Wet room or shower tray

hardtimes

Hi
Am refurbishing bathroom and looking to know if I should go for a shower tray or wet room.

The bathroom is upstairs and our current shower has leaked to the downstairs kitchen ceiling, despite it being tanked before tiling.

Like to hear thoughts 😎

tired_dad

My own personal thoughts are at some point, be it years away, a wet room will leak. Its very design means the floor tiling will need to go up and you will never be able to source the same tiles. Therefore its a costly job in terms of time/materials etc. I know people go on and on about tanking being excellent etc but I just don't believe them.

A low profile tray in a standard size it likely to last years. If there is a crack or leak a new tray is a simple job (relatively).

However, you cannot escape the fact that a well tiled wet room install can look the muts nuts.

diogrwydd

I love wet rooms, but would never install one on a first floor, even if it was a new build (unless you have sturdy concrete floors!). There is always going to be movement in timber trusses etc, and minor cracks will quickly appear in grouting

Mojisola

tired_dad wrote: »

My own personal thoughts are at some point, be it years away, a wet room will leak. Its very design means the floor tiling will need to go up and you will never be able to source the same tiles.

My parents had a wet room installed by the council because of their disabilities and the flooring was a waterproof covering (something like this - https://www.altro.co.uk/Altro-Aquarius) which also went a few inches up the wall. No possibility of leaks.

andyhop

A wet room that's well fitted, with the right prep and materials will easily do 30yrs

We have quite a few now that are 15yrs plus stil going strong, most in tenements and a few 5 flight up

You must ensure there is minimal movement , timber floors must be braced and herringboned, 25mm structural ply and all edges supported, fit a fibreglass tray such as a akw tuff form and not a cement topped foam board which flex the minute you stand on them

Walls must be solid and studs no less than 400mm. No need for fancy cement boards. Bog standard plaster board will do

Then membrane the full room with dura ci, Mapei or homelux . Flexible tape all edges with a min overlap of 50mm

When we get called out to failures it's usually down to poor prep

SuzieSue

andyhop wrote: »

A wet room that's well fitted, with the right prep and materials will easily do 30yrs

But finding a decent bathroom fitter is very difficult in and around London.

Too many people want new bathrooms and the good fitters are booked up for at least 6 months.

There are lots of cowboys and people who think that they are good fitters though who are immediately available.

trailingspouse

Personally, I prefer a shower - it keeps the water confined to a specific area, making slips and falls on wet tiling much less likely.

andyhop

Then you wait . Decent units and furniture are made to order and can take 6 weeks , it can easily take a few months to decide materials and receive

I never understand why people want a bathroom fitted next week, when you are spending on average five figure sums you must ensure the person fitting is competent . You cant check a traders credentials in a weekend ,

I'm fairly lucky, in that I don't need to advertise and the customers that do come to me already know what to expect before I step foot in there property . It's rare that when we mention lead times they look elsewhere

SuzieSue

andyhop wrote: »

Then you wait . Decent units and furniture are made to order and can take 6 weeks , it can easily take a few months to decide materials and receive

I never understand why people want a bathroom fitted next week, when you are spending on average five figure sums you must ensure the person fitting is competent . You cant check a traders credentials in a weekend ,

I'm fairly lucky, in that I don't need to advertise and the customers that do come to me already know what to expect before I step foot in there property . It's rare that when we mention lead times they look elsewhere

But we have a leak from our shower and so we can't wait for 6 months.

andyhop

You will have another leak in 6 months if you don't perform checks

We have quoted on jobs like this and can usually offer a quick patch which is only temporary but keeps it going until a full refurb

SuzieSue

andyhop wrote: »

You will have another leak in 6 months if you don't perform checks

We have quoted on jobs like this and can usually offer a quick patch which is only temporary but keeps it going until a full refurb

Yes, we will do in future.

We rang the only decent fitter around but he said he couldn't even do a patch up until February. I asked if he could do it in the evening if we paid him extra but he said no.