Wet rooms

Wet rooms that stay dry where they should

A wet room is a fully waterproofed room with a level, tiled floor that slopes to a drain, so there is no tray, no step and usually just a single glass screen. Done well it is the easiest bathroom to use and to clean, which is why it suits small rooms, older people and anyone who hates a shower door. Done badly it leaks into the room below, and that is the whole skill: the former, the falls, the tanking and the drain have to be right before any tile goes down. Nikolay fits wet rooms on timber and concrete floors, upstairs and down, across Wrexham, Chester, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Cheshire, the Wirral and north Shropshire. Allow six to eight working days, because waterproofing has to cure.

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A level-access wet room with a linear drain and a fixed glass screen

Experience: More than 50 bathrooms completed
One team: Survey, plumbing, tiling, fitting and finish by the same people
Quotes: Free survey and an itemised written quote, no obligation
Insured: Public liability insurance up to £10 million
Guarantee: A one-year guarantee on our workmanship
Covering: North Wales, Chester, Cheshire, Shropshire, Liverpool and Manchester

What is included

Everything the job needs, listed

Typical time: Six to eight working days
Quote: Free survey, itemised and in writing

Floor survey: joists or concrete, levels, drain route
Wet room former or screeded fall to a linear or point drain
Full tanking of floor and wet walls with a proper membrane system
Large-format or mosaic floor tiles laid to the fall
Fixed glass screen, thermostatic shower, towel rail, fan
Everything flood-tested before it is tiled

What makes a wet room work

Four things, in order. The fall: the floor has to slope to the drain evenly, usually around 1 in 80, without a hollow where water sits. The former: on a timber floor that means a factory-made tray former set between or over the joists; on concrete it can be a former or a screed laid to the fall. The tanking: a continuous waterproof membrane over the whole floor and up the shower walls, lapped into the drain, with every corner and pipe penetration taped and sealed. The drain: a linear channel against the wall or a point drain, with enough flow for the shower you have chosen.

If any of the four is wrong the room leaks, and the leak shows up as a stain on the ceiling below six months later. This is why we flood-test the tanking before tiling, and why we do not fit a wet room in a day and a half however keen the customer is.

Upstairs wet rooms and timber floors

Yes, you can have a wet room upstairs over a timber floor. Most of ours are. The floor is opened up, the former is let into the joists so it finishes level with the surrounding floor, the drain is run to the soil stack with the right fall, and the whole floor is boarded, tanked and tiled. The things that decide feasibility are the joist direction (the drain needs a route), the depth available for the trap, and where the stack is. We check all three on the survey, and if a wet room is not sensible in your room we say so and suggest a low-profile tray instead, which gets you most of the look with less risk.

Who wet rooms suit

Small bathrooms, where losing the tray and the door frame makes the room feel open.
Anyone with reduced mobility now or later: nothing to step over, room for a seat and rails, space for a carer.
Ensuites, where a single screen and a level floor look far better than a cramped enclosure.
Family bathrooms where the bath is coming out and nobody wants a shower door to clean.
Rental properties, where there is no door, seal or tray to fail.

Tiles, screens and heating for a wet room

The floor tile needs grip when wet and has to be cut to the fall, so either small-format or mosaic tiles around the drain, or large tiles with a linear drain against the wall where the fall runs one way. Porcelain with an R10 or R11 slip rating is the sensible choice. Walls can be large tiles or wall panels. A fixed glass screen keeps spray off the rest of the room; in a very small room you may not need one at all.

A wet room is not a tray with no door

Some firms sell a low tray with a screen as a wet room. It is a walk-in shower, and a good one, but the floor is not waterproofed and it is not level access. If you are being quoted for a wet room, ask what membrane system is being used, whether the whole floor is tanked, and whether it is flood-tested before tiling.

Where we work

Wet rooms across the region

Based in Wrexham. Each town below has its own page with the local detail: the housing, the water, the council and where to see bathrooms nearby.

Questions

Wet rooms: straight answers

How much does a wet room cost to install?

More than a like-for-like shower room, because of the former, the tanking and the extra days, and less than people fear. The drivers are the floor type, the drain route, the tiles chosen and whether the toilet or basin moves. We quote every wet room after a survey, itemised, and our cost guide gives typical ranges.

Can you put a wet room upstairs?

Yes. Most of our wet rooms are upstairs over timber floors. The former is set into the joists so the floor stays level, the drain is routed to the soil stack, and the whole floor and shower walls are tanked and flood-tested before tiling.

Do wet rooms leak?

A properly tanked wet room does not. Leaks come from skipped or badly lapped membrane, an unsealed drain joint, or movement in an unprepared floor. We use a complete membrane system from floor to wall, tape every corner and penetration, and flood-test before a tile goes down.

Does a wet room add value to a house?

A well-finished wet room in a bathroom or ensuite usually helps a sale, particularly in a small room or where buyers include older people. Removing the only bath in a family house can put some buyers off, so in a three-bedroom house we often suggest a wet room ensuite and keep a bath in the main bathroom.

How long does a wet room take to install?

Six to eight working days for most rooms. The extra time over a normal bathroom is in the floor work and in the curing of the tanking, which cannot be rushed. We give you the dates in writing.

Do I need a screen in a wet room?

Usually a single fixed glass panel is enough to keep spray off the toilet and the towels. In a very small room with a good fall and a rainfall head aimed well, some customers go without. We will tell you which your room needs.

Next step

Tell us about your bathroom

Send a few photos of the room and a line about what you want changed. You get a free survey, an itemised quote in writing and a start date, and nobody chases you if you decide to wait.

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Quotes are free, itemised and in writing. The price you agree is the price you pay unless you change the job.