Wet floor drain versus shower tray

Wet floors are becoming more and more popular in Britain and we often encounter people who need help deciding on which way to proceed with their installation. So we thought a brief summary of the issues might help.

When we talk of a wet floor with a drain we mean some sort of substrate with falls built in that then has some form of tanking (if necessary) and tiles installed on top. There are many brands that provide a version of this such as Abacus, Wedi, Impey and Lux to name a few.

The main advantage of a wet floor with drain is its appearance – the look is eminently superior to a standard shower tray. (There are of course some fabulous designer trays available but that is for another article). The wet area can also be built to size giving more flexibility to neatly fill the allotted showering area. You can choose the exact tile and finish that you require within reason and the result is usually to make the whole design ‘seamless’.

However a tiled wet area is usually quite a lot more expensive to create and install than a standard tray. A wet area installation also requires a more experienced fitter to ensure that things are done exactly right, when things go wrong they can potentially be more costly to rectify than if things go wrong with a tray. (We note that careful planning can usually alleviate most of the potential pitfalls).

It is also important to point out that there are many sizes and thicknesses of tray now available and so most potential showering spaces can be adequately filled by a tray if this is your primary concern.

There are drainage issues to consider in both cases being discussed but these very much depend on the particular layout of your room and its drains. The main piece of advice is to seek expert help from us or from your local wet room specialist before making the choice between wet area or shower tray!