[Pomalee]

Don't you find that there's never enough room for shampoo, etc. in a shower?

We saw this built-in shelf done in a tiled shower, and it looked great, but what if it were done with a tub?

Our contractor and his crew didn't think it would look that great, and due to a communication problem, the plumbers already cut the holes as if there would be no shelf.

We figure the shelf would be 4" wide, located 48" from the floor, but since the drawing isn't the best, could you try to envision it in real life and let me know what you think?

Thanks so much!

[Narf]

In other words, the faucet holes are towards the wall now, and there isn't enough offset for the tub?

I personally find a shelf to be more cleaning ... hard water around here is bad enough on the walls/doors ... I'd hate to imagine how much worse when it's standing water on a shelf.

[climber_grrl]

My first thought is that you're going to feel cramped w /that big shelf. From the picture it looks like a shallow bench up high (the whole front wall comes out to accommodate the shelf). How wide is the tub and how deep is the shelf? You might want to tape the size of the tub from a wall so it's like the wall is the shelf. That way you can stand in the square and simulate a shower so you can get an idea of just how big the space feels.

I'm a big fan of niches so that the shampoo et. al fits into the recesses instead of coming out. You definitely don't knock your elbows on them when you reach up to do your hair or wash up high.

	W definition W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.

[Pomalee]

It's not like I'm taking up any more tub space; the wall would be built out 4", and the tub would move into the room by 4". Does that make sense?

The problem of standing water is a good one to consider. I thought that perhaps if there was a very, very subtle tilt (not the best descriptor), then the water would drain on its own. I figured that's what the builders had done in the shower we saw.

[climber_grrl]

Yes, there will be a slope to the shelf.

Thanks for explaining the extra 4". That makes a lot of sense.

[kmcg]

Is it too late to put the 4" shelf at the other short end of the tub? I like the idea, but my mosaic-tiled niche does succumb to soapy build-up, so a shorter area of shelf might keep that down to a manageable level.

Kathy

[drlith]

My thought is this: if you use it to store bath products, is it easily reachable for someone taking a bath? This might not bother some people (esp. if you never take baths!), but I know that for me, we've got our poufs hanging from a hook that you have to stand up to reach, and it drives me a teeny bit nuts. I never remember to grab a pouf before I get in.

[Pomalee]

Yes, I think I like the idea of having the shelf at the end of the tub better, but the bathroom is only as wide as the tub is long; there's no room for this kind of a shelf down there.

We'd like to use a solid surface to top it off; dark blue to match the vanity countertop. I think that would make it easier to keep clean, too. Than tile, say.

I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of this myself, but my mother-in-law keeps a squeegee in the shower for wiping down the shower after use. Using it sorta makes me feel like I'm cleaning the bathroom, which really I don't want to do just after I've showered, but then again, it seems like a really good idea, worth getting used to in the long run. (But: if the squeegee is there, would my guests feel obliged to use it? Maybe put it away when we host overnight guests...)

I didn't anticipate the pouf scenario; that was helpful. I'm thinking that the only tub-bather of the family is the 7-year-old one who can't yet stick his head under water to wash or rinse his hair, and I'm actually pleased to think that our shampoo will inconvenient for him to reach; just recently he played with some of the bottles and got them all watered down with his bath water. I suspect our soap disappears too quickly for the same reason.

I do like to plan ahead for the future owners of the house, but I'm not afraid to have someone rolling their eyes 10 years from now, saying, "What were they thinking?!"

My big concern was if it would look like a design disaster. But I guess good design follows function, so if it causes headaches, then it wouldn't be a good design. Is it possible for good function, if it's dressed right, to be bad design? Hmmm....

I like what my friend said: "In my limited experience of friends' remodelings and our own, anything dreamed up by the owners for an owner-specific purpose seems to be well-loved, regardless of what the builder thinks."

Well, we're going for it. Paul just left to go talk to the guys on site. Thanks so much for your thoughts! I'll post pix here when it's done.

BTW , drlith: would hanging a pouf from the bathtub faucet fix your pouf problem? I sometimes hook it around the pull-up thingy that diverts the water to the shower head.

	BTW definintion BTW means By The Way

[climber_grrl]

Re: squeegee

If you live in an area like mine w /water so hard it practically comes out of the tap as chunks, the squeegeeing after a shower REALLY helps keep the doors and walls clean. Saves on Lime-a-Way, too.

No need to think of it as "cleaning" since you and the tub should be fairly clean after a shower. Think of it as preventing future scrubing.

	W definition W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.

[drlith]

Originally Posted by Pomalee

BTW, drlith: would hanging a pouf from the bathtub faucet fix your pouf problem? I sometimes hook it around the pull-up thingy that diverts the water to the shower head.

Well, I usually put it on the pull-up thingy, so that does work, but then the tallest member of the household keeps moving it back to the hook grumble grumble.