A wet room is a great addition to the home. It can create a really luxurious space with a spa-like feel and increase the value of your house.
Of course, calling in the professionals to build a wet room isn’t cheap. The average wet room installation cost is between $4,000 and $7,000. So, you’d be forgiven for wondering if you can save money by doing it yourself. But DIYing the job is risky for a number of reasons. Here’s why it’s crucial to call in the professionals.
It needs a practical and doable design
Although you might have ample space to put everything you need into your wet room, it still needs to have a practical layout and a design that’s possible to achieve. Where you put things does matter. You may find that your plans are restricted due to drainage, electrical and accessibility issues.
A wet room is just that. Wet. So, you need to consider how the room handles water, heat and steam. This means your drainage needs to have adequate capacity and you need to install a proper ventilation system. Light fittings and switches need to be enclosed and fitted away from the shower. Unless you’re an expert in these areas, how will you know what will work safely and correctly? And how will you ensure it meets current building regs?
If your wet room is being designed to improve accessibility, then it’s crucial it’s designed well. For a start, there needs to be room to manoeuvre with ease. This means planning a layout as well as features such as single-level, non-slip flooring, and handrails and seating.
You need the right build to prevent water leaks
As you’ve already read, a wet room needs to be able to handle a lot of water. This makes it more prone to leaks than a typical bathroom. And that’s why it’s really important to get the build right.
Extra protections are usually needed to make sure water only goes where it’s supposed to. This usually involves tanking. How you do this will depend a lot on the type of floor you have, as wooden floors need a thicker membrane to ensure your wet room remains leak free. This is a specialist job, so getting someone in to do this for you will save a lot of problems – including damp and rotten floors – in the future.
A good finish is the only way to add value and luxury
A wet room should be a luxurious space and one that boosts rather than decreases the overall value of your home. However, this is only the case if it’s done properly. A seamless finish with neat tiling along with perfectly fitting shower screens and heads is difficult to do without the right tools and skills and plenty of practice.
Tiles that aren’t perfectly in line or fixings that look a bit wonky will detract from the overall effect of your wet room. In fact, if you are planning to put your home on the market in the future, it could be the difference between selling your home for a good price and not.
Getting it wrong could be costly
Now you can understand just how important it is to call in the professionals when you’re installing a wet room. The design, practicality, safety and durability of your wet room depends on it. As does the look and feel of it. What all of these elements have in common is they’re costly to get wrong. You could end up damaging not only the wet room but other rooms in the house as well as the fabric of the building. Not to mention the danger of mixing water and electricity. That could be costly in a completely different way.
So, whether you want your wet room to have a high-end finish that adds value to your home or to be a practical and accessible space for your family, you know what you need to do.