Wet room cost: what decides the price in a UK home

Why a wet room costs more than a shower enclosure

A shower enclosure contains the water inside a tray and a screen. A wet room lets water reach the floor, so the floor has to slope towards a drain and the room has to be watertight from the floor up to at least the height of the shower. That means more preparation, a specialist floor former or a screeded fall, and a tanking system across the floor and walls. If you are still deciding between the two, the wet room or shower enclosure guide compares them in practical terms.

The floor is the biggest cost driver

Upstairs, most British houses have timber joists with boards on top. To create a level entry with a fall, the boards are lifted, the joists checked, and a shaped former is set between or on top of them, sometimes with joists trimmed or strengthened. On a concrete ground floor, the existing screed may need breaking out to drop the drain, or a new screed laid to fall. Either way, the condition of what is found under the old floor makes a real difference to the time involved.

• Timber floor or concrete slab
• Which way the joists run relative to the drain
• Rot or damage found when the floor is lifted
• How far the drain has to travel to the soil pipe
• Whether a level threshold is needed at the door

Tanking and waterproofing

Tanking is the waterproof layer under the tiles. It usually covers the whole floor and runs up the walls in the shower zone, with tape at every corner and around pipe entries. It is not a large material cost, but it takes time to apply in layers and must be done carefully, because any gap leaks into the room below. A wet room with a small shower zone in a large room costs less to tank than one where the whole room is treated as wet.

Drainage choices

A linear drain along a wall lets the floor fall in one direction, which suits large tiles. A square centre drain needs the floor to fall from several sides, which suits smaller tiles. The drain body, the trap depth and the route of the waste pipe all affect the price, and a long waste run across a timber floor can need careful planning to keep enough fall.

Tiling, glass and finishes

Wet room floors are often finished in smaller tiles or mosaics, which follow the fall and give better grip but take longer to lay and grout. Full height wall tiling, a glass screen to stop splashes reaching the toilet, underfloor heating and an extractor fan all add to the total. Electrical work for fans and heating is carried out by a qualified electrician.

Is there a wet room cost calculator?

Online calculators can only guess, because they cannot see under your floor. A better way to estimate is to answer five questions before you ask for quotes: is the floor timber or concrete, how big is the room, will the whole room be wet or just the shower zone, where is the soil pipe, and what tiles do you want. With those answers and a few photos, a fitter can tell you quickly which parts of the job are likely to be simple and which need allowing for.

For context, the full size bathroom bands on this site are set out in the bathroom renovation cost guide. A wet room is quoted individually after a visit, because the floor construction is what decides it.

Comparing wet room quotes

When quotes differ, check what each one includes. Does it cover lifting and making good the floor, the tanking system, the drain, the screen, the tiling and the waste removal? A quote that leaves out the floor preparation can look cheaper and end up costing more once the boards are up.

Need it sorted? Book a wet room installation

The wet room installation page explains how Danny plans, tanks and tiles a wet room from start to finish. Send photos of the room, its rough size and your postcode through the contact page for a written quote.

Frequently asked questions

Bathroom Renovations