Wet Rooms Vs Walk-in Showers

More people are now converting their bathrooms from old bathtubs to showers. For this adventure, homeowners usually have two main choices: a wet room or a walk-in shower. A wet room, just as the name suggests, is a type of bathroom that has an open space with just a drainage where you just walk in and have a shower. A walk-in shower, on the other hand, is a booth with glass panels and a shower tray where you walk in and have a shower. Several expensive features such as grab and towel hook bars also characterize it. This article looks at the main differences between wet rooms and walk in showers.

  • Design

A wet room is characterized by an open space with just a showerhead and perhaps a soap bar, where you just walk in add have a shower, while everything else like the toilet seat is far away in a separate space. An individual stands in the middle of the waterproof walls and the floor that is inclined to a certain degree to allow shower water to get into the drain so that it does not flood into the surrounding areas.

On the other hand, huge water-resistant glass panels that you can slide or pull characterize a walk-in shower, and you just walk in and take a shower while standing on a shower tray that prevents water from flooding the surrounding areas. In short, a walk-in shower is a cubicle where you just jump in and have a shower.

  • Accessibility

A wet room is easily accessible since you just have to throw yourself into the wide space. This is mainly because it does not have glass panels where you would be required to pull or slide them for you to have access to the shower. For this reason, wet rooms are very favorable to the elderly or kids.

Unlike with wet rooms, walk-in showers have a little limitation as far as access is concerned since there are glass panels that you have to pull or slide for you to get into the shower cubicle. These are not very desirable for people with disabilities or the elderly.

  • Cost

A wet room is quite expensive compared to a walk-in shower and it has to be fitted with a floor heating system to provide the feet underneath with some warmth on the cold floor. It also involves a little complex features like inclined floor and waterproof walls and floor. Adding these features require more money than that required for a walk-in shower.

Compared to a wet room, a walk-in shower is cheaper since it does not require expensive floor and wall materials. The cost of maintaining a walk-in shower is also low since it does not require a floor heating system, hence less money is spent on utility bills.

  • Convenience

In terms of convenience, a wet room is your best choice since this leaves you with a lot of space at your disposal and provides for the perfect look and feel as you take your shower. You do not want to shower in a small space that does not seem enough. Cleaning is also easy since you can splash the walls with water while you clean them with a piece of cloth.

A walk-in shower provides a little inconvenience since you have to put on socks on cold mornings, as it lacks an under floor heating system. It is also hard to keep the glass panels away from staining with soap and shower gels, hence a little unsightly.

  • Space Usage

A wet room is designed to occupy a large space. The toilet seat and other utilities like the toiletries have to be stored in a cabinet that is away from the room. Usually, a wet room will require a space of approximately 35 square feet. A walk-in shower, on the other hand, does not require that much space since the cubicle can even fit in a corner of the bathroom area. A walk-in shower can even be added into parts of the home with unused or extra spaces like the attic or below the stairs.

Wet rooms and walk in showers offer almost similar benefits in that they make your bathroom look more expensive without breaking the bank. The choice between these two will be determined by the amount of your budget, what you wish to achieve in your bathroom and the amount of space available in your bathroom. A contractor can help you make an informed decision about the two as well as install it for you.