A kind plumber has created a thread (that he's still working on right now) explaining the do's and don'ts of installing a wetroom.
DIY Guide To Installing a Wetroom. - Plumbing Forum
A snippet....
Firstly, these projects usually start by stripping the existing bathroom out. If the floor isn't completely level the joists need to be levelled in order to easily get the correct sloped when tiling the floor (this guide assumed you will be tiling the floor). There are several methods to level a floor. Perhaps the simplest method is to shim the joists either with bits of timber or with hard plastic shims. Shims used to make door frames level/plumb are very strong and can be safely used to shim joists to get them level. One shim should be placed where each screw will go through the floor into the joists.
We also screw the shims down to the joists to stop them moving when the floor is put down.
Check all shims are level in all directions before laying the floor.
On a concrete floor, you will have to level the floor in other ways if it is not level. Either re-screed it or use a self levelling compound before continuing.
A level sub-floor is essential to ensure that the small amount of water that goes through the grout onto the waterproofing sits there till it evaporates. You don't want it running out the door!
Our installation here is on a suspended floor, so we have used an Impey Aquadec wetroom tray. For some reason, WBP Plywood comes in 18mm and 24mm thicknesses for flooring. Most wetroom trays are 21mm. By using shims on the joists you can easily adjust the flooring to get it all level.
Next, the walls need to be sorted. The whole room is going to be completely waterproofed with a tanking system soon, so really you can use whatever you want on the walls. We tend to use moisture resistant plasterboard on the walls. It's pretty cheap and a good strong base to tile on.
Cutting plasterboard to fit the walls is pretty easy. You can score it on the front side with a stanley knife then break it by putting your knee into the back of the score. Finally, just cut it with the stanley knife down the back.
Fix to the wall with plasterboard screws.
Now it's time to waterproof (tank) the whole room. This is probably the most important part of the wetroom installation. If this is done incorrectly the room will quickly fall apart. There are various ways to lay the tanking matting correctly though.
We lay the floor matting first. All of the matting is fixed using a cement based tile adhesive. One 20kg bag normally fixes a 5m roll of matting.
We make sure the floor matting goes 10cm up the walls on all sides. All rolls of matting should also overlap each other by 10cm too. All overlaps are sealed with tile adhesive. Overlaps on walls should be done such that the lower roll of matting is tucked underneath the upper roll.
Any gaps around pipes are filled with a GOOD quality silicon sealant. Cheap stuff comes loose with time.
DIY Guide To Installing a Wetroom. - Plumbing Forum
DIY Guide To Installing a Wetroom. - Plumbing Forum
A snippet....
Firstly, these projects usually start by stripping the existing bathroom out. If the floor isn't completely level the joists need to be levelled in order to easily get the correct sloped when tiling the floor (this guide assumed you will be tiling the floor). There are several methods to level a floor. Perhaps the simplest method is to shim the joists either with bits of timber or with hard plastic shims. Shims used to make door frames level/plumb are very strong and can be safely used to shim joists to get them level. One shim should be placed where each screw will go through the floor into the joists.
We also screw the shims down to the joists to stop them moving when the floor is put down.
Check all shims are level in all directions before laying the floor.
On a concrete floor, you will have to level the floor in other ways if it is not level. Either re-screed it or use a self levelling compound before continuing.
A level sub-floor is essential to ensure that the small amount of water that goes through the grout onto the waterproofing sits there till it evaporates. You don't want it running out the door!
Our installation here is on a suspended floor, so we have used an Impey Aquadec wetroom tray. For some reason, WBP Plywood comes in 18mm and 24mm thicknesses for flooring. Most wetroom trays are 21mm. By using shims on the joists you can easily adjust the flooring to get it all level.
Next, the walls need to be sorted. The whole room is going to be completely waterproofed with a tanking system soon, so really you can use whatever you want on the walls. We tend to use moisture resistant plasterboard on the walls. It's pretty cheap and a good strong base to tile on.
Cutting plasterboard to fit the walls is pretty easy. You can score it on the front side with a stanley knife then break it by putting your knee into the back of the score. Finally, just cut it with the stanley knife down the back.
Fix to the wall with plasterboard screws.
Now it's time to waterproof (tank) the whole room. This is probably the most important part of the wetroom installation. If this is done incorrectly the room will quickly fall apart. There are various ways to lay the tanking matting correctly though.
We lay the floor matting first. All of the matting is fixed using a cement based tile adhesive. One 20kg bag normally fixes a 5m roll of matting.
We make sure the floor matting goes 10cm up the walls on all sides. All rolls of matting should also overlap each other by 10cm too. All overlaps are sealed with tile adhesive. Overlaps on walls should be done such that the lower roll of matting is tucked underneath the upper roll.
Any gaps around pipes are filled with a GOOD quality silicon sealant. Cheap stuff comes loose with time.
DIY Guide To Installing a Wetroom. - Plumbing Forum
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Lincoln Plumber & Electrician - Dripbusters Ltd - Home
Lincoln Plumber & Electrician - Dripbusters Ltd - Home
