Transforming a room into a wet room is as easy as installing a wet room shower tray. Well the work involved isn’t exactly a piece of cake, especially if you take the DIY route, but not rocket science either. What is great about a shower tray is that it can be inset directly to the floor, requiring minimal joinery work.
But it is important to note that a wet room shower tray would work best on wood and concrete floor, but not on vinyl flooring. In fact, you should never use it on vinyl. It is also not advisable in small rooms, where all areas will end up getting wet after a shower, because waterproofing would take a lot of work and will cost you money. You might as well build a full-on shower.
So you have the right room and flooring. Time to install a wet room shower tray.
Installation Tips and Tricks
1. Base on the size of the tray, choose a deck with the same measurement, with the drain positioned in an area that is clear of any joists. This way, the tray will be level with the floor.
2. Position the tray in such a way that 1 or all of its edges are positioned over joists. Otherwise, you may have to provide joists or blocking underneath for structural strength.
3. Draw around it, which will serve as your guide when cutting floorboards. Move the tray out of the way and then start cutting away. Be careful not to cut through the joists, wires or pipes, and remove any boards that are small or weak. They are best replaced with plywood.
4. Remove the cut floorboards, but do not throw them away. You can use them later around the perimeter of the shower tray.
5. If you have a load-bearing tray rated up to 470 kg, you may not need to add a solid flooring underneath. Otherwise, you would have to add a backer board.
6. Start fitting the drain. Construct a platform where the drain can rest on, which should be aligned with the drain opening on the wet room shower tray, and lower than the drain’s final position.
7. Set up the waste pipe and wet room drain according to installation instructions. Make sure you use the solvent weld properly and the supplied adapter to avoid any leaks, which could damage the floorboards underneath the shower tray. Make sure to check for leaks before taking the next step.
8. Once the drain is installed, with no signs of leakage, drop the wet room shower tray in place and secure properly. You can use the floorboards you removed from the previous step to line the perimeter and to keep the tray from moving. Screw everything in place.
9. Pull the drain trap up, until it is secured to the deck of the tray.
10. You can then proceed to install tiles, if you so desire.
11. Once done, place the shower drain top into the tray’s drain trap. Once it is secure, grout or seal the edges of the stainless steel rim, then drop the rest of the drain parts in place – ball, internal dome, and hair trap, and then add the drain cover.
