Create a Wet Room Shower

1. Decide on the style and size of your wet room shower

Your biggest decision is how large an area you wish to devote to your wet room shower.

Remember, a wet room shower blends visually into the remainder of the room making the space appear bigger as there is no step or discernable footprint as with a shower cubicle and tray.

Think about what sort of drain you would like (for example, square or linear), where you would like it positioned and how you would like the floor to slope (see product range for examples).

Click here for a guide to designing and building a wet room shower.

Corner, Alcove or Walk-through?

2. Look at the construction of the floor

The vast majority of bathroom and shower room floors will either be constructed from timber (floorboards on floor joists) or screed (a solid floor that appears to have a concrete type finish).

Choose a wet room shower floor former appropriate to the floor construction.

Click here for more information on types of floor

Timber floor or Solid screed floor?

3. Select the appropriate wet room shower floor former

Achieving the correct slope in the floor is key to getting your wet room shower right. Creating the slope using a floor former makes the job easy. Trying to overcome this task manually can be a laborious and time consuming chore that is more difficult than you think - many have tried, most have failed!

When a wet room floor former is used, the former (as we know it) incorporates exactly the right shape and fall (to encourage water towards the drain) and can be installed in a fraction of the time a manual attempt can take. Once the floor is the correct shape the hardest part of the job is done. Click here for wet room shower floor formers

Deck, Screed former or Linear drain?

4. Ensure the shower area is watertight

This could arguably be the hardest thing to achieve and if you get it wrong you have got big trouble. Even the best waterproof tile adhesives and grouts can become porous it time. This is not necessarily due to poor workmanship as buildings breathe, they swell and contract with temperature, which in turn causes minute cracking giving water a route to ingress.

After much development the solution is surprisingly simple and totally effective. By a process known as 'tanking' the wet room shower area is completely sealed before it is tiled. This way, if water should penetrate the tiled layer it has nowhere to go. There are different products available for various surfaces, each of which offer you the assurance that you won't suffer any nasty damp patches.

Waterproof tanking systems

5. Enclosing your wet room shower area

You may or may not wish to screen off your wet room shower area. There are many delightful glass panels designs to choose from if you do.

Whether your wet room shower is in a corner, in and alcove or mid-wall as a walk-through there are many styles of framed, semi-frameless and frameless glass panel shower screens to choose from.

If you prefer more privacy when you shower choose screens with satin glass modesty panels.

Wet room shower screens

6. A warm tiled floor for the ultimate in luxury

As beautiful as a tiled floor may be it can be cold to walk on. You can however change the ambience of your shower room floor by adding undertile heating. The incorporation of a very fine electrical heating element under the tile lifts the floor temperature to a cosy level that can be adjusted and programmed to your liking. What's more, it is incredibly cheap to run. Not only does a warm floor feel wonderful to walk on, it also dries quicker. Safety is therefore enhanced and potential odours from dampness eliminated.

Undertile heating kits

7. Disabled showers and special needs wet rooms

The beauty of a wet room shower should not be limited to designer bathrooms. The practicalities of the wet room shower make the concept ideal where a step might prove difficult or obstructive to the user.

Level entry is ideal for wheelchair users or when lifting feet proves difficult. With no thresholds or height transitions to negotiate entry is easy.

Wet room floors can be tiled or vinyl clad with proprietary non-slip coverings for extra safety. Wet room floors may also be used with half-height shower doors and screens to facilitate carer assistance.

Escape institutional appearance with the modern styling of a disabled wet room shower facility.

Half height shower doors to compliment your wet room shower

Waterproof wall panels - The Brilliant alternative to tiled walls for bathrooms, wet rooms and showers

Part of the process of creating your wet room will require attention to your finished wall coverings. Needless to say you will need to protect the structure of your building from moisture penetration.

Tiling is probably the most familiar solution to this issue and this may be exactly what you have in mind (don't forget to take a look at the tanking systems).

Before you make your final decision it might be worth taking a look at these excellent new products that are delightfully simple to install and absolutely waterproof.

The advantage of using panels (such as Hydropanels, Multipanels and Mira Flight Panels) is not limited to convenience. Their guaranteed waterproof performance gives them an impressive advantage over traditional wall coverings.

The problem with tile grout and adhesive is the porosity that inevitably develops over time. This leads to mildew and the more worrying possibility of dampness penetrating behind the tiles. With totally waterproof panelling this is of course is no longer an issue.