The essential guide to creating a wet room
While designing and installing a wet room can be more complex than renovating or building a standard bathroom, they offer a sleeker, contemporary look and can increase the value of your home. Follow our guide on how to create the perfect wet room.
What is a wet room?
Wet rooms are essentially shower rooms with the shower screen and tray removed and have an open, fully tiled shower area. If your bathroom is on the small side, you probably will need to include a shower screen to prevent water from spraying the entire room.
What are the advantages of a wet room?
· Wet rooms can create a sleek, contemporary space in your bathroom
· Installing a wet room can potentially increase the value of your home
· They are a great solution for small bathrooms, as removing a bath creates more space
· Generally they are easier to clean as there’s no raised shower tray or shower screen to worry about
· They provide a safe showering environment for anyone with mobility difficulties
Phoenix Lexi Compact Twin Shower
Are there any disadvantages?
· In small bathrooms, you have to watch out for things like towels and toilet roll getting wet
· You’ll need a professional to waterproof the room because if it’s not done properly, leaking water can cause damage.
· Wet rooms need to be tiled from floor to ceiling, which can be expensive. And if you choose a porous stone tile, they may need to be resealed every few months.
Planning the wet room
Thinking about where in the room you are going to locate the toilet and vanity is also important – the aim is to keep these areas dry. If the room is on the small side, opting to install a sheet of glass to separate a shower area from the toilet tends to work best. In larger rooms and you should always aim to create space between wet and dry areas.
It’s also a good idea to install underfloor heating to keep the tiles warm underfoot and to help dry out the water on the floor.
Vivid Shower Rose and Arm
Water drainage
Designing and installing a wet room is best done in consultation with a professional, as a gradient needs to be created to channel the water into a drain. The entire room also then needs to be tanked (waterproofed).
The most popular method for creating a gradient is to install a sub-floor made from WB Plywood, which is then tiled over. Two popular drain options are long rectangular channel drains and square point drains also known as Smart Tiles. The other option is to create a readymade sloping shower, just like a giant shower tray. This too is then tiled over.
Another option is to use a bespoke floor in the non-porous material HI-MACS that slopes towards a drain and can be fitted across the entire floor without the need for tiling over.
Waterproofing
To waterproof the wet room you need to prime the floor, the lower section of the walls and the entire wall area surrounding the shower and then covering with a tanking membrane. Once set, the room is then tiled.
Raising the bathroom door threshold by about 5mm from the floor is also a good idea in case the room fills with water – this might happen if the shower drain is accidently covered or blocked. This will keep the water contained.
Vivid Twin Shower
Picking your shower fittings
Sophisticated in design and simple to install, ceiling showers make a bold statement in any bathroom or ensuite, designed to increase the coverage in your shower and providing an eco-friendly option to your bathroom.
Flush mount ceiling showers are timeless in design and provide the user with optimum functionality with a slimline design that lies flat against the ceiling of the bathroom.
Exposed showers are perfect for both modern and traditionally styled bathrooms, bringing unique character to your home. Easy to operate, exposed showers also offer dual handles for ultimate temperate and flow control, suitable for most high-pressure plumbing systems.
Handheld shower heads are both practical and highly functional, a perfect addition to the modern family bathroom or ensuite. At Phoenix, the majority of our styles fit a connection with no drilling required, are easy to clean, offer low maintenance nozzles and come with matching accessories.
NX Orli Rail Shower
Rail showers offer a smart slimline profile, perfectly designed for longevity, whilst being easy to install, operate and maintain. The shower heads are also height adjustable, increasing the mobility and stability of all users and making it a family-friendly product.
A shower rose is the epitome of elegant shower tapware, featuring minimal and clean geometric lines suited to the ever-modern bathroom.
The twin showers are not only easy to operate but feature a contemporary design that blends effortlessly with the modern bathroom space.
Explore the full Phoenix shower collection.
