Planning a wet room.

[TheMitchells]

I have spent the last two days reading lots of posts about wet rooms and waterproofing, so its time to now ask for advice.  we have bought a bungalow for my elderly parents and while most of it is ideal for them, the bathroom leaves a lot to be desired.  it is small with a bath, which neither of them can use as they cannot safely get in and out.  we are not easily able to remove the bath and replace with a shower as there is a large window which would need to be moved/made smaller, it would be a small shower and what would they use while the work was being carried out?

so the other option is to add a wet room on the side of the building.  it gives a second loo, which is always a good idea, and hopefully will add to the value.  we have plenty of land around as it is a corner plot and looking round the estate, it seems the council allow pretty much whatever anyone asks for.

 

The porch will form one wall of the wet room and the side window (seen just peeping out on the right) will be removed from the bedroom and a door inserted.  then the room will fill that corner on the right.    the roof will extend upwards to link or be just below the origonal and it will come out a little past the porch wall.  the reason for that is it appeared that the main drain runs under the wall of the porch?.  the inspection cover can be seen on the bottom left of the photo and it runs straight towards my builder.  so if we move the new wall further out, it will give us extra space inside and hopefully avoid too much bridging of the drain.

 

 

We plan to have the usual loo, basin and shower but to leave it all open, so no screens, thinking of the future when they may need to use the room in a wheelchair.  The builder has said he plans to build it with a concrete floor and then use a 70/90mm screed to form the floor, draining to a drain.  But in most of the BuildHub posts, I am reading about formers.  is this needed here when he is building the floor from scratch? 

 

Included in the quote is;-

 

*To extend existing porch by approximately 4.5m2, exterior bricks and roof tiles to match existing; -

*New soil drainage to connect into existing manhole; -

*Existing porch window to be converted into wet room door opening and the supply and fit of new door to match existing; -

*Window to be re-used in new extension; - We actually just want a small velux in the roof and no windows.  also it would be nice to make use of the whole roof space, to add to the spacious feel of the room.

*Plastering works to be carried out in associated areas; -

*Removal of associated waste.

 

The OH and I plan to do the fit out ourselves once the plumbing, drains, walls etc are done.  we can do tiling and plumbing but I have not done waterproofing before.   We have used the builder before and know he does a good job, once he starts - the hard part is getting him!  I am meeting him on Friday to discuss the build and find out when he can start. 

 

Are there any questions I should ask?  Any suggestions I could consider?  ?

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

What will the internal floor space ( finished ) measure? 

Nothing wrong with a screeded floor which is falling to a drain, just need to be good at it so it’s consistent and free draining. 

[Onoff]

1 hour ago, TheMitchells said:

I have spent the last two days reading

 

Well when you've finished reading my thread look at some others!

 

 

[newhome]

36 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Well when you've finished reading my thread look at some others!

 

 

 

Maybe they could skip the 20 pages on the motorised shower head to speed things up a bit 

[Onoff]

12 minutes ago, newhome said:

 

Maybe they could skip the 20 pages on the motorised shower head to speed things up a bit 

 

Very true. Time better spent reading about the magazine fed bog roll dispenser.

 

[TheMitchells]

On 16/10/2018 at 19:41, Nickfromwales said:

What will the internal floor space ( finished ) measure? 

Nothing wrong with a screeded floor which is falling to a drain, just need to be good at it so it’s consistent and free draining. 

it should be about 4.5 m square.  porch wall is currently 1.6m and the side of the bedroom wall is 2.96m.  I am not sure if the extension will extend to match the front and roof of the existing building or if it will be set back slightly.  there are both in extensions around the area. and if we extend further than the porch wall, to avoid the drains, the extrnal width is likely to be about 2m. 

 

I am also thinking about what sort of heating we could include.  The bungalow still has night storage heating and a rather large hot water tank which is heated up with night time economy seven electricity. there is gas in the nearby road but its not connected to the house.  so any heating in the wet room will be electricity and probably underfloor heating.  while it would be nice to change the ehating to gas, that is a few years away.

[Nickfromwales]

Have you thought about a mains pressurise hot water device? At least that would allow you to get away from ghastly electric showers now during the refurb

The under ( tile ) heating would need to be Impey Aqua Mat if its going to be a true wet room, as that mat is tested whilst being submerged in ( IIRC ) 6" of water so is truly waterproof whilst also retaining its integrity in such circumstances. Its a good quality mat too. Be sure to go for 150w/m2 if onto an unsympathetic floor structure, but 100w/m2 fortified with a wall mounted towel radiator would be a better combination as I think with such a small floor area you'll struggle to get the kind of heat that 'old folk' will appreciate.

The Impey Aqua Grade system allows you to make the floor up as required and then you just back-fill with screed. Really is simple and bombproof. If your builder is good, he'll probably be fine grading the floor without such a system. Guaranteed results with the AG system though.  

[TheMitchells]

Thanks Nick - that Impey Aqua mat sounds ideal.  we may get one for our own bathroom when we get round to it.  The mains pressure hot water device is something I shall get the OH to look at.  I think he was looking at a New Team NT1000 power shower which gives a good pressure but still runs off the hot and cold water.  its the same as ours and that works well.   

 

I shall let you know how we get on with the builder tomorrow.

[TheMitchells]

I have just been watching the Impey Waterguard Wetroom tankingvideo which looks great and with care, is something I could do.  I assume it would be installed onto the plastered walls.  But I also have seen Aquaseal wet room system recommended on this site.  Is one better than the other?  I can see the Aquaseal is about £45 and have not priced up the Impey system but it looks more expensive.  The Aquaseal also looks easier for me to use. If OnOff can use it, I am sure I'll be able to do it.!!?

 

I am working my way through the rest of his bathroom post - I may be busy for a few days......

 

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, TheMitchells said:

Thanks Nick - that Impey Aqua mat sounds ideal.  we may get one for our own bathroom when we get round to it.  The mains pressure hot water device is something I shall get the OH to look at.  I think he was looking at a New Team NT1000 power shower which gives a good pressure but still runs off the hot and cold water.  its the same as ours and that works well.   

 

I shall let you know how we get on with the builder tomorrow.

Remember with the old folk that you REALLY should be fitting good quality THERMOSTATIC electric showers if you're going the electric shower route. These absolutely guard against scalding and give a far more reliable shower during fluctuations in the cold mains. 

My 2 penneth is that electric showers are the anti-christ, and when compared to wet thermostatic units are just miserable. 

 

13 minutes ago, TheMitchells said:

I have just been watching the Impey Waterguard Wetroom tankingvideo which looks great and with care, is something I could do.  I assume it would be installed onto the plastered walls.  But I also have seen Aquaseal wet room system recommended on this site.  Is one better than the other?  I can see the Aquaseal is about £45 and have not priced up the Impey system but it looks more expensive.  The Aquaseal also looks easier for me to use. If OnOff can use it, I am sure I'll be able to do it.!!?

 

I am working my way through the rest of his bathroom post - I may be busy for a few days......

 

Any of the tanking kits are ok tbh. Impey will be expensive, and the last load of my wet room projects have been with the Aquaseal / similar branded kits with great results. If you can pee, you can tank.  Dead simple.  The aqua grade system is equally easy, and takes all thought out of a graded, screed covered floor. 

[dpmiller]

^that's a thermostatic power shower, Nick. Not electric...

[Nickfromwales]

1 minute ago, dpmiller said:

^that's a thermostatic power shower, Nick. Not electric...

Noted, but point remains if persuaded to go the electric ( short and sweet ) route.

Typing whilst herding kids for the school run  

[TheMitchells]

will go the thermostatic route!  with a pump for better power?? OH doesnt want to do an electric shower due to the required power load needed, I think.  But I am leaving that to him.  Aquaseal system it is or something similar for the waterproofing.  I'll see what patrick the builder says tomorrow. But I think the plan is that he will leave the actual fit out, including the waterproofing and tiling to us.  And I will suggest the Aqua Mat for the heating.

 

[Onoff]

I see you've read my thread. You'll note I made up my own steel form work to screed the wet room corner to strictly defined falls. It's come out a treat and is dead symetrical but it was a lot of work. 

 

With hindsight I might have made the fall twice as steep. Was worried about whether you would notice the fall as you have to cross the corner of the area to get to the sink. In reality you don't notice it.

 

A big part of me doing it rather than going the pre made former route was just to prove I could.That and I'm tight! The screed mix is also a bit exotic against majority advice.

 

Should know this side of Christmas whether it all works! 

[Nickfromwales]

2 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Should know this side of Christmas whether it all works! 

I'll let the good folk at William Hill know the updated info  

[TheMitchells]

will keep watching the post!  Though still not at the end yet - dont tell me - -  I hate knowing the end!?

[Onoff]

24 minutes ago, TheMitchells said:

will keep watching the post!  Though still not at the end yet - dont tell me - -  I hate knowing the end!?

 

Not forgetting I've fitted, an again unconventional, "wall drain".

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, Onoff said:

I see you've read my thread. [...]

 

So, big boy: which one's that then?

(For those who might not know)

[Onoff]

12 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

So, big boy: which one's that then?

(For those who might not know)

 

p53 / 54 details how I formed the wet room corner to falls:

 

 

[Hecateh]

14 hours ago, TheMitchells said:

I am also thinking about what sort of heating we could include.  The bungalow still has night storage heating and a rather large hot water tank which is heated up with night time economy seven electricity. there is gas in the nearby road but its not connected to the house.  so any heating in the wet room will be electricity and probably underfloor heating.  while it would be nice to change the ehating to gas, that is a few years away.

Getting the gas connected to the house was the cheapest and most straightforward of all the utilities.  

 

Gas connection was subsidised so the connection was only less than £400.  It seems like electric and water you have to have whereas because gas is a choice there are more customer friendly.  Probably not the real reason but it definitely felt that way.

 

[lizzie]

16 minutes ago, Hecateh said:

Getting the gas connected to the house was the cheapest and most straightforward of all the utilities.  

 

Gas connection was subsidised so the connection was only less than £400.  It seems like electric and water you have to have whereas because gas is a choice there are more customer friendly.  Probably not the real reason but it definitely felt that way.

 

My gas cost £13k!  In hindsight that was mad we should have gone airsource it only does UFH and DHW.

[Hecateh]

2 hours ago, lizzie said:

My gas cost £13k!  In hindsight that was mad we should have gone airsource it only does UFH and DHW.

Gosh Yes - that's extortionate - like my electricity though - that was £13K

Edited October 18, 2018 by Hecateh

[TheMitchells]

Next two questions - how much and what sort of insulation should I be looking at for the floor, under the Impey Aqua Mat, if thats what we use? 

 

and when looking at the external wall build up, would Building Regs standards be okay or should I push for more insulation? 

 

Thanks in advance.  I did look at jeremy's floor insulation comparison too but I cant even get it to work, never mind understand how to use it!  ?