If you’re planning a bathroom extension, a walk in shower as a wet room bathroom is a sleek, practical and highly desirable feature. This open, fully waterproofed style eliminates barriers, maximises space, and creates a spa like atmosphere in any home. In this guide, we’ll show you the key steps for incorporating a wet room into your bathroom design – from water proofing and drainage to tile selection and council compliance in Auckland.
What is a wet room - and why is it popular?
A wet room fully waterproofs your bathroom, with a the shower is either open or minimally enclosed.
It works perfectly if you have a small bathroom space, or accessibility needs.
Clever design can incorporate everything you need within a small zone, without having to give each zone it’s own space ie think no boxed in shower.
A wet room creates a very modern, sleek space, and is easy to clean, as the entire area is tiled.
Why a walk-in shower works perfectly in a bathroom extension
If you’re planning a bathroom extension, renovation or reconfiguration this is the perfect time to plan the space correctly. Depending on how you want the bathroom to work for you, you can either avoid walls, or you could embrace them and create; for instance a curved wall as a dividing feature for the shower – whilst still keeping the room open yet separated.
Drainage and fall of a wet room
With a wet room, drainage and the fall of the room is crucial. This often means the floor level has to be altered and lowered, or screeded correctly to create a new fall towards the drainage area, Ensuring water flows correctly to the designated drainage areas. So making sure you have a skilled tiler who understands the requirements of the NZ Building Code is key.
There are two types of drain you could opt for in your wet room, a square waste works well for a smaller space and a central location. Whilst a long channel drain does look smart and works well especially in a shower space, as the fall only needs one direction.
Waterproofing
Waterproofing is essential – it ensures the basic integrity of the build and protects the entire structure of the room, it’s also what’s required to meet NZ building codes. Two coats of the waterproofing adhesive is required, allowing each layer to dry fully. Always hire a council-registered waterproofer who can sign off his work
Heating, ventilation + moisture control
A wet room bathroom performs best when the moisture is managed well. These 3 elements are important to consider.
Underfloor heating not only feels great in winter, it also dries the room and reduces condensation. With no shower enclosure it’s also a nice way to add warmth to the room.
A wet room generates more ambient moisture, so ventilation needs to be carefully considered during design. Obviously having a window in the bathroom is ideal but if you can’t there are now sleeker nicer looking options for ventilation, than just having to be a fan in the middle of the room.
Additional moisture-management options to enhance the performance of your wet room bathroom are:
Heated towel rails to keep towels dry faster.
Demister mirrors to reduce mirror fogging.
Better insulation around the bathroom to stabilise temperature.
Double glazing to control moisture.
Council requirements
Any bathroom extension or wet room must meet important and strict regulations. Not every project triggers a Council consent. But here are the things that will:
- If you’re adding additional plumbing requirements.
- You’re extending the exterior footprint of the house for the bathroom.
- If you’re replacing plastic showers for waterproofed tiled bathrooms.
How X2 Manage the process
A wet room requires precision from the first plan, through to the final tile selection. At X2, our design-and-build model means everything is managed and coordinated, ensuring a smoother and faster renovation with fewer surprises.
Allow us to deal with getting it done right:
- All the plans drawings, and specifications.
- Submitting the consent.
- Coordinating inspections.
- Managing all the trades.
- Supplying producer statements (PS3, PS4) and warranties.
Ensuring the project meets code at every step. This gives you one point of contact and full peace of mind that your bathroom extension is done properly and legally in Auckland.
Ready to start your bathroom project?
Get in touch with X2 for a design and build consultation and let’s bring your wet room vision to life.