What is a wet room, and how does a wet room shower work?

Waterproofing, usually called tanking. A membrane or liquid coating goes over the walls and floor before any tile is laid. Tiles and grout are not waterproof on their own; the tanking layer is what stops water reaching timber joists or the ceiling below.

A fall in the floor. The floor is built with a slight slope towards the drain so water never sits in puddles. In timber-floored homes this is often done with a pre-formed shower former set between the joists; on concrete it is usually shaped in the screed.

A drain sized for the shower. Wet rooms use either a round point drain or a long linear channel. Linear drains let the floor slope one way only, which suits large tiles, while point drains need the floor to fall from several directions.

Tiles or sheet flooring with good grip. Because the floor gets wet, a slip-resistant finish matters more here than anywhere else in the house. Smaller tiles give more grout lines and more grip on a sloped floor.

The two are often confused. A walk-in shower normally stands on a low tray with a fixed glass panel, so only the showering area is waterproofed. A wet room has no tray at all and the whole floor is treated as the showering area.

In practice many modern wet rooms still use a single glass screen to stop spray reaching the toilet or towels, so they can look similar. The difference is underneath: level access and full-room tanking versus a tray with a small upstand. Our wet room vs walk-in shower guide compares the two side by side if you are choosing between them.

Anyone who finds stepping over a bath or tray difficult. Level access is the reason many people choose a wet room, whether for an older relative, someone recovering from surgery, or simply to plan ahead for later life.

Small bathrooms and en suites. Removing the tray and door frame makes a tight room look and feel larger, and there is no enclosure to work around.

Busy family bathrooms. With no tray lip or door runners to clean, a well-built wet room is quick to wipe down. The trade-off is that the floor gets wet after every shower, so storage and towels need planning.

What the floor is made of. Timber floors need the joists checked and sometimes strengthened or notched to fit a former. Solid concrete floors may need the screed broken out to create the fall and fit the drain.

Where the waste can run. The drain has to connect to the soil or waste pipe at a workable gradient. Upstairs rooms usually allow this between joists; ground floors on concrete can be harder.

Ventilation. Because more of the room gets wet, a correctly sized extractor fan matters. Poor extraction in a wet room shows up quickly as condensation and mould in the grout.

Whether a wet room is the right answer at all. Sometimes a low-profile tray gives most of the benefit with less structural work. We would rather tell you that on the survey than build something the room does not need.

A wet room follows the same stages as any bathroom refit, with extra time for the floor and waterproofing. The old room is stripped, the floor is prepared and the fall is formed, the drain is fitted and tested, then the tanking goes on and must cure before tiling starts.

The curing time is the part people underestimate. Rushing tiles onto tanking that has not set is one of the most common reasons wet rooms leak years later, so a good fitter will build that wait into the programme rather than skip it.

We do not publish a wet room price range at the moment. The cost depends on the floor type, how far the drain is from the existing waste, the size of the room, the tile you choose and whether heating or a screen is included. Our wet room cost guide explains each of those factors, and a fixed quote follows a free survey.