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Renovating a dungeon shower

7 years ago

We have a shower in our basement that has never been used by us (probably built 50 years ago when the house was built) What would be the easiest/cheapest way to renovate this with the idea of increasing the value of the house when we list it. (currently only has 1 full bath). Here are the pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/IZC1k

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Comments (3)

kats737
7 years ago
Wow, that is downright creepy! I suppose you could embrace it and go with insane clown asylum vibe.

I think the space would need to be gutted, and at a minimum you could put in an acrylic/fiberglass shower surround, but if you're walking through cobwebs and on unfinished floor to get there, it might not seem all that useful. I would aim for clean, bright and useful (if you have an exterior entrance, it would be inviting to be able to come in from yardwork/sports down there). If you wanted to keep the cinder block walls, I would still think you should update the plumbing fixtures.

Take a look at this for a little <inspiration>.
roarah
7 years ago
You will undoubtedly spend more than you will gain fiscally by renovating it. If you will be there for a few years and will enjoy having an extra bath that is the only way redoing it will add value to your life. My neighbors have a full bath in the basement that has no heat and it did not count as a bath during resale or for tax assessment either.
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Thank you for your comments. I'm not sure what type of material the unit is made of, but it's in perfect shape and it's been well used for many years. The people who built the home used high quality finishes throughout and I expect this unit could last another 25 years or so and still look pretty good! :) This is the "children's/guest" bathroom, we plan on being in the home for at least another 5 years and then will downsize. The tub is not unsafe, you can sit in the edge. And it was brought in during the build, and will have to cut in half to take out of the house (my neighbour replaced hers recently). It won't be possible to bring in another one piece unit due to the size but I did look at Swanstone one piece unit, and something like that might work. I'm in Canada (Sask.) and wonder if they carry that or a similar product here. And regarding something like the Swanstone, does it look like a quality, high end product? I've seen some that don't...:) I'm going to keep looking at Houzz and at products and keep pondering, see if other ideas/experiences come in. Thanks so much.
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We installed a Dreamline 38" neoangle shower pan, surround, and glass about two years ago, and have been very happy with it. It is in a basement bath, so we used the fiberglass/acrylic surround kit instead of tile. We have cement board on the walls behind the surround, but the surround kit makes it simple because its waterproof, so you can even use standard drywall if you want. One change we made with the corner shower is to put an extension on the shower head fitting so that we could bring it up to the ceiling and get a rainfall effect for the shower head. We initially had the shower head on one wall, but it sprayed out into the bath if you didn't point it to one side when you turned it on. Then you had to move it back to center when you got in the shower. The straight down head makes it much easier because the spray also goes straight down. Dreamline also has rectangular shower kits, and I assume they work the same as the neoangle we installed. We put the base on a cement floor, supported by a bed of mortar (per the instructions), and it is very stable. The fiberglass/acrylic surround kit looks fine and works very well, but I would recommend tile if its in a more visible bath. The glass kit went on smoothly and worked well. Bruce
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My Dad's kitchen opens to the living room and the counter with the sink has no backsplash. I'm going to save your photo to show to my husband and Dad, maybe they will take it up as a project this winter. I will need something to keep Dad from going stir crazy. Now to try and figure out how to make it his idea . . . As for the tile, Wow! You must have had a great tiler, speaking as someone who did just some basic cuts for her last bathroom redo . . . I love creative tile patterns, and your is one of the coolest I have ever seen. Maybe the top one!
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just_terrilynn
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Are the areas near or surrounding basement bathroom somewhat finished off? I agree that doing a full bath remodel might be iffy if one has to walk thru a dungeon to get to the bathroom. If the rest of the basement is not at least partially finished I would concentrate on removing anything moulding and bringing electric and plumbing up to code to pass home inspections. Is there a toilet and sink? It's also possible you would need some type of ventilation fan. Just doing those few things could add up. I would get someone in for advise who is familiar with codes/remodeling in your area first before doing anything. It will help you in knowing what you might "have to do" first.

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