Wet rooms — fully tanked rooms where the shower is open to the rest of the bathroom — have been popular in London for the last decade. They look great, they feel premium, and they can make a small bathroom feel bigger. But they're not right for every home. Here's when to choose a wet room vs a traditional bathroom.
What is a wet room?
A wet room is a fully waterproofed (tanked) bathroom where the shower is open to the floor — no shower tray, no enclosure, just a gently sloped floor draining into a single point. The toilet, sink, and any other fittings sit in the same waterproofed space. The whole floor and lower walls are designed to handle water splashes.
Cost comparison (London 2026)
| Type | Typical cost (London) | Build time |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional bathroom refurb (like-for-like) | £4,000-8,000 | 1-2 weeks |
| Traditional bathroom (new layout, premium suite) | £8,000-15,000 | 3-4 weeks |
| Wet room (small en-suite, ~3sqm) | £8,000-14,000 | 3-4 weeks |
| Wet room (main family bathroom, ~5-7sqm) | £12,000-22,000 | 4-5 weeks |
| Luxury wet room (premium tiles, designer fittings, underfloor heating) | £18,000-30,000+ | 5-6 weeks |
Wet rooms cost more than traditional bathrooms because of the additional tanking (waterproofing membrane on floor and walls), the sloped floor formation, the bigger drain, and usually higher-quality tiling throughout (everything visible, no shower tray to hide imperfections).
When wet rooms work well
Small bathrooms
A wet room in a tiny bathroom (under 3sqm) makes the space feel bigger because the floor is uninterrupted by a shower enclosure. The whole room becomes the shower zone.
Accessibility
No shower tray step means level entry — important for older homeowners, anyone with mobility issues, or future-proofing for older age. Often the deciding factor for clients planning to stay in the home long-term.
Ground floor with concrete substrate
Ground floor bathrooms over concrete sub-floors handle the loads and drainage requirements easily. Wet rooms work straightforwardly here.
Loft conversions with adequate fall
Loft conversion bathrooms (typically with new joists installed) can be designed from scratch with the right structural depth for wet room drainage. Often the most reliable wet room installations.
When wet rooms don't work
Upper-floor wet rooms over timber joists
This is the most common reason wet rooms fail. Upper-floor bathrooms in Victorian and Edwardian terraces sit on timber joists with limited depth. Creating proper fall to the drain requires the floor to be 75-100mm thicker than a traditional floor — often impossible without rebuilding the joists. Cheap installations skip this and get leaks within 2-3 years.
Tight budgets
Wet rooms cost £4-8k more than equivalent traditional bathrooms. If budget is tight, a traditional bathroom with a quality enclosed shower (frameless glass, walk-in design) gives 80% of the look for much less.
Planning to sell soon
London buyer preference data shows most families prefer a traditional bath in the main family bathroom. Wet rooms appeal to a narrower buyer pool. If you're selling within 2-3 years, a traditional bathroom (with both bath and separate shower if space allows) usually returns more on resale.
Period properties with original features
Victorian/Edwardian houses often have decorative ceilings on the floor below the bathroom. Wet room water ingress (even from accumulated moisture, not flooding) damages those ceilings. Many heritage homeowners stick with traditional bathrooms to protect original plasterwork.
Structural requirements for a successful wet room
1. Tanking — the waterproofing system
A wet room needs a tanking membrane applied to:
- Entire floor area (taped at joints, lapped up walls 150mm minimum)
- Lower walls (typically 1.8-2m height in shower area, 200mm elsewhere)
- Around all penetrations (pipework, drain, shower fittings)
Costs £40-80/sqm for proper tanking. Skipping or skimping on tanking is the #1 cause of wet room failure.
2. Floor structure with adequate fall
The whole floor needs to slope toward the drain (typically 1:80 to 1:60 fall). On a 2m-square wet room that's a 25-35mm drop from the wall edges to the drain — significant if your floor structure doesn't have the depth.
3. Drain capacity
A proper wet room drain needs to handle a shower running plus splash water. Standard 50mm bathroom waste pipes are inadequate — wet room drains typically need 110mm waste connection (same as a toilet). Older bathrooms often need new waste runs to handle this.
4. Underfloor heating (almost essential)
A wet floor stays cold without UFH — and standing on cold wet tile in winter is miserable. Almost every successful wet room install includes electric or water-based underfloor heating, adding £500-1,500 to the cost.
Design considerations
Splash zones and shower screens
Pure 'open' wet rooms (no glass at all) can spread water everywhere when the shower's running — your toilet roll gets soaked. Most modern wet rooms include a single fixed glass panel (£300-800) to contain the worst of the spray while keeping the open feel.
Toilet position
Position the toilet away from the shower spray. A wet toilet seat is one of the most consistent complaints about wet room installations.
Tile choice
Floor tiles need an anti-slip rating (R10-R11 for showers; some R10 tiles look beautiful and aren't 'industrial'). Large-format tiles look great but show floor unevenness — better tilers can manage this, cheaper tilers can't. Budget for premium tilers if going large-format.
Ventilation
Wet rooms create more moisture than traditional bathrooms because the entire room gets wet. Powerful extractor fans (humidity-sensing, minimum 100 m³/hr) running for 15+ minutes after use are essential. Without them, expect black mould on ceilings within months.
Maintenance
Wet rooms need more maintenance than traditional bathrooms:
- Re-grout every 5-8 years (grout in constant water exposure breaks down)
- Re-silicone joints around drain and fixtures every 3-5 years
- Annual deep clean of drain to prevent hair/soap buildup
- Check tanking membrane after any plumbing work that exposed the floor
Resale impact
Mixed picture. In central/prime London apartments and small homes, wet rooms are often premium features that command higher asking prices. In family-oriented boroughs (Wandsworth, Bromley, Sutton), the lack of a traditional bath in the main family bathroom can deter family buyers. For best resale: have at least one traditional bath somewhere in the house, even if the en-suite is a wet room.
Frequently asked questions
Are wet rooms waterproof if installed correctly?
Yes — properly tanked wet rooms are completely waterproof. The issue is most cheap installations skip or skimp on tanking, and even competent installations fail if the original structural depth was inadequate. Use a contractor experienced with wet rooms specifically.
How long does a wet room last?
A properly built wet room with quality tanking lasts 20-25+ years before needing full refurbishment. Grout and silicone need refreshing every 5-8 years; the tanking membrane and tiles themselves last decades.
Can I convert an existing bathroom to a wet room?
Yes, but it usually means stripping back to the joists, rebuilding the floor structure for adequate fall, full re-tanking, then re-tiling. Practical cost is similar to or slightly more than a new wet room. Don't try to retrofit waterproofing onto an existing floor — it fails.
Do wet rooms add value to a London property?
In flats and small homes: yes, typically. In family homes where buyers expect a traditional bath in the main bathroom: only if you also keep a bath somewhere else in the house.
Is a wet room more expensive to clean than a traditional bathroom?
More floor area gets wet so more area needs daily wiping. But there's no shower enclosure to clean (one of the worst household chores). On balance: similar maintenance time, different distribution of effort.
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