CREATE THE PERFECT WET ROOM

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by Homes Etc in Articles, Interiors, Kitchen and Bathroom

Professionally designed and installed wet rooms offer a sleek, space enhancing easy to clean showering solution. They are currently a hot trend with an increasing number of homeowners enjoying the luxury.

Since their arrival into the UK everybody is talking about wet rooms. Wet rooms are common in many European countries, so as we holiday abroad and see this contemporary look, we also want it back home. In fact, in some European countries tanking (water proofing prior to tiling) the bathroom is actually part of the building regulations. Yet in the UK people are still very wary of wetrooms and some even think they are unsuitable for British houses, worrying that they might leak.

Wet rooms have so many advantages and this is why they are currently a popular choice. They are ideal for any size of bathroom, but are a particularly clever way to maximise space in a small room. For the larger bathroom you can install an expansive 1200mm wet room panel to create a truly fabulous spa-like feeling of luxury. For the smaller bathroom you can simply tank out the entire room and install a glass panel to act as a water deflector taking up minimal space.

With wet rooms, there is such a wide variety of choice on the market, something to suit every taste. There are traditional wet rooms with a simple glass partition to act as a water deflector, there are shower enclosures in a range of different shapes and sizes, such as walk-ins, which can be installed straight on to a tanked floor – giving the feeling and suggestion of a wet room yet more enclosed (ideal for our colder climate!), or you could completely tank the room and add a shower valve, leaving the area totally open.

Geoff Wells, Bathroom Planning Expert for Dolphin, comments, “working particularly well as a second bathroom, en-suite, or where space is limited, a wet room can help to increase the value of your home, whilst removing the bath instantly gives you more space without compromising on style or functionality. Estate agents recently reported that a wetroom can in fact create a premium of up to £10,000 on your home. That said, installing a wetroom is a demanding job best undertaken by a bathroom specialist and is a job never to be skimped on.”

“More and more people want shower solutions that are very minimal and the ‘walk-in’ idea is still very much in vogue.”

Top Tips

1. Consult a designer to ensure you create an effective wet room. The design is key as it is important you get it right to suit your lifestyle.

2. Employ experienced tradesmen to create your wet room, if it’s not done properly leaks and other problems may occur further down the line which will be costly to correct.

3. Always ensure that the builder is using a specifically designed wet room floor kit.

4. Make sure that the waste is designed to be as far away from the door as possible.

5. It is essential that the room is properly tanked, which means that the room is waterproofed prior to tiling the walls.

6. Wet rooms are best fitted with wall hung sanitary ware and furniture – perfect for streamlined wet areas, they also make cleaning easier.

7. Choose non-porous bathroom tiles such as ceramic or porcelain because porous tiles, such as slate, marble and limestone need sealing every few months to prevent water damage.

8. Install under-floor heating in the wet room, as this ensures that the room will be dry within approximately half an hour following the shower being used.

9. Install a shower wand or hand-held shower if you are having a fixed shower head to make cleaning down the room easier.

10. Keep your heated towel rail as far away from the actual shower area as possible to avoid your towels getting wet.

Useful Contacts

Island Bathrooms: www.islandbathrooms.co.uk / Tel 01202 396778

The Big Bath Company: www.bigbathcompany.com / Tel 01590 610030

UK Tiles Direct: www.uktilesdirect.co.uk/ Tel 01929 551963

Granite Transformation: www.granitetransformations.co.uk/ Lymington/ Tel 01590 673134

Coastal Bathrooms: www.coastalbathrooms.co.uk/ Tel 01425 620866