Interiors

"Tanks" for an amazing bathroom

Sinead Kelly outlines the new trend taking Ireland by storm – wet rooms.

Every week I'm asked questions about wet rooms and whether I think they are a good idea or not. Up to now Irish consumers have avoided the trayless open plan bathroom design but if you are thinking of installing a wet room or indeed if you are considering ripping out the avacado suite, I hope you will find the following information helpful.

Scandinavia, noted for design concepts, pioneered the idea of trayless showers and Norway, Sweden and Denmark have been using wet room systems for decades now. Australia is another country where trayless showers are used to great effect.

The Irish market has been slow to follow the trend, not at all due to lack of demand. In fact, demand is huge but potential wet room owners shy away from the hassle of fighting with the plumber/builder when the house floods thanks to poor workmanship!

However, Irish bathrooms are now taking giant steps forward thanks to the introduction of the common sense Scandinavian wet room system here. Now it is possible to completely waterproof, or 'tank' as it is known, the wet area all around the bathroom floor and shower walls and have the water run off to a neatly installed drain in the floor. There has to be an expertly designed and installed gentle slope in the wet area which allows the water to flow into a special low profile drain.

This is the perfect system for those who find it difficult or akward getting in and out of shower trays. It is also the perfect design situation where space can be maximised and ugly trays discarded. One simple glass panel is all that is needed to prevent the water coming from the shower head and/or body jets spraying into wc and basin areas.

The technical step by step procedure for wet rooms is:

• Prepare the substrate (plaster, concrete, tiles, plywood etc)
• Prepare the surface to ensure effective sloping of the floor
• Apply sealing membrane
• Fix tiles
• Grout tiles

Unique Wetrooms Ltd, an Irish company installing wet rooms around the country, have been installing and fitting around the UK, Sweden and Denmark for the past six years. They find that the biggest concern people have when debating a wet room system is the chance of a leak, which we all know causes such destruction and despair. Sealing and sloping is the crutial factor.

Unique Wetrooms use Dietermann products to tank and seal the area prior to tilling. The slope and drain system to take away large amounts of pumped water falling onto the bathroom floor must be perfect. I have seen one badly sloped floor where the water flowed to the bedroom rather than the drain!

If you have a reputable plumber to install a wet room system for you, make sure you know how he intends preparing and sealing your wet areas, and draining the water. Get an installation statement from the plumber and the tiler and ensure you have a guarantee against leaks.

The tiler must be able to work hand-in-hand with the plumber. Mention all the above points to him and let him know that you mean business!

A well planned and installed wet room is certainly worth the extra research involved in getting it right!