Wetroom or shower tray?

[DrBridgerton]

I’ll be renovating our en-suite room would like thoughts on whether to go for a wetroom (tiled) or shower tray. We currently have issues with cracked grout and leaks but I have a feeling that if the room prep is done properly a wet look can potentially last as long as a shower tray solution. Any thoughts or experiences? Many thanks!

A wet room really puts me off a house when I am looking.

I understand them for if someone with mobility issues needs to be wheeled in to the shower but other than that, I can't understand why anyone would choose one.

Same as the above - I rented accommodation for a year with a wet room rather than a shower tray (plus stayed in hotels with them) and I genuinely couldnt understand why anyone would choose this over a standard shower tray unless for mobility reasons. The water always ends up running in places you dont expect which can make towels/clothes etc wet.

Wetroom for me. They look more cohesive - who wants to look an ugly plastic shower tray? Also you don't have the faff of a shower door being in the way all the time and needing cleaning.

Shower tray. A wet room makes me think of a municipal swimming pool. And you've either got water everywhere or a flappy shower curtain.

Despise a wet room... as someone who spent a lot of time in hospitals I find them traumatic for horrible memories.

Any house we looked at with one we would have had to reduce our offer by the cost to replace it.

I’m team walk in shower for all the reasons mentioned above. You can get really nice shower trays that aren’t made of white plastic.

I really wasn’t a fan of wet rooms, but we had to get one when we moved my mum into our downstairs bedroom “wing”. I was amazed at what our fab plumber came up with. The folding glass screen can be put out of the way if need be. And I like the smaller tiles in the shower area. I’ve been really impressed that the shower floor doesn’t feel or look like it’s sloping much, but absolutely no water ever goes past the mosaic tiles. I put a bath mat down next to the shower screen and it never gets wet. Obviously I’m biased, but I think it looks like a lovely bathroom despite being designed to be practical too. We have a shower room upstairs that that has a tray, and it doesn’t look as sleek, although modern trays are probably sleeker.

High shower trays are very early 2000s.

Wet rooms/flat floor to entry are very much the more modern style and I am pretty confident that if you looked through the web for "modern ideas for bathrooms" you wouldn't find hardly any shower trays apart from the very low profile ones.

I think people tend to go for wet rooms because they look better, not necessarily because they are more practical/resist water better.

Maybe a low profile tray is a reasonable compromise.

The trays are more slippery if you have reduced mobility. That’s why we went for a tiled floor.

I'd go for a low profile shower tray and a frameless screen any day over a wetroom, which is a total pain in the arse if you need to do any remedial work.

Same….plus the more tiles you have, the more grout there is to keep clean

I like the look of a wetroom but my plumber said only have one on the ground floor because they are so likely to leak. And in my experience water gets everywhere so they only work well in hot countries.

@DrBridgerton We have a Bette Floor. These are German shower “trays” but they are flat. You need enough space under for the plumbing but you can buy one to coordinate with your tiles. They are made of metal and come in 30 colours. You can get raised versions if you prefer. German and first class products and give you a wet room look without the drawbacks of tiles.

You need proper tanking to eliminate possible leaks at the edges but it’s nowhere near as difficult as tiles. We have had ours for 15 years and it’s still perfect.

our house has 2 wetroom showers - they leak easily. I'd definitely get a proper tray if I was redoing the bathrooms.

otoh, DH likes the tiled floor of the wetroom because you really don't slip at all. whereas some shower trays are slippy

My mum has had nothing but trouble with her wet room, including sewage coming through the shower drain in the floor. So i’d never choose one, get a tray.

@Zanatdy That’s incorrect plumbing of the waste water, not the shower tray or floor. It’s fairly basic to have a fall on the waste plumbing that takes it away from any other drains, such as those in a shower or bath.

She’s had so many people out to it and no avail. When I researched people can have lot of issues with wet rooms. If you don’t need it for disability i’d stick to a regular bathroom.

Thanks @OhDear111. We’re between a Bette and a Marlyn Truestone tray. Glad to hear you’re happy with Bette.

As a wheelchair user I don’t have a choice of shower cubicles so have a roll in shower tray but my bathroom seriously needs updates and I’d been considering a wet room. Until we got a quote of £8000. I know what some will think, I should be going down the occupational therapy disability assessment route and get one from the council but have you seen them? I don’t want a clinic in my home! I’m a full time worker and I buy my own facilities even if I have to save up for the. I don’t have a large bathroom, just standard size but now I’m thinking maybe a sunken tray instead of the whole floor.

@DrBridgerton We have a Bette as well and it has been brilliant

@Animallover2325 We have shower trays that are very flat and designed for flush installation. It didn’t quite work like that because there was not enough space above the joists (since you have to add waterproof subfloor + plumbing) but it only sticks out ca. 1,5 cm. You can see on the photo - the metro tiles on the bath next to it are 10 cm. but the lowest row is 8 cm and the tray comes up to less than a quarter of it.

That’s how mine looks just now

I see. Perhaps you still have its specifications and could compare with the newer ones if they’re a bit more shallow still, and could be installed flush?

@DrBridgerton The thing about Bette is the colours to match with tiles. Whatever you do, you need space under for waste water to exit. You also need a long shower in my view if you keep an end open.

How would putting a tray in stop sewage coming back up the drain, unless it is ones of those early 2000s foot high ones that relies on the extra height ?

Plus it would still stink if it is backing up.