Advice on wet rooms / shower enclosures

bpk101

Hi,

I’m currently planning a new bathroom and need some advice, it’s not a huge space (about 2m x 3m) but I have quite a good idea of the look i’m after.

I’m a bit confused about the walk-in shower enclosure though due to a lot of conflicting advice I’m receiving from various shops and fitters regarding what is and isn’t possible with my design ideas..

I’m after a very minimal, low profile look… the prerequisites being:

• Glass screens are recessed channeled into floor and wall only with no other supporting metal work featuring on the glass

• The shower opening is a simple 500mm wide gap between the 2 x screens, so we don’t want a door

• The floor remains level between outside and inside the shower (so either a flush fitted shower tray, or a fully tiled wet room)

I've seen this completely frameless recessed shower screen design done countless times before but like I say, we’re having a lot of conflicting advice about it.

Here's a rough sketch of the area (shower space measure 1200mm x 800mm):



Due to the probability that a small amount of water will find it’s way out through the shower opening, we’ve been advised by a shop to go for the full wet room option… (the glass panel therefore acting as a screen to stop the toilet getting wet and a screen to stop water escaping out the bathroom door).

However, someone else has advised that recessed channeling in a wet room is a very bad idea due to the potential for the tanking/seal to be broken when the recessed channels are fitted into the floor.
Their solution is to add a raised plinth / border around the shower space (which can be tiled over) and have the glass screens channeled into that instead…. but obviously we lose the continuous floor level.

Another bathroom shop has recommended we opt for a flush fitted shower tray, they feel we shouldn’t be too concerned about tanking the whole room… that perhaps a small area going beyond the shower enclosure area will be enough (they didn’t raise any concerns about recessed channeling damaging any tanking).

Any thought or advice based on past experiences would be much appreciated!

Thanks

System

I have actually just finished something very similar - used a novellini Duo shower based in the depth of the existing chipboard floor - the base does have a slope in it with a tiny stainless steel trim but you actually don't notice it.
http://www.showerright.co.uk/Novellini/Wet%20Room/novellini_duo_deck.htm
they all have guides on what they recommend in terms of coverage for the membrane...


this is the shower screen we used (you have to use the glass upside down to get it sitting flush on the floor as the bottom is shaped for a shower base... http://www.simpsons-enclosures.co.uk/product/simpsons-shower-enclosures-semi-frameless-design/design-view-double-side-walk-in/


definitely not the cheapest way to do a shower but it looks great imo - remember to put your shower controls at the opening and not right in under the shower - there are various trays you can use, wetroommaterials.com do one where the drain is right in the corner of the room and they have some installation videos if you aren't sure how to spec it

andyhop

If the room is correctly planned you should only need a very small minimal screen

Is about a correctly placed shower head , water will spray and splash but if the slopes are achieved and UFH fitted it will dry within 15 -30 mins

For a wet room to be water right and do so for 15-20 years you need to ensure a solid base. Chipboard and thin overlays should be avoid as are plywood and foam type formers . All junk when compared to a Akw tuff form

Tanking the full floor is essential , ensure a sheet membrane is used rather than the basic paint on kits. Flexi tape on edges and tank the walls to the full height in the main wet area , 0.5m on splash areas and roll flexible tape up the rest

I can't post links but if you drop me a PM I can send over a few links that show how a correctly built room is done . Over 100 wet rooms in the last 10yrs and all going strong

bpk101

the_r_sole wrote: »

I have actually just finished something very similar

Great - do you have any snaps of your finished room? It would be great to see how these different elements came together?

the_r_sole wrote: »

remember to put your shower controls at the opening and not right in under the shower

Why is this? We were actually planning on putting the controls on the wall beneath the shower head (so the wall to the far right of my sketch).

Thanks

System

bpk101 wrote: »

Great - do you have any snaps of your finished room? It would be great to see how these different elements came together?

Only record photos of it during construction - haven't been back since the snagging has been carried out, will take some the next time I'm on site (as long as clients agree)

bpk101 wrote: »

Why is this? We were actually planning on putting the controls on the wall beneath the shower head (so the wall to the far right of my sketch).

Thanks

so that you can switch the shower on/get it to temperature without getting soaked by the overhead fitting...

andyhop

BTW i would avoid glass that sits into the tile . Most of the trims are 10-12mm in depth and are just fitted when the tiling is done . These are polished alloy and do tarnish easily. My own £1200 kohler daryl screen is a prime example .

Most will have a wall profile , nothing you can do about this it's pretty much a must . Some are slimmer than others but if you wanting a large screen with 10mm glass you need a substantial clamp , kohler and Merlyn offer good designs

I would suggest just siliconing the floor glass edge against the tile. Both sides and this will do away with the need of a corner brace if your sub 1000mm

bpk101

andyhop wrote: »

If the room is correctly planned you should only need a very small minimal screen

The 2 x screens we're currently looking at are:

Screen 1: 800(w) x 2000(h)
Screen 2: 700 (w) x 2000(h)

Screens are Majestic Monaco, i did chat to Crosswater but they won't allow you to use the screens without supports. Majestic will as long as you sign a disclaimer.

We've been advised to avoid channeling the screens into the ceiling as well as this would mean bespoke sizes and a very complicated install.

Are the screen sizes workable?

andyhop wrote: »

Is about a correctly placed shower head , water will spray and splash but if the slopes are achieved and UFH fitted it will dry within 15 -30 mins

Yes sorry – forgot to mention we are going with UFH

andyhop wrote: »

I can't post links but if you drop me a PM I can send over a few links that show how a correctly built room is done . Over 100 wet rooms in the last 10yrs and all going strong

PM'ing you now!

bpk101

the_r_sole wrote: »

so that you can switch the shower on/get it to temperature without getting soaked by the overhead fitting...

Genius! :T

andyhop

The thing with boxing a area off with thick glass is that you end up seeing the glass . 8 and 10mm still has a blue tinge and it's made worse with cool white LEDs

With your plan . Small screen by the door approx 400mm and ensure rest of materials are wall hung so no penetrations in the floor .

bpk101

Here's a larger plan of the room (sinks are missing but will be on the right hand wall as you enter the room):



The reason for the second glass screen is to protect the toilet from getting wet (and the towel heater which will be on wall above and to the right of you when sat on the loo).

bpk101

Just on the topic of shower control positioning again, we're going for simple wall mounted controls throughout the bathroom (we'll actually have 2 controls in shower: water flow + temp):



Our original intention was to wall mount the controls on the masonry wall underneath the shower head. But if we were to mount the controls opposite the shower entrance/opening, this wall is actually a partition wall with a bedroom on the other side.

Do we run the risk of compromising the tanking if we wall mount onto this partition wall?