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The modern lifestyle statement in bathroom design today is the wet
room.
Wet rooms are simply a room which is an open-plan shower area, often with
over-head and additional wall-mounted (hand held) shower heads They can be screened by glass or
acrylic panels, but they are usually simply a showering area within a larger room. The open-plan
nature of wet rooms can give the illusion of making a room look very much larger than it is.
Wet rooms can look fabulous, but it's absolutely vital that they are properly
sealed (tanked) to ensure that they are fully water-tight. This means that their construction is
considerably more costly than a top-end walk-in shower enclosure system.
Wet Room Considerations:
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The whole room needs to be 'tanked' this is a technical term for making the room fully
water-tight.
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In order to achieve an adequate fall to the waste outlet the floor may have to be
raised slightly to allow proper drainage and also to accommodate the waste pipes
themselves.
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The floor of the room to be used must have enough structural strength to be able to
carry the addtional weight (which it probably wasn't originally designed for).
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Insufficient ventilation can be a problem with wet rooms. It's often a good idea to add
under-floor heating when the installation is being done. The room will have it's
heating installed and invisible and will be kept dry.
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Allow enough space around the showering area and position the shower heads so that
waste water stays within the drainage area and does't start pooling in other areas of
the room. Having to mop up pools of water isn't the idea of a wet room!
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Wall hung sanitary ware, such as basins and lavatories, will give the impression of
more space and make your wet room easier to keep clean.
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Always choose a non-slip floor covering, which stays non-slip even when sopping wet.
Bear this in mind especially when choosing ceramic tiles.
Wet rooms can be expensive to install and even more expensive if they have been
badly installed and start to leak! Similar functionality and many would say a cosier alternative
may be a large walk-in shower. This is larger than a standard enclosed shower unit and considerably
less expensive to install than a full wet room,
Alternatively, for something akin to a wet room but more exotic, a steam room (or
sauna) could be an option well worth considering perhaps?
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