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Designing a Wet Room – What to Consider

Introduction
A wet room is a bathroom in which the space usually reserved for a bathtub, or shower cubicle, is incorporated into the room, so that the whole of the room effectively becomes a shower. This can be an efficient use of limited space in a small, existing bathroom, or in a box room, for example, which can be converted to a second bathroom, and add value to your property. Wall mounted sinks, and toilets, can be accommodated without compromising the amount of space available, and – together with the absence of a shower tray, shower screen, or bathtub – make a wet room easier to maintain in a clean and hygienic condition than a traditional bathroom.

Designing & Installing a Wet Room
A wet room must, of course, be completely watertight, and must be designed to drain correctly. Exterior grade plywood – manufactured using water resistant glue – should be used to create a sloping wet room floor, with channels that directs water to the drain. The whole of the floor area, along with the lower portions of the walls and the whole of the wall area surrounding the shower area, should be primed, and treated with a liquid waterproofing membrane. It may also be necessary to reinforce all the corners of a wet room, and any other areas where movement, or cracking, is likely to occur, with fibre mesh.

Once the waterproof membrane has set, a wet room can be tiled. Tiles of a non-porous nature – ceramic, or porcelain, for example – are often a better choice than porous tiles – slate, marble, etc. – which need to be sealed, in the first instance, and re-sealed every few months to prevent water penetration. You should, of course, also choose tiles specifically designed for use on bathroom floors, which are less slippery when wet.

To create the maximum sense of space and light in a small wet room, non-slip tiles in light shades often work best, but small, darkly-coloured tiles should be avoided. Lighting, too, is important, and you may like to consider a "sun pipe", to gather natural sunlight from you roof and carry it to your wet room. A strategically placed mirror, or mirrors, can also help to open up the space in a wet room.

The appeal of a tiled wet room floor, in terms of hygiene, practicality and aesthetics, cannot be denied, but it can, equally, be cold and uninviting, especially during the winter months. Underfloor heating can, therefore, be an excellent addition to your wet room. Wet room floor heating allows tiles to be heated to a temperature that is comfortable to walk on, and also radiates heat to the room above, raising the air temperature, and allowing wet surfaces to dry more quickly

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