Our master doesn't have a tub (the shower could fit ten people though and no, we've tried and never will ;-) ). There is a soaking tub in the second upstairs bathroom. There is a regular tub in a third bathroom.

I personally would not want a jacuzzi tub. You are going to find folks that love it (although they'd want to be able to fill it heated), and folks that dislike them. As far as lowering resale value? If everyone else in your neighborhood had one it might lower it slightly (if you had no other "wow" to offset it). If a jacuzzi tub is less common in your area it is doubtful it will lower the value.

I'd rather have a large nice luxurious shower than a shower/tub combo in the master provided there is a tub elsewhere. Or are you talking about a smaller tub and a separate shower? If so in our household that would be the preference. DH likes to take bath sometimes and I don't, but we both want a separate shower.

If you're going to be in this house for a while (5-10 years) then do what makes most sense for you. I removed a large garden tub from my master bath when I remodeled, since in the 4 years I've owned my house I hadn't used it once. In the extra space, I enlarged the shower. I also donated the tub to Habitat for Humanity.

Good luck!

I've bought and sold 5 condos/houses and NEVER has a jacuzzi tub been on the list of "must haves". I'd part with it if your family has other needs...which it sounds like you do. I also agree that if you are going to be in this house for awhile, make the house work for you.

I love my large jacuzzi tub in the master and use it regularly, but I also have a separate large shower in the master, and at the phase I am in my life I wouldn't buy a home without both in the master bath. What is common at your price point and in your neighborhood? If it's common to have both a jacuzzi and a separate shower in your neighborhood and price point, then you may lower the resale value. On the other hand, if it's rare to have both then don't worry about it and do whatever is best for your own lifestyle.

As long as there is one tub in a home (for bathing little kids and large dogs LOL), you should be fine.

Not sure from your post if there is room for both a smaller tub AND a shower. That's what we have in our master bath. My UltraBain airjet tub fills in a couple of minutes whereas the whirlpool in the guest bath takes forever. (We salvaged that thing from the teardown.)

I'm wondering how you get that big ole tub OUT of there? Sledge hammers? It's certainly useless as it is.

If you don't have adequate water heating for the Jacuzzi, be careful you don't go crazy with shower heads.

Theres actually a really long post about this same subject, in the end more people said to take it out.

I'm buying a house due to needing one but think I'm the minority. I have back problems and need it.

Had giant jacuzzi tubs, HATED them.

Because...

1. Used up the whole 40 gallon tank of hot water to fill it.

2. By the time it was filled I could have taken 3 showers.

3. By the time it fills up it's cold.

4. I have to sit in it to clean it.

We're doing a MBR remodel soon and I have a 3x5 foot square deep soaking tub going in (no jets, no yucky tubes to clean, no electricity to deal with), and a *nice* frameless glass steam shower with a bench. That's where the true luxury is nowadays, I think. Usable luxury.

Personally, I like the bath/shower combo. I like being able to take a soak in our tub, then switching to shower mode to rinse and wash my hair before getting out.

One thing I have found that I don't like is an over-sized tub. The one in our master bathroom is actually a little too large for comfort as far as I am concerned - I prefer a more upright position and don't like it when I can slip down.

Having no tub in the master would be a problem for me.

I absolutely love bathtubs but hate the whirlpool/jacuzzis. I just put in a deep soaking tub with an inline heater (circulates the water to heat it up), but no whirlpool jets. Time will tell if the circulating water pipes are as awful as whirlpool jets to clean, but at least there's only two. I just really dislike always having to let cooled water out in order to add more hot, hence the heater. Otherwise, I would have had NO jets.

Joanna

recently gutted my 5 yr old master bath..Removed the jacuzzi, and replaced with large,deep soaking tub...also have a seperate shower...The concern about hot water isn't an issue, as we have a 75 gallon hot water heater servicing the masterbath exclusively..In the shower we have a rainshower and a handshower

How much room do you have? I think a walkin shower is more of a selling point than a jacuzzi. Now that I have a large shower I would never go back to one of those step in shower/tub combos. We LOVE our shower. People always comment on it. I also have a large clawfoot tub as well, rarely used. But if space was at a premium and I couldn't have both, I'd do a really large, luxurious shower and just make sure there is another good sized (not apartment size) tub in another bathroom.

I love hot tubs. But I decided against an indoor jacuzzi when DH and I were on vacation and the room had a 2 person jacuzzi. It was noisy and it took forever to fill. We will eventually get an outdoor hot tub.

My Master Bath came with a huge jacuzzi tub and we hate it., It takes up so much room, no one uses it and its a pain to clean (since no one uses it, it accumulates dust). If I have the money to redo my bathroom, the jacuzzi tub is going away and I would make my shower bigger.

We recently removed our jacuzzi tub in order to make the shower handicap accessible. The bath construction firm said that they have many requests to remove the jacuzzi.

I dislike jacuzzis; a soaking tub would be okay, but I don't like huge jetted tubs at ALL. I'd much rather have a shower. A bath/shower combination would be preferable to a jacuzzi for me -- and not a jacuzzi/shower combo, but a standard tub.

I agree with those who've said do what makes sense for you if you'll be there for a number of years. But if resale is top of mind, check out what's standard in your neighborhood. In mine, a walk-in shower is essential. The tub, not as much.

My new neighbors bought new construction across the street. They ripped out the large jacuzzi in the master, thought it was ridiculous to have such a big tub taking up that much space in a modestly sized bathroom.

When we built our home 3 years ago we didn't put a tub in the master bath at all, even though we live in a high end neighborhood - and I have been in a couple of other homes in the neighborhood that don't have tubs in the master. We used our space for a large walk-in, doorless shower and more closet space. I knew that the tub would go unused most of the time, and would rather have the closet space.

Thanks for all your feedback. Seems I am not the only one who does see the need for a huge jacuzzi. Now we only have to find the right contractor to make changes.

Our master bath does not have a tub, just a shower and I am totally fine with it. The kids bathroom has a bath/shower combo which is great because they are still little enough to take baths.

As long as your house a normal bathtub somewhere I say scrap it. Those huge deep tubs are no good for washing up the kids -- your back would hate you.

Why does anyone NEED a jacuzzi tub? The amount of water you need to fill it up and enjoy it makes them impractical to use. If you need a shower, put one in.

It's YOUR house now - do what you like and what you need to. Why build it to suit someone else when you know they will probably change it anyway?

So...how DO you get it out of the bathroom, and the house?

I'm seeing the trend of luxurious shower and no tub in MB renos more and more. As long as there is one bath tub in a main bathroom somewhere in the house, I think it's a fine idea to go tubless in the master.

I don't know if you could attribute the trend to more "green" thinking or if it's just a generational shift in what is perceived as needed in the master bath. Definitely think jet tubs are out of trend.

Maybe it's a regional thing, but jetted tubs aren't out of favor in my price point and area. New construction in my area is still putting in a separate large jetted tub and large shower. The showers have become luxury showers, large, multiple shower heads, but the jetted tubs are still very popular and it would be odd to see a master suite without one in my area.

Probably because first time buyers are big suckers for jacuzzi tubs. We were! We learned....

agree with cordova,somewhat..I'd find it odd, that a masterbath would NOT have a tub, whether jetted or soaking..I have not seen a single home that didn't have either one or the other in a masterbath..Though if the space is limited,i'd prefer a shower over a tub/shower combo..My guess is that homes that are eliminating tubs generally are smaller rooms, and valued accordingly

I agree with qdog, the size of home I'm referring to has a large master suite, in a smaller bathroom you'd have to certainly make a decision as to what you could fit into a small bath, but in my size and price range it's possible to have it all and that's what buyers in my area want, whether a soaker tub or jacuzzi is personal preference, but definitely large tub and seperate large shower are the norm in my area and price range.

Disney, this is my third home I've purchased with separate large tub (2 were jacuzzi's, one a soaker) and I'm not in a starter home. It just happens to fit my lifestyle, I'm a bath kinda girl.

"How important is a huge jacuzzi tub?"

To me, not important at all!

I love tubs too, Cordova, and hated the house that had a shower only.

I just prefer tubs without holes or jets, and I think most people who've had a jacuzzi would not choose another one if given their druthers.

I love big soaking tubs where you're submerged up to your neck without your knees or toes showing; that's my dream :)

How do you remove a giant jacuzzi tub? With a SAWSALL of course! Cut it into lots of pieces and cart it out.

That's what the previous owners did here. I have an enormous bathroom with no tub and a huge walkin shower. There's a hot tub on the deck lest you need to soak.

This is such a personal preference thing! Our old house had a smallish shower in the master and a jetted tub in the hall bath, which I always found very weird because the master was the only main floor bedroom. I LOVED the jacuzzi and love having the one in our new house master bath. There is also a VERY large shower. The only fly in the ointment is that this is not an actual "Jacuzzi" tub, but an Aquaglass one, and it doesn't have enough power to really soothe my back. SO put me in the minority who not want to be without a jetted tub.

cordovamom : My guess is that homes that are eliminating tubs generally are smaller rooms, and valued accordingly

It may well be that small houses are eliminating tubs in the master, but in my area large houses are eliminating them too. I live in an area of large houses (3000 sq ft is small). The master not having a tub is not at all unusual. As long as there is a tub somewhere in the house for kids it does not hurt resale. Most houses in my area have at least four bathrooms, so not having a tub in every bathroom is not a problem.

YMMV of course.

xamsx, if there is no type of tub(jetted or soaker) what is taking up all the floor space in the master baths?..If the homes are as large as you say, the master baths must be at least 100sf, so even considering a large shower,dual sink/vanity,toilet area,and linen closet, there would be considerable space vacant...My master is 150 sf+- and without the soaking tub, it'd be very barren..

Not so. You can't fit a separate tub, shower, double vanity, toilet area and linen closet into a 10' by 10' area unless the shower is small. You certainly couldn't fit in a whirlpool tub along with everything else into a space that small.

But 150' is a different matter. That 50sq ft of extra space would make all the difference.

FF, i have yet to see a home that has a masterbath without a tub of some sort..particularly homes 4000 sf...at 3000 sf,minimum,which is the size xamsx mentioned, what is filling the space?...and i guess what is considered large for a shower? I feel mine is too big after the remodel...it has a rainshower,a handshower, a bench, is aprox 20 sf..

Our master bath is approximately 110 square feet. As you can see from the floorplan there is a tub in the guest bath that opens to the hall. In the almost 3 years that we have lived here it has been used once, by my MIL when she was visiting. I much prefer a huge walk-in closet and shower to a dust catcher tub.