Wet room buying guide

A wet room is a fully waterproofed bathroom with a shower, toilet, and basin. Waterproofing (also called 'tanking') involves applying a waterproof membrane to the floor and walls and then covering the membrane with tiles or wall panels to create a completely watertight seal. The shower's drainage is incorporated into the floor, meaning there's no shower tray to step over, and the floor is all on one level. A shower screen can separate the showering area from the toilet and basin if the room is small, but it's not necessary for a large wet room.

What’s the difference between a wet room and a walk-in shower?

Although they're often confused, wet rooms and walk-in showers are not the same. A walk-in shower is a shower enclosure with an open entrance, usually installed within a standard bathroom. A wet room, on the other hand, is a fully waterproofed bathroom where the shower area is level with the floor and the entire room is designed to handle water. 

Wet rooms offer a sleek, modern look and can make smaller bathrooms feel more spacious, while walk-in showers provide a similar contemporary style with a more traditional bathroom layout.

There are many great reasons to install a wet room, but they're not suitable for every home and have a few drawbacks. This section looks at the pros and cons of installing a wet room.
 

Benefits:

• Modern appearance: Wet rooms are a contemporary and stylish option for a bathroom, adding a touch of luxury to any home. 

• Potential to add value: The luxurious feel is a feature buyers often look for, so a wet room can add value to a property. 

• Can make your bathroom look bigger: Wet rooms are perfect for small bathrooms, as the reduction in fixtures and lack of a bath creates a spacious feel. 

• Easy to clean: Wet room glass screens often have an easy-to-clean coating, and the lack of a shower tray and enclosure means there are no nooks and crannies where mould and bacteria can hide. Plus, the floor is easy to mop because it's all on one level.

• Accessible: Wet rooms are also a practical solution for people with mobility problems. There’s no shower tray or bath to step into, and there’s more floor space available for wheelchair access.

Drawbacks

• Not suitable for everyone: While a wet room can increase the value of a property, if it's the only bathroom in a family-sized home, the lack of a bath could put potential buyers with children off.

• High installation costs: Installing a wet room may also be more costly than installing a standard bathroom due to the added cost of waterproofing the entire room. But this will depend on the room size – the larger it is, the more expensive it will be.

• Can feel colder: As there is no full shower enclosure, heat and steam can escape more easily.

• Maintenance: One other potential disadvantage could be ongoing maintenance if non-porous tiles are installed. This is because they may require periodic sealing to ensure they remain waterproof.

Many products and options are available to create a wet room. In this section, we look at all the types of products available to help you understand how to create a wet room that works for you.

Wet room drainage

Getting the drainage right in a wet room is key to its success. The floor must be sloped towards a waste in the showering area so the water can drain effectively. There are several ways in which this can be achieved:

• Create a sloped sub-floor: this is built and installed over the existing floor using WBP ply, then tiled over.

• Install a ready-made sloping shower tray: these very large trays are installed over the existing floor and tiled over.

• Install a giant pre-formed tray: this tray covers the entire floor area and doesn’t need to be tiled over.  

Whichever option is chosen, a wet room waste, such as a round trapped gully or a channel drain, must be installed at the floor's lowest point.

Waterproofing kits

When building a wet room, the entire space must be stripped back to the bare walls and floor so it can be 'tanked' (or waterproofed). This is an essential part of the process as it creates a seal between the walls and floor and the tiles or wall panels, protecting the plaster, brick, or timber from dampness, mould, and rotting.

Tanking can be achieved through several methods. The easiest option is using a paint-on waterproof membrane which provides a tough and durable seal while remaining flexible. The membrane can be bought separately, or wet room kits are available, which usually include a primer, the membrane coating, and waterproof jointing tape.

Alternative tanking options are using a membrane that comes on a roll or waterproof boards. Both can be cut to size and taped together using waterproof jointing tape.

Shower glass options

Many people ask, can you install a shower enclosure in a wet room? The answer is that you don't need to because the whole room is one big shower enclosure, even though it also includes a toilet and basin. However, if the bathroom is small, you may wish to install a shower glass panel to prevent water from splashing onto the toilet, basin, towels, and toilet roll.

There are many different shower glass options available. For example, some are framed in finishes such as chrome, black and silver effect, while others are frameless. Some have one large piece of glass, while others have many small pieces in a framed grid. In addition, the panels can be fixed (so they can't be moved) or hinged (so they swivel back and forth like a door). Some options have one large, fixed panel and a smaller swivel panel. 

Underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is a popular option for wet rooms. It makes the room warm and comfortable while showering, but the heat, spread over a large surface area, helps to quickly evaporate any water left on the tiles to eliminate mould growth. There's also no need to install a radiator which saves space. 

One disadvantage to underfloor heating is that it works at lower temperatures than radiators and therefore takes longer to heat a room. There are two underfloor heating options: electric (which can run independently to the home’s heating system) and warm water (which is connected to the gas central heating system). Electric underfloor heating can be expensive in large rooms but is more cost-effective for bathrooms because it can be switched on without heating the whole house.

Wet room tiles

One option for finishing a wet room after it has been tanked is installing tiles. Floor tiles are always needed if the wet room has a WBP ply subfloor or ready-made sloping shower tray. But tiles aren't required if a giant pre-formed tray is installed. When picking floor tiles, ensure they are non-slip tiles designed specifically for bathroom floors. Otherwise, they will be slippery and dangerous when wet.

To finish the walls, choose tiles or wet room wall panels. Ideally, for both the walls and floors, select non-porous tiles, as porous materials, such as slate and marble, must be sealed every few months to prevent water damage.

Wet room wall panels

Wet room or bathroom wall panels are the perfect alternative to tiles for wet room walls. They are rectangular panels that can be cut to size and fitted over the tanking membrane, creating a neat finish. The panels are manufactured to be durable and robust, and they are resistant to discolouration. Installation and maintenance are simple, and unlike tiles, there’s no grout that will discolour over time and needs replacing. Bathroom wall panels are available in composite, MDF, veneer, or laminate materials and come in various colours and designs.