Walk in bath tub

[Darter6]

Any of the gang out there have one ?
My legs are shot and I have been thinking of doing a bath remodel.
The ease and whirlpool maybe be a big benefit.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Do you like sitting and waiting for it to fill/drain. Investigate that, some are better than others. Can you run 3/4" supply lines? Had a new faucet put in commented it ran slow. Plumber they're making so they don't use as much water.

 

[cr8crshr]

I was also thinking of a bath upgrade as I have similar issues. No walk in tub but just a shower stall with a low lip. After contacting several places, I was told an 8th month to one year before they could get to me due to the availability of the products due to Covid and shipping issues. I said...and moved on. Just have to grin and bare it!!! No pun intended...cr8crshr/Bill

 

[Richard Cranium]

Build a walk in shower with a built in seat instead. Have two shower heads & controls; one being a hand held that can be operated from the seat.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Build a walk in shower with a built in seat instead. Have two shower heads & controls; one being a hand held that can be operated from the seat.

Yup... Walk in tubs eventually leak, gotta wait for it to fill & if you decide to sell they don't appeal to most buyers...
Nicely executed walk in showers eliminate all those issues...

 

[Ron H]

While this isn’t a walk-in, we had a whirlpool installed when building the house, oversize unit, thinking how great it will be. Well, in 24 years we’ve used it maybe five times. We’re on well/septic, but some friends are paying a fortune for water today on sewer/water not using theirs. Just redid our shower for too much money deleting the old fiberglass module. Nothing like a hot tub when I’ve been in them; but by the time I get the whirlpool filled I’ve lost interest, lol. Always thought of converting the thing to be a hot tub; not exactly been recommended..

 

[Fran Blacker]

Auxiliary water heater in attic with a two 3/4" into 1.5"or 2" or opening to supply tub. Water temp set at a comfortable temp. Plus the normal cold/hot faucet.

 

[Under Pressure]

Build a walk in shower with a built in seat instead. Have two shower heads & controls; one being a hand held that can be operated from the seat.

Agree with RC. I’ve been in the plumbing business for 50 years and still am, a nicely designed/built walk in with adjustable wall mounted body sprays, couple ADA rails, seat, and a handheld is the way to go. Also as said in this thread, much more appealing when/if you ever sell the home

 

[Darter6]

Thanks to all. I will go with the handicap shower with seat. Never thought about re-sale value.

 

[Hey-O]

Yup... Walk in tubs eventually leak, gotta wait for it to fill & if you decide to sell they don't appeal to most buyers...

Couldn't have said it better. I have walked away from houses with them.

 

[gkent]

No tubs in our house anymore. We're getting too old to be climbing into a tub.
Walk-in tubs are pretty pricey with a limited usefulness.

Renovated the bathroom a couple years ago and put in a decent size walk in shower. Didn't even bother with a built-in seat - just more corners for crud to build up. Bought a folding teak seat should we ever want to sit in there for any reason.

My son reno'd his house a couple years back and did away with tubs. They have a toddler and she went right from a bassinette to a shower. No risk of forgetting about a kid in a tub and having them drown!

 

[69 Sleeper Bee]

While this isn’t a walk-in, we had a whirlpool installed when building the house, oversize unit, thinking how great it will be. Well, in 24 years we’ve used it maybe five times. We’re on well/septic, but some friends are paying a fortune for water today on sewer/water not using theirs. Just redid our shower for too much money deleting the old fiberglass module. Nothing like a hot tub when I’ve been in them; but by the time I get the whirlpool filled I’ve lost interest, lol. Always thought of converting the thing to be a hot tub; not exactly been recommended..

View attachment 1319529

Those are used mostly as a clothes hampers from what I have seen over the last 30 years or so going into clients homes to do a remodel design for a new bathroom. Like RC said the new thing is the walk in shower with seat. Good for resale $’s on your house.

 

[peabodyracin]

I put this in for my wife about 6 years ago. Her knees were preventing her from stepping over a tub side and she was looking for the ability to soak. The shower concept is good but you can't soak in them.

I had sticker shock when 1st pricing these out. Then checked craigslist and found several listed by people who'd purchased places and were installing a more traditional tub/shower setup. Bought this one, already removed, just about brand new, for less than half the price of a new one. It sounds morbid buy many of these are installed for people with one foot in the grave and don't see much use. I was concerned about leaking and studied the various door seal arrangements different suppliers used. I was impressed with this one. The whole unit is well built and quite sturdy. I was also concerned about the door warping from use, but haven't encountered any of that. One slight leak after about two years of use on the connection to one of the water jets. Took me longer to find the leak than to fix it.

Wife loves it. Fills it up and uses Epsom salts and sits in there and reads. She used to talk on the portable phone but after dropping it in the water twice (first time I was able to dry it out and it still worked) she gave up on that idea. I've even seen her sleeping in it.

Only caution I would pass along is check your hot water heater capacity. With a small unit, you could run out of hot water before it's filled up completely. It's a bit small for a full gown guy taking a stand up shower in it. I have a full shower downstairs so wasn't worried about that.

This one could be removed in less than 2 hrs of work, so would not present a big obstacle for the future buyer.

 

[Fran Blacker]

I put this in for my wife about 6 years ago. Her knees were preventing her from stepping over a tub side and she was looking for the ability to soak. The shower concept is good but you can't soak in them.

I had sticker shock when 1st pricing these out. Then checked craigslist and found several listed by people who'd purchased places and were installing a more traditional tub/shower setup. Bought this one, already removed, just about brand new, for less than half the price of a new one. It sounds morbid buy many of these are installed for people with one foot in the grave and don't see much use. I was concerned about leaking and studied the various door seal arrangements different suppliers used. I was impressed with this one. The whole unit is well built and quite sturdy. I was also concerned about the door warping from use, but haven't encountered any of that. One slight leak after about two years of use on the connection to one of the water jets. Took me longer to find the leak than to fix it.

Wife loves it. Fills it up and uses Epsom salts and sits in there and reads. She used to talk on the portable phone but after dropping it in the water twice (first time I was able to dry it out and it still worked) she gave up on that idea. I've even seen her sleeping in it.

Only caution I would pass along is check your hot water heater capacity. With a small unit, you could run out of hot water before it's filled up completely. It's a bit small for a full gown guy taking a stand up shower in it. I have a full shower downstairs so wasn't worried about that.

This one could be removed in less than 2 hrs of work, so would not present a big obstacle for the future buyer.

View attachment 1319791

Have you bought a spare door gasket if it's special? No need if you can buy the the material and make it.

 

[Charles Cook]

Build a walk in shower with a built in seat instead. Have two shower heads & controls; one being a hand held that can be operated from the seat.

That’s not a seat, it’s a work bench. Lol

 

[NJRR]

While this isn’t a walk-in, we had a whirlpool installed when building the house, oversize unit, thinking how great it will be. Well, in 24 years we’ve used it maybe five times. We’re on well/septic, but some friends are paying a fortune for water today on sewer/water not using theirs. Just redid our shower for too much money deleting the old fiberglass module. Nothing like a hot tub when I’ve been in them; but by the time I get the whirlpool filled I’ve lost interest, lol. Always thought of converting the thing to be a hot tub; not exactly been recommended..

View attachment 1319529

I have a 75 gallon Jacuzzi tub in my master bath. The wife uses it almost every day, loves to soak in epsom salts.
When I installed it, I ran 3/4" lines to it with a high flow faucet. Takes about 10-15 minutes to fill. I also have 2 50 gal hot water heaters piped together so we never run out of hot water.

 

[JR_Charger]

Build a walk in shower with a built in seat instead. Have two shower heads & controls; one being a hand held that can be operated from the seat.

Anyone got a pic or link for a proper elder-friendly walk in shower?

 

[Mopar Hunter]

@peabodyracin how long does it take to drain? My girlfriend would be freezing in five minutes.

 

[BB BELLA]

Anyone got a pic or link for a proper elder-friendly walk in shower?

I've got a small mirolin walkin with a seat,but it doesn't fit a fat ***! seats only 10"x15",she can get one cheek on it!

 

[BB BELLA]

mine is from 92, I see they have one now with a foldup seat much improved!