If you are thinking about a bathroom remodel, you may wonder if it will increase your home’s value. In many cases, upgrading your bathrooms can help your home sell more quickly compared to leaving things alone. Even if you don’t plan on selling your home immediately, upgrading to a glass shower can give you a feature that enhances the utility of your bathroom.
Half Bath vs. Full Bath vs. 3/4 Bath
While you may know about half and full baths and even might know which your home has, do you know the differences between these two? What about 3/4 baths? The fractions refer to how many fixtures are present in the room out of the four that make a full bath.
The type of bathroom your house has matters, especially if you are thinking of selling. In a survey from the National Association of Home Builders, 65% of prospective home buyers reported they preferred homes with two or 2-1/2 baths. It’s easier to see if remodeling before selling your home is worth the effort when you know how certain changes will affect sale value.
What Is a Half Bath?
A half bath has only a toilet and a sink. As a practical bathroom, these spaces often provide necessary facilities to the ground floor of multistory homes that have bedrooms on the upper floors. By adding a bathtub or shower to a half bath, you can convert it into a 3/4 bath. Adding both will make it a full bath, but because these types of bathrooms are small, you may not have enough space for a tub and shower.
What Is a Full Bath?
A full bath has all four components of a bathroom—shower, tub, sink and toilet. These four fixtures typically make up the contents of a typical master bath. Other bathrooms that accompany bedrooms may also be full baths, but some are 3/4 baths.
What Is a 3/4 Bath?
A 3/4 bath has three out of the four required fixtures for a full bath. Most bathrooms of this type have a toilet and sink with either a tub or shower. To save space and appeal to more modern consumers, many opt for a shower instead of a bathtub. Occasionally, appraisers do not distinguish between a full bath and a 3/4 bath, which is why you may get the benefits of a full bath on your home’s value even if it is only a 3/4 bath.
It’s a trend to remove bathtubs and replace them with luxury, extra-large showers to create 3/4 baths. In a 2017 survey of homeowners, 27% removed the tub in their master bathroom to allow for a larger shower. Ninety-one percent of respondents reported wanting a more spacious master bath shower. Depending on where you live, replacing your shower-tub combo with a single, large shower could increase the value, especially if you have a smaller home with little extra space.
Adding a Shower to an Existing Half Bath
How much value you get from adding a shower to any of your bathrooms depends on where you live and the number of baths your home already has. By adding a shower to a half bath, you upgrade it to a 3/4 bath—or a full bath per some appraisers.
Upgrading from a half bath to a full bath can increase your home’s value by 9%, if the number of bathrooms in your home equals the number of bedrooms. If you have an older home with fewer baths than bedrooms, adding a bathroom can increase the home’s value even more.
Upgrading a Shower in an Existing Full Bathroom
Remodeling an existing bathroom can add anywhere between 60.2% and 67.2% to your home’s resale value. The exact value depends on where you live and the type of renovations made.
If you already have a shower in your bathroom and want to upgrade it, think about the enclosure and its overall appearance. Replacing a shower curtain with a frameless glass shower enclosure opens up the bathroom space and makes it appear larger. Additionally, frameless glass is easier to clean than framed glass shower doors.
Another way to upgrade your shower is by making it more accessible. By 2040, 21% of the population will be seniors and looking for homes that offer easy access. Adding universal accommodations to your home, like curbless showers, can increase your home’s value for future sales. Upgrading your home for universal design, such as a master bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor, curbless shower and comfort-height toilets can increase your home’s selling price by 1% to 2%.
When making an upgrade to your home, also consider the value you get from being able to use the newly renovated space. Homeowners who upgraded their bathrooms had a joy score of 9.6 out of 10. Of those who remodeled their bathrooms, 62% had a greater desire to remain in their homes after the upgrade.
To decide if you want to keep your full bathroom tub or use the space for an upgraded shower, consider where you live. Home trends vary based on the local population. For example, if you live in an area with several families with young children, you will want to ensure you have at least one tub in the home for bathing children, but if population is older, having universally accessible showers in all your bathrooms may be a better investment.
Does a Glass Shower Increase Home Resale Value?
Upgrading your home by adding a new shower or remodeling an existing one can boost your home’s value. Installing a glass shower is one way to do this. Glass showers make even small bathrooms appear larger and more open, and you never need to worry about scrubbing mildew-covered shower curtains again.
Garrety Glass offers high-quality products at the best prices. Because we customize the shower enclosures we sell and professionally install them, you get a shower that fits perfectly into your bathroom, regardless of its size. Contact us for a free consultation to find the ideal shower to boost your bathroom’s appearance and your home’s value.