123 Remodeling.com

Plenty of questions surround housing today, but none is as vexing as the question of the whirlpool tub.

A staple since the late 1980s, the massive tub, complete with jets, benches, electronic controls and other bells and whistles came to be standard equipment in upper-end homes.

But something was discovered in the past 20 years: No one uses them.

Jetted tubs, in fact, are used an average of seven times in the life of the unit, according to Jim Krengel, the former president of the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

That's no surprise to local builders.

Edd Dunlap, head of marketing for Compass Homes, estimates that half of the company's buyers say they don't need the oversized jet tub.

But you'll still find the tubs in the company's Parade of Homes model in Dublin and show model in Lewis Center.

"For spec homes (those built without a buyer), you've got to have them," Dunlap said. "People expect to see them."

Hence, the dilemma: Builders say the tubs that dominate upscale baths are rarely used, but they keep installing them.

It's as if carmakers still installed eight-track players. OK, that may be unfair to the tub crowd. A better comparison might be a sunroof: Everyone wants one, but how often are they really used?

"They have great sales and curb appeal to buyers," said Krengel, president of Krengel Presentations in St. Paul, Minn.

"However, once people move into their new home, it has been determined that they use the jetted tub once to see if it works and a second time because they kind of think they should, and thereafter it sits idle."

Home builders are taking steps, however cautious, out of the big tubs.

Some drop the tubs altogether at the owners' request in favor of more luxurious showers.

"I'm working with four clients right now, and none of them wants a tub," said Tim Shear, vice president of marketing and design for Coppertree Homes in Dublin. "They say, 'The last time I used a tub was three years ago.' I say, 'Take the money you'd spend on a tub and buy a nice piece of art.' "

Other builders replace the jetted tub with a smaller one. Three of the 11 homes in this year's Parade of Homes have standalone tubs in the master suite -- a stylish throwback that is becoming more popular.

The latest survey from the American Institute of Architects suggests that mainstream homeowners are moving away from super-luxurious (and super-expensive) features such as whirlpool tubs in favor of more practical, environmentally friendly or accessible ones.

"Bath products reported as showing the greatest increase in popularity were water-saving toilets, doorless showers and hand showers," according to the institute's survey, released in March.

"Products that were declining the most in popularity were mostly upscale products: infrared saunas, soaking tubs, steam showers and towel-warming drawers or racks."

The National Association of Home Builders "Home of the Future" survey from 2007 suggested that soaking tubs remained a desirable feature, but far more so in expensive homes: 82 percent of upscale-home buyers said they wanted a whirlpool in the master suite while only 19 percent of average-home buyers desired one.

With the economy the way it is, that may be the wave of the future.

"Buyers used to go for as big as they could get," said Marty Stafford, owner of Stafford Homes, a custom home builder in Powell. "Now, most buyers just want something, so I give them something smaller that makes bubbles."