A wet room is a walk in shower room. It is a room that can get completely wet and should never cause any dampness in your home. Having a wet room can easily increase the value of your home; they have now become the rage for DIY enthusiast.

Wet Rooms are great for small bathrooms - removing the bath creates loads more space. They are in general, easier to clean - no shower screen or tray to worry about and if you go for a wall-hung sink and toilet, it's easier still.

If it's done properly, your floor (the bit under the tiles) is better protected than it would be in a standard bathroom, through a method called tanking.

In small rooms, watch out for wet towels and loo roll caused by spray from the shower.

You'll need a professional fitter to waterproof the room, (tanking) - if it's not done properly leaking water can cause damage.

Wet rooms should be tiled from floor to ceiling - and that can get expensive. And if you go for porous stone tiles they may need to be resealed every few months, which is hard work.

A wet room is basically a shower room that does away with the shower screen and tray, and has an open, fully tiled shower area. If your bathroom is on the small side you probably will need to include a shower screen to prevent everything getting sprayed.

Water drainage

Installing a wet room is a job for the professionals as a gradient needs to be created along the floor to channel the shower water into a drain and then the entire room needs to be tanked (waterproofed). The most common method for creating a gradient is to install a sub-floor made from WBP Ply (a type of plywood), which is then tiled over. Another option is to install a ready-made sloping shower former (a bit like a giant shower tray), which is also then tiled over. Another method is to use a giant preformed tray (sometimes known as a Hi-Macs system) that slopes towards a drain, and can be fitted across the entire floor without the need for tiling over.

Waterproofing

Waterproofing the room involves priming the floor, the lower section of the walls and the whole of the wall area around the shower and then covering with a syrupy membrane. Once it’s set, the room is then tiled. It’s also worth raising the bathroom door threshold by about 5mm from the floor in case the room fills with water (if someone covers the shower drain with a towel, for example). This will keep the water contained

What will it cost?

Tanking (waterproofing) your room and creating a gradient in the floor to channel the shower water to the drain shouldn’t cost you more than £1,000. If you are paying a company to tank and install the wet room, including floor-to-ceiling tiles, suite and shower, expect to pay around £6,500 upwards.

What type of tiles should I use?

Tiles are the most popular wall and floor covering, but you can opt for sheet vinyl for the floor, or even Corian, which is a seamless, non-porous material that is low-maintenance. If you are going to use tiles, choose non-porous bathroom tiles like ceramic or porcelain. Porous tiles, such as slate, marble and limestone need sealing every few months to prevent water damage. Only use floor tiles specifically for bathrooms on the floor as they aren’t slippery.

What about under floor heating?

Many fitters recommend installing under floor heating in Wet Rooms as it keeps the tiles warm underfoot and helps dry out the water on the floor.

You can find more information on Wet Rooms at http://www.advancedwetrooms.com