We have a walk in shower with no doors. A glass screen about 1.5m long on a shower tray that is 2m (same sort of size as a bath). Shower head at the far end and an overhead one as well .. If interested, I can try and draw a plan ?

 

[Milkfloat]

The big question is how big is the space behind the door to the wall? If you had a narrow bath then you might be pushed for a spacious shower.

 

[Archie_tect]

Is the bathroom upstairs Dave?
Can you get the waste pipe from the shower connected to the soil pipe stack?

You can get low lip access walk-in shower trays of just about any size- with a built in trap- though it might be easier to open up the ceiling below the bath plumb in the waste between the floor joists.

Don't go for a wet room- unless you strip all the tiles/ floor covering off and tank the weals and floor.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

A bath is essential for raising children.

This is a consideration, if your house is a family house. then if/when you sell allowance will have to be made to replace it.

However just to contradict myself, this is the current thinking, by daughter although having a bath never uses it for the kids as they are on a water meter & it costs them a fortune. If the grandkids want a bath they have to come to our house. So maybe it's not so important in the future

 

[Dave7]

We went bath free when we moved house 2 years ago. No regrets.

A bath is essential for raising children.
A big bath (when teenagers are out) for Mum & Dad to get jiggy.

You may want to make sure your new shower can fit a stool or similar for advancing years.

Yes, Mrs D mentioned a seat. You think it will never happen to you and then

 

[Dave7]

The big question is how big is the space behind the door to the wall? If you had a narrow bath then you might be pushed for a spacious shower.

Standard bath (whatever size that is). We have a shower fitted and tbh I cant remember last time I had a bath.

 

[Dave7]

Is the bathroom upstairs Dave?
Can you get the waste pipe from the shower connected to the soil pipe stack?

You can get low lip access walk-in shower trays of just about any size- with a built in trap- though it might be easier to open up the ceiling below the bath plumb in the waste between the floor joists.

Don't go for a wet room- unless you strip all the tiles/ floor covering off and tank the weals and floor.

Thanks
Yes, bathroom is upstairs. That is plumbed into the stack.
Not going for wet room.....just a walk in shower

 

[Dave7]

This is a consideration, if your house is a family house. then if/when you sell allowance will have to be made to replace it.

However just to contradict myself, this is the current thinking, by daughter although having a bath never uses it for the kids as they are on a water meter & it costs them a fortune. If the grandkids want a bath they have to come to our house. So maybe it's not so important in the future

Yes, the "selling" was what (wrongly) convinced me to have a bath fitted. Now, although I am quite fit, this bad back has forced a rethink.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Yes, the "selling" was what (wrongly) convinced me to have a bath fitted. Now, although I am quite fit, this bad back has forced a rethink.

Sealing, not ceiling is the biggest issue, we keep looking at the idea, had a water jet bath fitted, complete waste of money, bet it's not been used 12 times. We had a walk in shower but put the bath back when the shower brought down the kitchen ceiling.

 

[Archie_tect]

Is the space at the end of the bath away from the door wider than the bath itself so you could put an 'L-shaped' shower tray in? - providing the shower head [and 'tap end' of the bath for the pipework and waste pipe] is away from the door to avoid having to change it all over.

 

[Dave7]

Is the space at the end of the bath away from the door wider than the bath itself so you could put an 'L-shaped' shower tray in? - providing the shower head [and 'tap end' of the bath for the pipework and waste pipe] is away from the door to avoid having to change it all over.

Sadly not. If the bath is to the right.....adjacent to it at the far end is the pedastal sink, left of that is the toilet. Everything is 'built in'.......another "seemed like a good idea at the time".

 

[Archie_tect]

Ah!

Could you post a photo of both ends of the bath so we can consider a solution?

 

[Mo1959]

Sounds exactly like what I am hoping to get done if I can ever find a tradesman around here! My bath is on the left rather than right as you go in and it’s a small room, so taking in advancing age and freeing up a bit of space, I’m thinking about a walk in shower too. My walls are tiled, but it is ancient little square tiles, but I have been told you can put wet wall on top which would freshen it up and cause less upheaval.