EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT: WETROOMS
Choosing a wet room is an increasingly answer for people buying a new bathroom, gone are the days when wet rooms would be a far more expensive option than a standard shower enclosure.
Wet room kits can now be purchased and installed for a very similar cost to shower trays but provide a far superior modern looking finish to the room. Wet room kits such as the Marmox kit aren’t anymore expensive than buying a shower tray and waste.
We are often asked questions regarding wet rooms, here are a few examples:
Question: Can Wetrooms be installed on a second floor?
Answer: Absolutely, as long as it is fitted correctly they can be fitted on any floor and the Maxxus wet room kits can also go straight onto joists.
Question: Is their a difference between a wet room and a shower room?
Answer: Yes, bathrooms and shower rooms are part tiled and part waterproofed whereas wet rooms are usually completely tiled and completely waterproof.
Question: Are wet rooms more difficult and time consuming to install than a standard bathroom?
Answer: Slightly but to an experienced installed it doesn’t make much difference, its usually just a case of more tiling to do than usual.
Advantages of wetrooms:
A wetroom will transfer any bathroom into a modern stylish area with a more spacious feel than the standard bath, basin and toilet setup.
We have noticed buyers are increasing looking at wetrooms for their second bathroom to add value to the property.
Wetrooms also have great advantages for any one with a disability or issues with getting into a bath or standard shower enclosure as they can be installed completely flat, kits such as the Maxxus kit for tiling can be installed straight onto joists allowing the floor area to be completely level.
Disadvantages of a wetroom:
Families with young children will often struggle without a bath and a wet rooom is the only bathroom in the house it may cause issues when trying to sell properties to young families.
Bathroom furniture such as vanity units can be trickier to install correctly as they aren’t supposed to get as much spray as they can if they are in a wet room to close to a shower.
Practical Wetroom Design Considerations:
Guiding Principles for Wetroom Design
These are not “hard and fast” rules but a few things you might want to consider are:
Windows are best kept outside the “wet area” this is for privacy as well practicalities, we can also now provide ‘privacy’ frosted wetroom screens which can help.
Try and avoid having the toilet as the first thing you see when you come through the door.
If possible try and keep access to the toilet and sink as a dry space.
A large shower area is also comfortable to dry off in so you don’t need a separate space for this.
Drainage
Don’t worry about the practicalities of the drainage and pipe runs etc. at this early stage our kits handle most situations. Virtually anything is possible.
Plumbing and the Wetroom Shower
With our tile board you can construct “false walls” easily.
Type of floor – Suspended timber, floor boards, chipboard, solid concrete, don’t worry about that yet, there are options for all types.
Splashing where you don’t want it
If you have a big big room you might not need a screen.
In smaller rooms a screen (or wall) will keep your other fittings, towels and toilet paper dry.
Sinks and toilets can be in wet areas, but most people prefer a screen to separate them from the splash zone.
Free standing baths can be and often are in the splash zone. Baths with side panels are best kept out of the splash zone so water doesn’t get trapped behind the panels.
Wetroom Splash pattern radius
Main wet drainage area size – where does most of the water go? What floor area needs to slope towards the drain?
The shower pressure and head size and the mounting of the head e.g.Wall mounted or overhead influence where the showering water goes.
With so many variables, we have used the typical spread from a ceiling mounted, “monsoon” type head as a working guide. The stream of water flowing from the shower and off the body is approximately 1m diameter (500mm radius) at floor level. The Splashing area is approximately 2m diameter at floor level.
Minimum showering area
The bigger the showering area the more luxurious. Most people will feel able to shower in a 700mm x 700mm area. A rectangular area 700mm x 900m is much more comfortable.
Wet Room Floor Former size
The smallest floor former (sloping deck to give a fall to the drain) is 800 x 800mm and may be cut to size.
The total wet floor area can be reduced by walls or screens. When the screen is not sealed to the floor it is recommended that the sloping floor area extends 30mm beyond the screen
The splash zone 1m radius can be flat but must be tanked and tiled.
Wetroom Screens
Simple glass screens reduce the wet floor area and splash zones. A screen is used to keep the rest of the room dry it could be a short screen to stop most splashing on to toilets and basins etc.
Or a medium sized screen to keep the most of the floor space dry.
Or large screens with flippers or doors to construct a cubicle.