Things to Consider Before Turning Your Bathroom Into a Wet Room
Posted on: 5 January 2016
There are few bathroom renovations that look as sleek as a well fitted wet room. During a wet room conversion, many of the bulky features of your bathroom, including bathrooms and shower units, will be removed so that the whole of the bathroom is level. There will be no barrier between the shower area and the rest of the bathroom so that the whole design is totally seamless. Wet room installation is, however, a big undertaking, and you should think carefully about it before you totally commit to your new wet room space.
Waterproofing. In a wet room, the shower unit is not contained and separate from the rest of the bathroom. This means that moisture will get everywhere and it's essential that you have a waterproofing strategy in place if you want to avoid growth of mould, mildew, and fungus.
First of all, it's very wise to choose flooring that is impervious to moisture in the first place. Some kind of sealed stone tiling is usually a popular choice. Of course, if your budget can extend to something like marble, it would be a wonderful choice. Also, because the walls are just as exposed as the floors in a wet room, it can be a good idea to completely cover your walls with the same tiling materials as you choose for your floors to create a seamless, elegant effect.
It is extremely important that you seal in between the tiles with grout, but be aware that cement grout is not totally waterproof. For a totally water resistant finish, you will need to use an epoxy based grout throughout. This is difficult to apply, so you may not want to turn it into a DIY job. Consider turning to a waterproofing specialist for a guaranteed quality job.
A strong shower head. Without a separate shower or bath unit, your wet room's main feature is probably going to be its shower head, so go ahead and pick something that makes a statement. You are going all out with a wet room so pick something strong like a large rain shower. Just be sure to consult with a plumber before installation to ensure you can get strong water pressure to really make that shower sing.
Ventilation. The key feature of a wet room is, you guessed it, moisture, and this means you need robust ventilation in place to ensure that your wet room doesn't become a steam room. This is particularly important if you are converting a small room that doesn't have a window. Think about installing additional extra extractor fans -- and spend more on quality so the noise of the fan doesn't drive you crazy. You can also invest in a device that measures humidity to that fans are used when humidity reaches a certain level.
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