Everything you need to know about wet rooms
With showers overtaking baths as the preferred option in many homes, wet rooms are an increasingly popular choice for a lot of people. They have a variety of benefits, including being easier to keep clean and offering a more immersive showering experience, so it’s a trend which seems set to continue.
In this blog, we’ll subsequently look at all things wet room-related, so read to the end to find out all you need to know, along with examples of our great-value products and top tips for wet room layouts.
Wet rooms are an increasingly popular choice for many homeowners.
What exactly is a wet room?
A wet room is essentially a room dedicated to showering, with its own drainage system and the entire room fully waterproofed, including the walls and flooring. As a result, the water flows onto the floor directly, without the need for a shower tray to contain it.
With an open plan aesthetic, wet rooms tend to have a minimalist look and are a stylish and efficient option for many homeowners.
The core elements of a wet room include:
- Tanking kit
- Shower kit
- Wet room tiles
- Wet room screen
- Wet room tray (optional, as not necessary)
What are the benefits of wet rooms?
With multiple benefits, wet rooms are great for people with mobility issues, as they’re easy to just walk into and use for showering, without needing to step over ledges or any other trip hazards. You can also install a shower seat as you wish, to make them even more accessible.
They also have a very contemporary luxury look, with a more minimalist design, so are ideal if you want something which is bang up-to-date and which will modernise your customer’s home. As such, wet rooms can also add value to properties, although it’s worth noting that if there isn’t a bath in the house this may put potential buyers off if they have children.
Wet rooms can add value to homes.
Another advantage of wet rooms is that they can be created even from smaller spaces, so your customer really doesn’t need to have a large room to enjoy the benefits of them. The open plan look also helps to create a more spacious aesthetic – an added bonus if you’re working with more compact interiors.
Additional things to consider with wet rooms:
- Always remember the tanking kit. This must be purchased along with the wet room core products and laid before tiling and installing the shower, as this is what makes the room watertight and will prevent leaks and, ultimately, water damage to the property.
- Make sure your customers know to use non-porous tiles – porcelain is a great choice.
- Wet rooms can be more of an investment upfront, so consider your customer’s budget.
- Because the entire room needs to be waterproofed, wet rooms are a bit more complex to install than a standard shower, which should be taken into consideration.
- If your customer only has a wet room in their home and is thinking of selling, it might put off families with children, who want a bath as well.
- Underfloor heating is a great addition to wet rooms, as it not only feels great, but also helps dry the room out more quickly.
Top tips for laying out wet rooms
If there’s other furniture in the room, then consider the layout carefully as you don’t want water to splash from the shower onto other items. In this case, a wet room screen may be best to partition the area off.
It’s also important to make sure that the floor is non-slip, so using textured tiles and matt finishes is key – no gloss or anything which could be a slip hazard. Installing stylish grab bars and handles is also useful, especially if the room is being used by someone with mobility issues.
If your customer wants a mirror in their wet room, then choosing one with an in-built demister feature is also useful, to avoid the glass from fogging up.
When it comes to tiling, colour-drenching and tiling from floor to ceiling is a great idea and can create a dramatic look. The open plan design of a wet room allows for more creativity, so customers can play around with how they want it to look.
Tradeshack’s wet room products
If you’re looking for wet room products, then we have everything you need at Tradeshack, including tanking kits, tiles, shower kits, trays, mirrors and more. With great-value prices guaranteed for our trade customers, you can subsequently enjoy high-quality products that will help you create your customers’ dream wet rooms.
For example, we have all the tanking kit materials you need to fully waterproof a room, including the tanking membrane, bath and shower tray seal, drains, traps and more. We also have complete tanking kits, as well as selling items individually, for added convenience.
We supply complete tanking kits as well as items which are supplied separately.
Our rainhead showers are always a popular choice with customers for wet rooms, as they have that immersive, luxury effect. The Eliseo Ricci Noir Curve Plus Thermostatic Rain Shower, meanwhile, is a shower kit which has a modern matt black finish and a contemporary style which incorporates thermostatic control and is an attractive choice for many customers. It’s also suitable for use with high-pressure systems and includes a shower hose and handset for added convenience.
The Eliseo Ricci Noir Curve Plus Thermostatic Rain Shower.
No matter what you’re looking for, when it comes to wet rooms, Tradeshack has it covered – and we’re always happy to help with anything you need. We also have some products available for easy pickup from our Antrim warehouse without pre-ordering, so always talk to our team if there’s something you need quickly.
Contact Bathshack for all your trade bathroom needs. Alternatively, email our team at info@bathshack.com or give us a call on (028) 9077 0188.
