What are the challenges?
The primary difficulty in a wet room is controlling the flow of water and maintaining a relative separation between the “wet” bathing areas and “dry” areas around the vanity, particularly if the bathroom is on the smaller side. If you’re going with a curbless shower design and your flooring is not installed correctly—with a sufficient slope to direct the water to the drain and prevent pooling—it’s easy for the water to escape into other areas of the room.
Another concern is that wet rooms are often completely open, which means there’s a lack of privacy and the potential for chillier showers since there aren’t any partitions to contain the steam and warmth. Adding a single glass panel can help contain some heat and also create a barrier for the water—providing functionality while still maintaining a seamless open-concept look. To help mitigate the cold, Wiegers recommends adding radiant heat mats to the floor before installing your tile (ensuring it’s properly waterproofed). “It’s really easy to do and not super costly,” she says.
What are the installation considerations?
While a curbless shower design is super chic and excellent for accessibility, it’s not always possible from a structural perspective if you’re renovating a house. “Installing a curbless shower in an existing house on the first floor will depend on how your foundation was built,” Wiegers says. “If you have a slab-on-grade foundation and your finished floors are only a few layers above the slab, then you may not have enough room to cut into the floor to get the slope for a curbless shower.”
The same thing goes for a second-floor bathroom. The structure and finish layers of your flooring will dictate if you can cut into it and obtain a sufficient slope. “If you’re building a house from scratch, or if your situation allows for a curbless drain, then the most important thing is to make sure that there’s enough slope,” Wiegers advises. “Because there’s nothing worse than having a drain you think is going to work and then the water doesn’t flow to the drain because the floor hasn’t been sloped enough.”
If a curbless shower design isn’t possible from a structural standpoint, don’t fret. “Building a small curb between the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ areas can help contain the water against something, and I don’t feel that it impedes the aesthetic of a modern look,” Wieger says. “It prevents the water from escaping and seeping under your vanity.”
In addition to installing adequate drainage, another essential consideration is to ensure that the entire bathroom is fully waterproofed and sealed, a process often referred to as “tanking.” A “tanked” floor includes a waterproof membrane between the tiles and the underlying surfaces that prevents moisture from seeping through, protecting the layers beneath from water damage and mold.
