ᐅ Is a second bathroom with a shower useful?

Hello,

for a while now, we have been considering whether adding a second shower bathroom makes sense or not.
Currently, we are two adults and a nearly 6-year-old child.

On the ground floor (GF), we have a small guest toilet without a shower.
On the upper floor (UF), there is the main bathroom with both a shower and a bathtub. The bedroom and a child’s room will also be on this floor for now.
In the attic floor (AF), we could install an additional shower bathroom.
This floor currently houses the office/guest room (14m² (150 sq ft)) as well as another child’s room (17m² (183 sq ft)), potentially for another child in the future.

We are building a semi-detached house with a developer and cannot decide yet.

Our current pros and cons list:

Pros:
- A dedicated shower for guests on the same floor
- When the child gets older and possibly moves upstairs or has visitors, there would be a private area there
- If our family eventually grows to four (one adult plus two school-age children who would need to leave the house at the same time), there would be an additional bathroom so no one has to wait. Besides, there is still the guest toilet.

Cons:
- Additional costs that could probably be better allocated elsewhere
- In my youth, there was only one bathroom with a bathtub for everyone, and it worked fine
- When we visited others, we often didn’t have a private shower bathroom either, which didn’t bother us at all
- We currently have a very small bathroom with only a shower, and so far there have been no problems, even with guests.

Another factor, if we decide on another shower bathroom, besides the price, is the level of completion. There are three options:
1. Installation of supply lines for hot and cold water, including ventilation preparation
2. Shower bathroom preparation (requires option 1), including wall construction, electrical outlets, and lighting
3. Final completion (requires options 1 and 2), including shower tray (likely shower screen too), sink, and toilet

Tiling would be extra as well.

We considered selecting only the supply line installation initially and then building the walls later.
However, the question would be how lighting and electricity would be handled then.
Also, the entire attic floor would need to be altered and renewed later.

Or rather choose options 1 and 2 now and complete the final finishing later.

Perhaps others here have additional pros or cons to share.

Thank you.

I would complete everything at once. It will simply become more complicated if it is done later.

I would definitely add the second bathroom with a shower. We are four people and have only one (in an existing property), and eventually, that will no longer be sufficient.

Of course, it depends on the person... and the price. But I predict that in 30 years you won’t have converted anything because there’s always another way to do it and a thousand other things to take care of—whether it’s vacation, a confirmation, the carport, or simply taking a break.

I would either have it fully converted or not at all—although I do find it convenient that one person can shower while another brushes their teeth, etc.

Thank you, may I ask why you believe it will no longer be sufficient?

Is there any chance to enlarge the guest bathroom a bit and include a shower there? I would definitely recommend having two showers in a new build, but having three bathrooms in total would be quite a luxury.

Best regards,
Andreas

Madira schrieb:
Thank you, may I ask why you believe it will no longer be sufficient?

For four people, having only one bathroom seems borderline in a new build. And even more so when guests are staying...